LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION celebrating the opening of the Kaaterskill Rail
Trail

WHEREAS, The Northern Catskills area was one of the earliest vacation
destinations in America, when in the early 1800s "going to the Cats-
kills" meant going to the Kaaterskill Region where Haines Falls and the
nearby Catskill Mountain House were at the region's heart; and
WHEREAS, The Kaaterskill Rail Trail was first a footpath connecting
the Catskill Mountain House and other hotels to Haines Falls, but made
way for a rail corridor in the 1880s after additional boarding houses
and the grand Hotel Kaaterskill increased travelers to the area; and
WHEREAS, The rail corridor, at its peak, saw two competing passenger
rail lines following parallel tracks toward the Catskill escarpment
bringing thousands of vacationers to see the picturesque scenery and
stay at the many boarding houses, hotels and resorts, such as the Laurel
House; and
WHEREAS, At the end of the Kaaterskill Rail Trail stood the Haines
Falls Station of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, which was built in
1913, to replace an earlier station located at then Haines Corners but
later went out of service in 1940, when rail service in the area ended
and is now home to the Mountain Top Historical Society; and
WHEREAS, Signs of the defunct railroad, including stone culverts from
the 1880s, railroad bridge abutments, logging roads, cinders from the
steam engines, remnants of the hotels, and railroad ties embedded in the
trail, still can be witnessed today; and
WHEREAS, In an effort to get back to our region's roots, the Mountain
Top Historical Society along with the Town of Hunter, New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation, New York - New Jersey Trail
Conference and Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District
Watershed Assistance Program, took it amongst themselves to open this
pristine, undisturbed stretch of the railroad again, and make it a
public hiking trail; and
WHEREAS, The State of New York recognizes that this 1.5 mile rail
trail, nestled between the Mountain Top Historical Society and the
NYSDEC North/South Lake Campground in Haines Falls, provides amazing
views of the Catskill Mountains and the Kaaterskill Falls, will promote
eco-tourism, which is a vital part of our economy; and
WHEREAS, At the same time as encouraging tourism, the community will
now be able to witness a piece of their history being preserved for
years to come, while providing a safe place for its residents to
explore, learn and grow; and
WHEREAS, The residents of the Mountain Top, Greene County and the
State of New York commemorate the opening of this long-awaited project
as it coincides with National Trails Day - a day to promote awareness of
the wide variety of benefits that trails provide; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
acknowledge the committed efforts of the Mountain Top Historical Socie-
ty, the Town of Hunter, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, New York - New Jersey Trail Conference and Greene County
Soil and Water Conservation District Watershed Assistance Program, and
celebrate with them the opening of the Kaaterskill Rail Trail; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Mountain Top Historical Society.