Catskill Mountains - Shandaken Area

Catskill Mountains - Shandaken Area. Historic New York. The deep ravines, irregular ridges and rocky slopes of the Catskill Mountains long remained wild and desolate. Small settlements began in the mountain valleys before the American Revolution. After the war, population grew steadily as New Englanders streamed into the the higher areas, which they called the "cold lands." The Ulster and Delaware Turnpike was begun in 1802 to connect Kingston and Walton through mountain passes used by present highways. After 1875, the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, later part of the New York Central system, wound its way from Kingston to Oneonta., Timber and water power made lumbering the principal occupation. Great stands of of hemlock supplied bark for tanning leather. Furniture makers and hoop shavers once labored here. Bluestone quarrymen and glass blowers also used the resources of the area. Catskill vistas attracted many artists, and Washington Irving and John Burroughs wrote about the surroundings. The mountains have long been famous as a resort area. In 1904, the State established the Forest Preserve to safeguard forever the natural resources., Shandaken Tunnel, 18 miles long, was dug to connect Schoharie Reservoir with Esopus Creek thus to feed the Asokan Reservoir, a source of water for New York City since 1915.