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Introduction
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During the later half of the 18th century settlers from Connecticut and Massachusetts began
to migrate west beyond the older settlements that lay along the Hudson River. By 1792 areas in central New York State that
now lie within Delaware, Schoharie, and Otsego
counties began to attract many new settlers.
However, the rugged
topography of
the region, combined with accessibility problems, hindered any large-scale
migration. The routes of travel
to the western part of New York prior to the opening of the Erie Canal
primarily consisted of the Mohawk and Genesee roads
to Lake Erie or the
Catskill and Jericho Turnpikes. Both
of the latter routes crossed the |
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Catskill Mountains to the Susquehanna River. The Catskill route originally ended at Unadilla then called Wattles Ferry. The Jericho route commenced near the town of Kingston on the Hudson River and ended at Bainbridge then referred to as Jericho or Jerico. From here early migrants would follow the northern branch of the river to the Finger Lakes Region and the southern branch down into northern Pennsylvania and eventually to the headwaters of the Allegheny River at Coudersport, Pennsylvania. By 1808 the Catskill Turnpike had extended an additional 70 miles from Bainbridge to Ithaca, New York and still later the road known as the Catskill Turnpike had advanced west for another 50 miles to the Cohocton River at Bath, New York. The entire route of the road known as the “Catskill Turnpike” actually encompasses two distinct roads chartered by the State of New York. The first an oldest section is more correctly known as the “Susquehanna Turnpike” which formally came into being when the state assembly passed an act in |
Map of the Catskill Turnpike Click on the thumbnail map to view a full-sized image |
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1790 authorizing construction of a road from the Hudson River to the Susquehanna River. Later the road was authorized as a turnpike corporation by an act of Legislature passed April 1st 1800. The western part of the Old Catskill Turnpike also known as the “Jericho-Bath Turnpike Extension” was established as a public highway by an act of the legislature in 1804. |
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Road Trip
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If you have traced your
18th or 19th century ancestors to any of the counties
listed below it is quite possible that they traveled to that location along
this migration route. Therefore you
may find additional relevant information about your ancestral lineages by
taking the following road trip through these localities. |
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COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
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Albany
County, NY (1) Broome County, NY
(2,3) Chemung County, NY (3) Chenango county, NY
(2) Cortland County, NY
(3) |
Delaware County, NY
(2) Greene County, NY (1) Otsego County, NY (2) Schoharie County, NY
(1) Schuyler
County, NY (3,4) Steuben County, NY (4) |
Susquehanna County, PA (2) Tioga County, NY (3) Tompkins County, NY
(3,4) Ulster
County, NY (1) Yates County, NY (4) |
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Genealogy Road Trip
This “Genealogy Road Trip” is divided into segments that require
between 1 and 2 hours of driving time. The entire 165 mile journey should take approximately 4 hours to drive at 50 miles
per hour. Within each segment you will find links to
resources* that will assist you in planning a successful and enjoyable
experience. The following maps are
designed to show a close-up view of the counties and communities along this
migration route. Relevant county seats
are designated with a, beginning and end points of
each segment are noted with a and historical sites with a . |
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Catskill, NY to West Harpersfield, NY |
West
Harpersfield, NY to Coventry, NY |
Coventry, NY to Ithaca, NY |
Ithaca, NY to Bath, NY |
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SOURCES: (1) Wikipedia; (2) The USGenWeb Project; (3) National Register of Historical
Places |
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Segment 1
Catskill, NY to West Harpersfield, NY |
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Driving
Distance = 57 miles; Driving Time =
approximately 1.50 hours |
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Our road trip along the Old Catskill
Turnpike starts in the picturesque river village of Catskill at the Greene County
Vistors Center
located just off Exit 21 on the New York State Thruway (I-87. From here take Route 23B (Mohican Trail)
west towards Cairo. Continue through Cairo
on 23 B (Main Street) just out side of the village take the right fork to
route 84 which will become Lincoln Avenue and follow across route 23 the
intersection at Route 145. Turn left
and take route 145 through East Durham towards Durham. At
Durham turn left onto County Route 22 which will become County Route 20. Proceed on rt. 20 towards West Durham.
Between West Durham and Manorkill the road is also marked at Durham Road.
Just past West Durham you will enter Schoharie County. At Manorkill turn left
onto Route 3 (Potter Mountain Road) going west towards Conesville. At
Conesville the our route becomes State Route 990V. The Old Catskill Turnpike
follows along the Manor Kill Creek from here to West Conesville where it
empties into the Schoharie Reservoir.
Continue on Route 990V around the northern part of the reservoir to
the village of Gilboa.
Here you will cross the Schoharie Creek and continue to the
intersection at State Route 30. About
1/4th of a mile turn right onto CR 14 (South Gilboa Road). Just after you cross over the Bear Kill at
Mayham Pond you will intersect with |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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SR 23.
Turn right towards the village of Stamford in Delaware County. Follow the signs for SR
23 through Stamford towards Harpersfield. A few miles west of Harpersfield you will
arrive West Harpersfield and the end of the first segment of your road trip
along the Old Catskill Turnpike. |
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General
Profile |
Genealogy
& History Resources |
Historical
Sites |
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Segment 2
West Harpersfield, NY to Coventry, NY |
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Driving Distance = 55 miles; Driving Time = approximately
1.25 hours |
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At West Harpersfield turn left onto CR 33
(Bloomville-West Harpersfield Road) towards the community of Kortright
Center. At West
Kortright intersection our route will change to CH 12. A few feet past the intersection take a
left turn that will put you on Turnpike Road.
Eventually this back country road will become Elk Creek Road then
Catskill Turnpike Road just east of Meredith where you will cross SH28 and
continue straight on Catskill Turnpike Road until it intersects with CH 14
(Delhi-Leonta Road) near West Meredith. Turn right onto CH14 and continue
through Leonta where you will join SH357. Along this part of the route the
Old Catskill Road follows along the Treadwell Creek. At Leonta turn left to follow SH357 and
follow along the Ouleout Creek through Franklin and on to where the creek empties into the at the Susquehanna River at the village of Unadilla. Unadilla is located at the extreme southern
tip of Ostego County. After crossing the river the SH357
intersects with SH7 turn left here and go through Unadilla and follow the
signs through Unadilla towards Bainbridge in Chenango County. In the center of |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Bainbridge turn right onto SH 206 (West
Main Street) and travel through West Bainbridge and Coventryville to
Coventry. Your arrival at the village
of Coventry marks the end of the second segment of this road trip along the
Old Catskill Turnpike. |
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General
Profile |
Genealogy
& History Resources |
Historical
Sites |
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Segment 3
Coventry, NY to Ithaca, NY |
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Driving Distance = 50 miles; Driving Time =
approximately 1.25 hours |
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From Coventry continue on SH206 to the
village of Greene on the Chenango
River. (On your left just past Greene note right fork onto Turnpike
road. This is a remnant of the old
Catskill Road that is a dead end about ˝ mile in.)
From Greene follow SH 206 through Genegantslet. At the crossing of Indian Brook you will
enter Broome County. Just past Triangle see a road on your left called “Old
Catskill Turnpike”. (This
is another remnant of the old road that is barely Ľ mile in length before it
returns to SH206). Follow this road on into the village of Whitney Point located on the Tioughnioga
River. Here you will turn right onto US 11 north towards Lisle. (To follow the old road as closely as
possible turn right at Hemingway Road then left at Kales Hill Road to Dorchester Park on the east bank of the
Whitney Point Reservoir. Prior to the
creation of this lake the old road crossed over the Otselic River and
continued on to Lisle. To get around this body of water one must proceed
south on SR 26 to the bridge at Whitney Point. Once over the bridge turn right at US11
then turn right onto CR 77 (Keibel Road) to Johnson Hill Road on the left.
Unfortunately this road is now dissected by I 81 which will require another
detour. The west end of Johnson Hill Road can be found to the right on
US11just north of the bridge over the Tioughnioga River at Lisle.) Transition onto SR 79 where it leaves US
11 at the bridge into Lisle. Follow SR
79 along Dudley Creek into |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Tioga County and
through East Richford and on into the hamlet of Richford. Continue on SR 79 from here and cross over
the west branch of the Owego Creek where you will enter Tompkins
County. Here SR 79 is called Slaterville Road. Continue on this road through Slaterville
Springs and into the city of Ithaca, New York. |
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General
Profile |
Genealogy & History Resources |
Historical
Sites |
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Segment 4
Ithaca, NY to Bath, NY |
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Driving Distance = 49
miles; Driving Time = approximately
1.00 hours |
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Leave Ithaca via SR 79 (West State Street) which will transition
into Hector Street and then the Mecklenburg Road towards Mecklenberg and
into Schuyler County. At Mecklenberg turn left onto Turnpike Road
and follow until it intersects with SR 79.
Turn right and continue on SR 79 through Bennettsburg and into the
village of Burdett. In Burdett follow the
signs for SR 79 which will turn left onto Main Street. Continue on SR79 until it joins SR 414 near
the east bank of Seneca Lake. Follow SR 414 into Watkins Glen. At the intersection with SR 14, continue
straight across where the road becomes CR 28.
Just outside of town turn left onto CR 23 (Mud Lake-Hammondsport
Road). Follow CR 23 through Tyrone until it
intersects with CR 24. Here you will
continue straight onto CR 114 (Birdseye-Waneta Road) and into Steuben County. At the intersection
with CR 87 (Hammondsport-Wayne Road) turn left and continue on until CR 87
transitions onto SR 54 near the southeastern bank of Keuka
Lake. From here follow SR 54 through Hermitage
Cold Springs and on into Bath, New York located on the Cohocton
River. |
Click
on the map to view a full-sized image |
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General
Profile |
Genealogy
& History Resources |
Historical
Sites |
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Internet Resources
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The Google
search engine button
and following web sites may
provide you |
with additional
information to assist with your
research about this
topic. |
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·
Migration Routes,
Roads & Trails ·
Trails West
- TNGenWeb ·
Historical
U.S. roads and trails - Wikipedia ·
U.S. Historical Maps -
Perry-Castańeda Collection ·
Early
American Roads and Trails |
·
American
Migration Fact Sheets ·
Map guide to American
migration routes,1735-1815 ·
The Overland Trail
Links--Ancient Indian Trails ·
Migration
Message Boards – Ancestry.com ·
The
African-American Migration Experience ·
Migration
Trails – map of many U.S. trails |
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·
The
Catskill Turnpike in Stage Coach & Tavern Days |
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Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet |
about American migration routes |
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The
following Link
will take you to our library of genealogy reference books. Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and paths. In addition, there are texts that pertain
to ethnic and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books that will
assist you with your research. |
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This Link will take you to our |
collection
of reference books. |
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Image Gallery
During our research we have collected images and
photographs that are of general interest to a variety of historic American
roads, trails and migration. Some of
them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide
the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of
this topic as well as our ancestors past lives. |
Catskill
Turnpike milestone located at Franklin, NY |
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Use this LINK to see the “Image |
Gallery” that
pertain to this topic. |
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Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about
this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search page.
Enter the topic
you are |
searching
in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you
will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated. |
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About this webpage
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CONTACT INFORMATION -- Email us with your
comments or questions. We do
like to hear from others who are researching the same people and surnames. We
need your help to keep growing! So
please Email
us
your photos,
stories, and other appropriate information about this topic. RULES OF USE We only ask that if you have a personal website
please create a link to our Home Page. -- This webpage was last updated on
-- 01 October 2012 |
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