It’s been two years since my last “road fotos” post, and it was great to go out exploring without a fixed destination, i.e., gallivanting, other than a late afternoon rendezvous on the other side of the Hudson. Seeing traces of the D & H Canal, i.e., New York’s Coal Canal, was the general goal, but then I saw this.
This is the reverse, and it refers to the D & H Canal. Little did I know the “dove” in Mamakating was one of fifty in the Catskills of Sullivan County. That fact alone will draw me back here. Mamakating was once home of the mamakoots . . .
A roadside stop to check the internet in Mamakating convince me to turn back about two miles to Wurtsboro (formerly Rome) and see the dove there and wander a bit as well.
I was impressed by the signage in parts of the old D & H Canal linear footprint.
That rock wall has been there since at least 1828.
The road on the left side of the photo is US 209 looking back toward Wurtsboro. There’s swamp in the middle with unexplained water trails through it. The straight line heading diagonal into the lower right corner is the D & H towpath, with the canal off to its right.
The next hamlet on US 209 is Phillipsport, an actual port on the D & H, and while taking photos of the dove, I noticed
this sign. It was Saturday, and I was ahead of my non-existent schedule, so . . . off to the cemetery I went . . . to find
it a wild place.
Six miles on, I got to Ellenville, and noticed these five intriguing panels covering windows.
At one time, Ellenville was quite the port.
Napanoch is home to the Eastern Correctional Facility, a place that was built during the days of the D & H Canal, as you can see from this postcard. In fact, stones to build the place were shipped on the canal, as you can see from here.
By now I’d started to feel pressure of the clock, so I skipped the possibilities of BBQ in Kerhonkson and its adjoining Ker Honky Tonk. Ah . . . next time.
Next stop was 20 miles on in Rosendale. I know people there and in the area, but I allowed myself only a quick walk around. I hope to get back here soon.
All photos, WVD.
tugster: a waterblog 
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August 12, 2021 at 11:27 am
Lee Rust
Looks like you got your drone cranked up for that aerial shot. We don’t have to go very far in NYS to find interesting history and things to marvel at.
August 12, 2021 at 12:49 pm
tugster
Hi Lee– You don’t think I hitched a ride on one of these doves to get that shot? Yes, the drone flew up there to catch that wispy fog defining the path the D & H followed through the mountains to the Pennsylvania coal fields. Earlier in the trip we drove through Jim Thorpe PA where the infamous prison that held the Molly Maguires were held, but we didn’t stop because on a summer weekend that place is mobbed . . . no parking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_County_Jail
August 12, 2021 at 1:51 pm
Daniel Meeter
South of Wurtsboro in the hamlet of Wesbrookville, the road to Otisville takes you to canal remains next to the Bashakill. Also nearby is the old roadbed of the O&W railroad, now a railtrail. At High Falls there’s lots to see of the D&H.