Community in Focus
Wurtsboro

	TRR photos by Richard A. Ross The antique clock on Sullivan Street hearkens back to a bygone era. (Click for larger image)

Wurtsboro exudes history, quaint simplicity and an impressive street fair

By RICHARD A. ROSS

WURTSBORO, NY — Thousands of people will flock to Wurtsboro on July 12 for the thirteenth annual Founders’ Day Street Fair. The event offers fine food, antique cars and machines, vendors, clowns and an impressive lineup of musicians and fireworks at Mamakating Little League field at 9:30 p.m. Ronnie Heller, owner of D &R Pet Grooming and Supplies and the current chairperson of the Wurtsboro Board of Trade, is this year’s fair director.

Meandering down Sullivan Street is like stepping back in time. Under the watchful eye of Mayor Bob Whitehead, now in his third term, Building Inspector Tim Ippolito, the village planning board, and Town of Mamakating supervisor Fred Harding, the quiet beauty and simplicity of Wurtsboro has rejected the infusion of neon signs, strip malls or big box stores and exudes a unique allure. According to Lyman Holmes, owner of the Canal Town Emporium, the town’s most vital business and historic centerpiece, “Wurtsboro has undergone a metamorphosis in the past twenty to twenty-five years into a picturesque little village.”

Once one of the key towns on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, Wurtsboro was originally called Rome by its founders. Nestled in the Mamakating valley surrounded by many nearby mountains peaks reminded the Yankee settlers of Rome’s seven hills. It was later renamed Wurtsborough after canal planners and engineers Maurice and Edward Wurts. The brothers were owners of a prominent Philadelphia dry goods store. They envisioned a man-made canal that could shortcut the shipment of coal from Pennsylvania to New York City.

Groundbreaking for the canal took place in the village of Wurtsboro on July 13, 1825. The current Founders’ Day Street Fair commemorates that date. With the construction of a 108-mile-long canal from Honesdale, Pennsylvania to Roundout in Kingston via Orange County and Sullivan County, barges pulled by mules were able to ferry coal, lumber, livestock and other staples to Albany and New York. Within three years, the incredible engineering marvel was operational. Along the berme of the canal, the village thrived, especially the Canal Town Emporium, then named the Fulton and Holmes General Store.

Joseph Holmes originally acquired the store in 1870. Doris Holmes opened the current version of the store in 1976. It was always her dream to open an antique store but according to her son Lyman who runs it now, “she hated to part with any of the merchandise.” His grandfather, by the same name, ran the family store until 1958 when it was closed.

As to the canal itself, it was closed in 1898 as the D&H Railroad, a reorganization of the original canal company, obviated its usefulness. As time marched on, the interstate highways made the railroad equally obsolete.

After the opening of Route 17 in 1958, cars that had once streamed through town on Old Route 17 on Friday nights bound for the Catskills took the faster route leaving Wurtsboro to languish into what Holmes refers to as “tumbleweed.”

But today’s visitors to the village have ready access to fine restaurants and stores. Historically speaking, Danny’s restaurant and bar, built in 1814, is the town’s most famous eatery. Other eateries include Benny’s Mexican Restaurant, Café Ilori, Café Perrelli, Giovanni’s Inn, Uncommon Grounds Coffeehouse, The Potager, The Hotel Tavern, Kowloon Chinese Restaurant, Coal and Steam Restaurant and Jim’s Family Diner.

In addition to the Canal Town Emporium, shoppers can peruse gifts or get gardening advice from Pat and Mickey Lanza. Pat is the author of “Lasagna Gardening,” an innovative, gardenbed-creation technique that she invented.

Marcia and Patrick Hamil own the delightful Hamill’s Antiques, located at the lower end of Sullivan Street, which was once the post office. Their shop contains an eclectic array of antique glassware, silverware, furniture and memorabilia. In addition to finding great buys, a conversation with Patrick about his life as a young man in New York City is well worth the visit.

While in Wurtsboro, you can frequent D&R Pet Grooming and Supplies, the Catskill Hiking Shack, Wurtsboro Hardware, Mom and Pop’s Variety Store, Wurtsboro G Mart and the Wurtsboro Village Market. In addition, on 2nd Street and Sullivan, you can shop at the Wurtsboro location of the Sullivan County Area Farmers’ Market on Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

A visit to Wurtsboro on fair day will provide all the fun and excitement of a great street fair. Coming to town on any other day will afford an opportunity to experience the delightful ambience of small town life the way it was meant to be.