THE OLD LINTNER SWIMMIN' HOLE!

       The word has come down from on high that not only do our families lay claim to a town, but we have also been memorialized in the eyes of every kid who ever swung across the old Lintner swimmin' hole and dropped into the cool waters of Ostquago Creek near Ft. Plain, NY!

        Jeff Lintner notes that when his brother...

"...went to go see the town where our colonial ancestor settled in (Minden, NY), he was talking to some people at the local cemetery who spoke of a Lintner pond -- actually more like a swimming hole, probably more like a livestock watering hole, that kids used to frequent. He (the man in the cemetery) spoke of this pond being of average size with a tree and a swinging rope -- all the makings for a good time on a summer afternoon. I would guess that it bears no importance except that it must have been on a Lintner's property. But it does make for a good anecdotal story."

       "The "swimmin' hole" is located on land that was once the Georg Lintner (Lindner) homestead which dates back to the late 1700's. The Ostquago is a gently flowing creek with quite a bit of slate outcroppings. Just above the "swimmin hole" is a number of waterfalls created by these slate outcroppings.

       Since the "swimmin' hole" was located on Lintner property, it became known as "Lintner's swimmin' hole". Even today, townspeople in Ft. Plain use the hole for cooling off on hot summer afternoons. The townspeople still say "Let's go to "Lintners" and everyone knows they are heading for the "swimmin' hole".

       I was there a few summers ago and asked several of the townspeople why they referred to it as Lintner's and none of them knew except that for years everyone referred to it in that manner. I was in Fonda, at the Montgomery Co. Courthouse later doing land record research and came upon an old map of Minden township. This map shows the name of G. Lintner at the exact location of the "swimmin' hole"!

       Later that day, I was talking to the caretaker of the St. Paul's Cemetery in Ft. Plain and he confirmed that the hole was indeed "on the old Lintner homestead which dates back to the late 1700's but none of the Lintners live around here any more". I introduced myself and told him I was a descendant of the Lintner family. He confirmed the location on the map I had discovered and gave me directions to the "swimmin' hole".

       The location of the homestead is just off Route 80 one mile west of Ft. Plain. At the intersection of Rt. 80 and Spring Street, you take a left and follow the creek for a couple hundred yards. The creek is on the right side and the "swimmin' hole" is located about 80 yard downstream from the slate falls.

       I spent several hours with my wife and two sisters wading in the water of the creek and enjoying the "swimmin' hole". I also videoed the area, gathered a few stones, some soil and pieces of slate as keepsakes. As we were leaving the creek, we were greeted by a family from town with their children who were walking down the bank to cool off in "Lintner's swimmin' hole".

       It was quite an experience to walk on ancestoral ground and know that even though the family no longer lives at Ft. Plain, the family name is still very much a part of the community as townspeople head to "Lintner's".

       Georg Lintner was my gggg grandfather. He and a number of his family are buried just west of this location at the top of Goat Hill, on Pickle Hill Road at the site of the old Geisenberg Cemetery now a part of the Cronkhite farmhouse yard."