Historical Sites in Delaware County

If you love history and have a day to yourself, how about spending it driving around our county and visiting some interesting historic spots? Here are a few top picks by Tim Duerden, Director at Delaware County Historical Association.

Lower Dingle Hill Road in Andes, NY – Site of 1845 shooting death of Undersheriff Osman Steele during Anti-Rent Wars. As he presided over the sale of a property that had been levied, a large group of citizens dressed as Indians appeared and opened fire, shooting and killing Steel.

The First Milk Pasteurization Plant in the USA, State Highway 10 in Bloomville, NY – installed in 1892, the plant played a major part in transforming commercial milk from a dirty, disease-spreading product into a clean and healthy one.

Congregation B’nai Israel Cemetery (a part of Clovesville Cemetery) in Fleischmanns, NY – Burial place (1966) of TV and radio personality, Gertrude Berg, AKA “Molly Goldberg.”

Ouleout Valley Cemetery in Franklin, NY – Burial place (1940) of famed sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine who used his camera as a tool for social reform. His photographs were instrumental in changing child labor laws in the US.

Woodchuck Lodge, Burroughs Memorial Rd in Roxbury, NY – Birthplace of 19th century writer and naturalist, John Burroughs, who significantly contributed to the US conservation movement.

Fire tower on Mount Utsayantha in Stamford , NY– A historic fire tower 3,214 feet in elevation with sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains

Covered bridges in Hamden, Delhi and Downsville, NY.

Gideon Frisbee House, State Highway 10 in Delhi, NY – A historic home built in 1797, currently home of Delaware County Historical Association, Also called the “Birthplace of Delaware County,” this is where the first county supervisors met in the spring of 1797 to create the governmental bureaucracy of Delaware County.

Hanford Mills, 51 County Highway 12, East Meredith, NY, 607.278.5744, is a historic working mill site built in 1846. Over time, the site has functioned as a gristmill, feed mill, woodworking shop, a hardware store, and harnessed the waters of Kortright Creek to provide the town with its first electricity. Listed on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places, the museum today is a lively place of exploration, community events, and workshops.

For more ideas, please visit Delaware County Historical Association.

Featured photo: Fitch’s Covered Bridge, Delhi, NY