Tusten sesquicentennial produces walking-tour book and marker

By TOM KANE

	TRR photo by Tom Kane A historical marker and walking tour commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Town of Tusten. (Click for larger image)

NARROWSBURG, NY — A book that delineates a walking tour of Narrowsburg and a memorial plaque mark the Town of Tusten’s Sesquicentennial celebration, commemorating the town’s 150 years of incorporation.

The marker has already been placed in front of the town library and the booklet is expected to be published by mid-December.

The 64-paged booklet is the work of Charles Knapp, Jr. and Grace Johansen.

Beginning at the Narrowsburg Inn, the tour includes the restaurant, St. Francis Xavier Church, down Erie Avenue to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, to the former Odd Fellows Hall—present home of Frank Holmes and Gill Mackey on Grove Street– past the site of the old cigar factory which is the first half of The River Reporter building, to the former Oakland Hotel across from Narrowsburg Lumber and following that to the Commodore Murray House, back to Main Street to some old buildings there, and ending at Fort Delaware.

“The booklet will be small enough to fit in your pocket,” Johansen said.

The town received two grants from the Sullivan Arts and Heritage Grant program funded through the Sullivan County Legislature: one for $525 for the cost of the booklet and $300 for a marker.

“On December 17, there will be a special stamp cancellation held at the town hall from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon,” Johansen said. The cancellation will commemorate December 17, 1853 as the date of the creation of the town.

Both Tusten and Highland were separated from the larger Town of Lumberland on that day, she said.

At a date near the date of the EagleFest, organizers will seal up a time capsule containing town memorabilia.

“We’ll keep the capsule somewhere in the library,” Johansen said.