Cushetunk is 250

By TOM KANE

COCHECTON, NY — The Native Americans called it Cushetunk. The settlers ended up calling it Cochecton.

In 1754, a group of people from Connecticut settled along the Delaware River and developed a bustling community on the riverbank. It was part of the Hardenburg Patent, a gift of virgin land from King George I of England.

Now in 2004, 250 years later, Cochecton residents are having an anniversary party to mark the occasion.

Members of the Cochecton Preservation Society gathered for their June meeting to discuss the celebration, which will be held on Saturday, August 21.

The epicenter of the anniversary celebration will be at the restored Cochecton railroad station on Route 97. The old station building, once located at the present-day hamlet of Cochecton, was dismantled, moved and assembled on a five-acre location a few miles away.

“The station, the oldest in New York State, will host a cluster of events, entertainment, foods, personalities and other activities of interest all day long,” said Larry Richardson, treasurer of the society.

“We’re also going to celebrate the first anniversary of the scenic byway,” he said.

The organizers of the celebration are planning to invite members of the Leni Lenape tribe, who were the original settlers. A time capsule containing all types of memorabilia from the past and items from the present will be buried at the site.

“For the next month, we’ll be gathering things to put in the capsule,” said Dottie Schlegel, secretary of the society. “We’re looking for suggestions.”

“It’s going to be a fun time for all,” Richardson said.

In other society matters, the group expressed its interest in being an integral part of the planning for the new visitors’ center on the site.

“We’re assuming that the society will have input on what happens here,” Richardson said.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey has promised a federal grant of $448,000 to pay for the feasibility study and construction costs of the center, he said. “It will be finalized when the federal budget is approved,” Richardson said.