Mamakating Park Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mamakating Park Historic District
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House on Park Road, 2008
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| Location | Mamakating, NY |
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| Nearest city | Middletown |
| Area | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| Built | 1890s |
| Architect | William Henry Baldwin |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001393 |
| Added to NRHP | 1998 |
The Mamakating Park Historic District is a special area located in the Catskill Mountains in Mamakating, New York. It's a historic vacation community built in the 1890s. This district was originally planned to be a much bigger place called the Sullivan County Club.
Today, Mamakating Park includes many old-fashioned Victorian-style cottages. Most of these homes look just like they did when they were first built. They are arranged around the spot where a large hotel used to stand. In 1998, this area was recognized as a historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important place to protect because of its history.
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Exploring Mamakating Park
The Mamakating Park Historic District covers about 40 acres. It's located around the curved roads of Columbian Road, Mamakating Avenue, and Park Road. The area is mostly covered in trees. The only open space is in the middle of the curved roads, where the old hotel used to be. You can still find the original tennis courts there.
A small hill in the southern part of the park is the highest point in the Town of Mamakating. It stands about 1,648 feet (502 meters) above sea level.
What You'll See
The district has 48 buildings. Almost all of them were built when the community first started. This means they help tell the story of the park's history. The spot where the old hotel stood, along with some of its other buildings like a chapel, are also part of the historic district. Even some of the original gardens and outdoor designs are still there.
Most of the houses are made of wood. They were built in popular styles from the late 1800s, like the Shingle style. These homes often have large porches, unique roof shapes, and many decorative details. These features are typical of the Late Victorian era.
How the Park Was Designed
William Henry Baldwin, an engineer from Yonkers, designed Mamakating Park. The large size of his plan might have been inspired by Tuxedo Park. Tuxedo Park was America's first gated community, located nearby in Orange County.
Mamakating Park has some curving streets, and some parts were named after nature, like Fox Trail. However, most of the park follows a grid pattern. This is similar to how wilderness religious camp meetings were set up back then. These camps often had groups of cottages clustered around important shared buildings. This design is different from the winding streets you might see in places like Tuxedo Park.
The homes in the original plan were placed to make the most of the beautiful natural surroundings. Many houses were meant to be built close to the street where the land dropped sharply. This would have given residents amazing views of the Shawangunk Ridge or the Catskill Mountains.
The Story of Mamakating Park
Mamakating Park started as the Sullivan County Club. This was a group of businessmen from New York City who wanted to create a vacation community in the Catskills. They planned it to be much larger than similar places like Elka Park or Onteora Park.
For most of the 1800s, Masten Lake (south of the park) was used as a water supply for the Delaware and Hudson Canal. But as trains became more popular, the canal was used less. So, the lake area started to become a summer getaway for city people looking for fresh air.
Early Plans and Challenges
In 1893, the Sullivan County Club bought 4,600 acres of land. This included Masten Lake and the ridge north of it. They planned to build a summer cottage community with a big hotel. They wanted to take advantage of the great views of the Shawangunk Ridge. New train lines made it easy for city residents to reach the area in just one day.
The club divided the land into 2,000 half-acre lots. They started selling them in 1894 for $100 each. People were very interested, and the club soon raised the price to $125.
By 1894, 359 lots had been sold. The club hired a New York firm to design the main hotel. They even thought about building a special train to make it easier to get to the club from the nearby village of Wurtsboro. However, money problems from an economic downturn in 1893 caused the original plans to be put on hold in 1897. Only the hotel and 20 nearby lots had been developed.
New Owners and Growth
In 1902, the Sullivan County Club faced financial difficulties. A new group of investors, called the Mamakating Park Company, bought the hotel and the remaining undeveloped lots. They advertised the resort a lot in New York newspapers. Many cottage owners also rented out their homes, which helped the resort grow.
Over time, they added more features, like a large garage for cars. This showed how car travel was becoming more popular. By 1913, they were successful enough to advertise that they followed "temperance principles." This meant they did not allow alcohol. They also said that people with certain illnesses were not allowed to stay.
Changes Over Time
Another economic downturn, the Great Depression in the 1930s, caused the Mamakating Park Company to close. The hotel and its properties were then rented out to different people. Later in the 1930s, more people from Jewish communities started moving into the area.
The main hotel building eventually became part of Camp Lakota. The Mamakating Park Inn built a casino, a barber shop, and other buildings in the hotel complex. It was part of the "borscht belt," a famous area for resorts that featured entertainers like Red Buttons. The hotel owners and the people who owned homes nearby got along well. Residents were often invited to attend the events at the casino.
After World War II, the homeowners around the Inn formed the Mamakating Park Property Owners Civic Association. They bought a piece of land by the lake for their members to use. They created a beach, small changing rooms, and a swimming area. The hotel and Camp Lakota had their own separate beach areas.
The hotel finally closed in the 1950s. Camp Lakota then bought the property and used the buildings. Sadly, the hotel itself was destroyed in a fire in the 1970s. In the 1980s, a few new houses were built on the empty lots that were left. In the late 1990s, the camp began fixing up some of the other old buildings.
