MAMAKATING – Installation won’t come without the go-ahead, and that’s exactly what the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project had in mind last Tuesday evening as they presented before the Town Board. The message was clear: Founder and Project Director Marisa Scheinfeld and Public Relations and Visual Coordinator Isaac Jeffreys were looking to find a home for their Mamakating-area Marker, with their sights on the Mamakating Historical Society Building lawn as an ode to the region’s longstanding role in the famed Catskills resort era.

Standing beside Jeffreys, Scheinfeld addressed the board, detailing the mission of the project, which aims to preserve and celebrate the cultural, social, and historical impact of the Borscht Belt, a large handful of resorts, hotels, and bungalow colonies that flourished and defined Sullivan and Ulster counties through much of the 20th century.

Scheinfeld stated that the Borscht Belt once encompassed more than 535 hotels and roughly 50,000 bungalow colonies that provided leisure, a welcoming community, and cultural refuge for largely American Jewish families who were usually barred from other vacation destinations back in the early 1900s.

“This area became a real renaissance and a real place of refuge,” Scheinfeld told the board, highlighting that the era had a lasting influence not just on Catskills life, but on American culture as a whole.

With their roots tracing back to their 2022 establishment, the Project installs large, double-sided historical markers dotted across accessible public locales throughout the county. These descriptive markers highlight the local history of a town, as well as their influence on the broader Borscht Belt era.

On the markers are photographs and QR codes that direct visitors to additional digital content, all the while blending traditional historical interpretation with modern technology.

Scheinfeld stated that the Markers’ locations are chosen deliberately, focusing on high-traffic areas, rather than along roadways where they may be difficult to read or at risk of removal. Each marker is completely funded from the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, all with no cost to the host municipality.

“The markers are gifts to the community,” Scheinfeld noted, emphasizing that their placement is intended to be permanent.

The markers aren’t just there to document Jewish history, they also shine the spotlight on the experiences of other minority communities who found opportunity and refuge in the Catskills, including African-American and Chinese resort communities. Their past markers have also highlighted labor history, women’s roles, cooperative movements, and notable cultural figures.

Since the project first started, 15 markers have been installed countywide, with five more adding to that batch this past year. Organizers of the events reported more than 1,200 people attending marker dedication events last year, which often include free public programs, lectures, music, and storytelling.

Now, Scheinfeld and Jeffreys are requesting approval to install a marker that recognizes the Wurtsboro, High View, and Spring Glen areas which (according to the Catskills Institute) once played host to 28 hotels and 50 bungalow colonies during the Borscht Belt era. They proposed a location on the front of the Mamakating Historical Society building in Wurtsboro, near Route 209.
Scheinfeld stated the location would help connect their proposed marker with existing markers in Ellenville, Greenfield Park, Mountaindale, and other nearby communities, further building out a countywide trail that they hope to complete before 2027.

The project’s long-term goals include creating a self-guided audio driving tour and developing educational curriculum for local students.

Following a round of applause from the public and Town Board, Town Supervisor Peter Goodman thanked Scheinfeld and Jeffreys on behalf of the board and expressed his enthusiasm for the proposal, he said the board would review the request and issue a formal determination at a later date.

“I don’t see that there’s going to be an issue,” stated Goodman, noting his appreciation for the project’s “great history (lessons)” and that they were “a really cool thing to see come into town.”