It may be difficult to believe based on life along the Delaware River today, but the area wasn’t always a tourist destination. In fact, in its earliest days, it wasn’t particularly hospitable to people at all.

One historian wrote in the late 18th century that “there was not a wilder, lonelier place on the whole frontier, a place where the wolves gathered by night, but men were seldom seen.”

The completion of the New York and Erie Railroad in 1848 changed all that.

Through the promotional efforts of the railroad, the entire Delaware Valley began to receive notice as a sportsman’s paradise in the 1870s. The earliest tourists came for the same reason people would later flock to the rest of Sullivan County: to enjoy fresh air, clean water, shade, and natural beauty.

While the resort industry in the rest of Sullivan County – that served by the O&W Railroad – would undergo a number of changes over the years, with the wood-framed Victorian, summer-only resorts of the Silver Age morphing into the Mission style, year around resorts of the Golden Age, things didn’t change much in the Delaware Valley. While the attractions of fresh water, clean air, and natural beauty were replaced in much of Sullivan County by big name entertainers and golf courses, nature remained the main draw along the Delaware. 

The New York Times reported in 1879 that it was only recently that the area north and west of the Delaware Water Gap had been noticed by tourists. The article concluded that because of the “wild mountain scenery, tumbling trout brooks, and fresh mountain air,” it appeared as if the Delaware Valley might soon be as popular with tourists as the Catskills.

In July of 1880, the Times sounded an ominous warning to resort owners with an article headlined: “Neglected Summer Resorts,” reporting that the Delaware Valley was nearly devoid of visitors that summer. The article claimed that people weren’t traveling to the area because they weren’t being given access to the best hunting and fishing areas, and grimly noted that “it looks very much as if the Delaware Valley as a place of summer resort is destined to soon be forgotten.” 

Yet, by 1882, the paper was reporting that the mountain and lake scenery had attracted 600 people to the Upper Delaware, including 150 at Shohola and the Sullivan County highlands nearby, and another 150 at Lackawaxen and vicinity. In 1884, the Times touted the number of new resorts being built along the Erie north of Port Jervis, and specifically mentioned Sand Pond, “a few miles back of Barryville” as one of the finest sheets of water in the world, with crystal clear water and sandy shores and bottom. In1885, the Times called the area a “sportsman’s paradise” and singled out Eldred as the center of a growing resort industry offering “accommodations from $5 to $9 per week, less for children and servants.”

Eldred, the Times noted, “is a great resort for fishermen and hunters, with four lakes within easy reach and many trout streams.”

A July 2, 1905 Times article noted that Sullivan County resorts were planning big times for the upcoming Fourth of July.

“At Barryville, the early season activity is centered at the Crest Hill and Harmony Cottages, and the Side Hill Farm. At Eldred, great preparations have been made for the Fourth at Autenrieth’s Hotel, and many arrivals are expected during the next two days at the Arlington, Orchard Terrace, Minisink Farm, and Hill’s House at Highland Lake. There will be dances and special entertainment on Tuesday at Oakdene, Highland Cottages, and West Shore Cottage at Yulan.”    

By the 1920s, the automobile had reduced dependence on the railroad, and boarding houses and small hotels began to spring up farther away from the train stations. The Times reported in 1928 that fishing was still the chief sport in the area and that “such well-known places as Greeley, Lackawaxen, Shohola, Barryville, Yulan, Eldred, and Highland Lake” were popular driving destinations that year.

In 1934, the Highland Lake Inn advertised “modern accommodations, excellent cuisine, all sports and entertainment.” The nearby Lake Shore Hotel offered prospective guests modern rooms, sports and special rates, while the Glendella in Barryville advertised modern rooms, swimming, and tennis, all for $15 a week in June or $17 in July and August.

In 1937, Barryville’s Franklin House boasted that it was “ideal for your vacation,” with a tennis court, other amusements, and a lake nearby. It also hailed its German-American cooking.  Bertram’s Cottage in Highland Lake called itself “a cozy, delightful place,” with lovely rooms, a large fireplace in the living room, overlooking the lake, with fresh delicious food and all sports.   The Pinehurst in Highland Lake advertised that it was facing the lake, and was modern, with all sports, exceptional cooking, a grill, and dancing. Families were preferred, and rates were $18 –  $20 a week.

Jack Hensel’s Colonial on Washington Lake offered “handball, fishing, swimming, boating, dancing, modern improvements, accommodating 80.” Lewis Hazen’s Sunset Cottage on Washington Lake offered all modern improvements, sports, handball court, delicious American cooking, and special June rates. The Lake View Inn featured swimming, boating, tennis, dancing, and all sports as well as hot and cold running water for $18 a week and the Pine Grove Cottage in Yulan hailed itself as “a delightful vacation spot” for $15.

Even into the 1980s, places like the Tallwood Lodge in Barryville advertised itself as the “Shangri La in picturesque Sullivan County. Unwind or do your own thing in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. Modern rooms, international cuisine, lounge, swimming pool, pond, tennis, fishing, etc. canoe on the Delaware.”

No mention anywhere of big-name entertainment, golf pros, or Simon Says.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian and a founder and president of The Delaware Company. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.