Tusten Historical Society organizes sesquicentennial celebration

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

	Contributed photo The West Point Band participated in Tusten’s Old Time Street Parade during the weeklong Centennial Celebration from July 26 to August 1 in 1953. A July 30, 1953 article in the Delaware Valley News estimated that 20,000 people and 9,000 cars came to Narrowsburg. The article stated, “Tusten’s old timers admitted they had never seen anything like it before and were doubtful if the township’s residents will again see the crowds who somehow crammed into this town that was built to accommodate only about 700 people.” (Click for larger image)

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Local History Association, formed in 1992, recently received a charter to become the Tusten Historical Society from the New York State Department of Education, a timely accomplishment as Tusten’s December, 2003 Sesquicentennial celebration approaches.

“It has been a long process, and we are happy to finally have our charter,” Emily Hallock, membership chairperson of the historical society, said.

It still remains uncertain whether the Board of Supervisors of Sullivan County erected Tusten on November 17 or December 17 of 1853, separating it from Lumberland, but Hallock and her fellow historical society members have agreed upon the latter date to celebrate Tusten’s 150-year anniversary.

They will celebrate local history in several ways, including the placement of a new historical marker that will honor the founding of Tusten. Hallock hopes to locate it in front of the Western Sullivan Public Library on Bridge Street in October.

In collaboration with local historians, the historical society will also design and produce a brochure that will lead people on a walking tour of Narrowsburg, narrating the history of old buildings, including the Arlington Hotel, which is now home to the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance.

On Friday, July 4 and Saturday, July 5, the historical society will sell copies of three books at a table on the Firemen’s Field (Lander’s Campground), including “Those Who Came Before,” a book of Tusten genealogy compiled by Hallock; “A Look At Our Heritage As We Move Ahead,” a concise look at Tusten’s history written in 1976 by Joe Purcell, the late Town of Tusten historian; and “Ruth & Frank: Memoirs if Our Life Together,” by Ruth and Frank Behling, an account of family history surrounding the Peggy Runway Lodge in Narrowsburg.

At the table, they will also sell carved wooden replicas of the four Narrowsburg churches, including the old Tusten Baptist Church and the Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches. Each was drawn to scale and cut by architect Mark Horton, and Peggy Teetsel accomplished most of the detail work, though Hallock explained that all of the historical members contributed to painting and finishing the replicas.

An ecumenical church service will be held at the Tusten Baptist Church on Route 97 to commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary on Sunday, July 6 at 2:00 p.m. Father Tom Jones of the Catholic Church, Pastor Phyllis Haynes of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and Pastor Peg Sicklen of the United Methodist Church will lead the service.

To find out about Independence Day events throughout the Sullivan, Wayne and Pike Counties, see this article.