Loading map...

1903 Map of Kaaterskill

Name: 1903 Topographic Map of Kaaterskill
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1924
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1924

About this map

The famed Mountain House stands as a landmark of Gilded Age Catskill leisure on this 1903 survey, overlooking the steep eastern escarpment where the Otis Elevating R.R. climbs toward North Mountain. The landscape is defined by the deep incisions of Kaaterskill Clove and Stony Clove Brook, which dictate the paths of early industrial transport like the Ulster and Delaware R.R.. High-altitude resort communities such as Onteora Park and Twilight Park represent a shift toward seasonal tourism, while the rural interior is dotted with remote outposts like Platt Clove P.O. and Wittenberg P.O. Yankeetown.

The topography transitions from the high peaks of Sugarloaf Mountain and Twin Mt. in the center to the lower valley settlements of Bearsville and Woodstock in the south. This era shows the region caught between its agricultural roots at Dutch Settlement and its growing identity as a wilderness destination, with the watershed of Schoharie Creek and Beaver Kill carving through the heart of the plateau.