There was quite a commotion in Sullivan County government circles in the spring of 1930, as officials came to grips with a surprising revelation: the village of Monticello had supplanted the village of Liberty as the most populous in the county.

Census figures released that spring revealed that Monticello had grown by 1,120 residents since the 1920 census, and had a population of 3,450, while Liberty, which had been number one in population in the county since surpassing the County Seat in 1900, had added just 968 residents in the decade, and fell to second place with a population of 3,427.

These population shifts were not uncommon. Prior to 1900, Monticello had consistently been the largest population center in the county since the county’s formation in 1809. But other than the top spot, there was considerable change in the other positions as the county evolved, impacted first by the growth of the D&H Canal, and then by the tanning industry and then the railroads.

For example, in 1858, at a time when the Canal was thriving, tanning had begun to take hold, and the Erie Railroad, but not the O&W or the Monticello & Port Jervis, had begun to influence the economy, a list of the top ten population centers in the county looked very different than it would in 1870.

The Republican Watchman reported in its June 2, 1858 edition that Monticello was the largest community in the county, with a population of 629. Wurtsboro, buoyed by its prominent position on the D&H Canal, was second at 492, and Jeffersonville, which had recently seen the arrival of a large number of German immigrants, was third at 423. Liberty was fifth in 1858, ranking just behind Bloomingburg, which had one more than Liberty’s 364.

The next five communities on the list included Phillipsport, the sixth largest community with a population of 294, Narrowsburg (277), Cochecton (269), Mongaup Valley (250) and Thompsonville (250).

Other significant population centers in 1858 included Cochecton Center (209); Callicoon Depot (207), Fallsburgh, Grahamsville, and Woodbourne (200 each).

Phillipsport was a major freight forwarding center on the D&H, while Narrowsburg and Cochecton had become stations on the Erie line. Mongaup Valley, Cochecton Center, Fallsburg, and Woodbourne meanwhile were boosted by the growth of tanneries nearby.

According to population figures compiled by Hamilton Child for his Gazetteer and Business Directory, by 1870, Monticello had grown to 1,000 residents, and remained the largest community in the county. Wurtsboro, with a population of 650, remained at number two, but Liberty had grown to 600 and stood at number three, followed by Jeffersonville (500), and Douglas City (450).

Phillipsport stood in sixth place with a population of 400, Narrowsburg (338) was seventh, Homowack (320) eighth, and Mongaup Valley, Callicoon Center, and Bloomingburg (300) next. Other significant population centers in 1870 included Barryville (259), Youngsville (250), Grahamsville (250), and Morsston (250).

Of course, the arrival of two railroads through the center of Sullivan County in the early 1870s and the demise of the tanning industry in 1880s and the D&H Canal in the 1890s, was about to change everything.

The county’s population in 1870 stood at 34,550, but primarily due to the end of the tanneries, it declined in both the 1880 and 1890 censuses. It would not exceed its 1870 high, in fact, until 1930.

The first census that counted Liberty as an incorporated village (the county’s fourth) was in 1880, and it revealed that 478 residents resided within the village limits. At that point, Monticello’s population had grown to 941. But, possibly due to the growing impact of the O&W Railway, Liberty underwent phenomenal growth over the next 20 years, reaching a population of 734 in 1890, and 1,760 by 1900. Meanwhile, Monticello, forced to make do with just a short line connection to the Erie Railroad, saw its population grow at a much smaller rate during that 20-year period, and by 1900 it stood at just 1,160. That was the first time Liberty was officially the largest village in the county, and it remained so until the 1930 census.

The 1930 blip notwithstanding, Liberty was back on top of the heap again in the 1940 census, when it was listed as having a population of 3,788 while Monticello stood at 3,737.

A story in the July 11, 1940 edition of the Liberty Register that reported those numbers also noted that the 1940 census revealed that Acidalia was the smallest community in Sullivan County.

“The smallest populated village in the county is Acidalia, in the extreme western part of the county, a once thriving wood acid making center which now has but three residents, all of them women,” the Register reported.

By 1950, Sullivan County’s population had surpassed 40,000 for the first time at 40,731, and the population of the village of Liberty stood at 4,658 while Monticello’s was 4,223. Ten years later, Liberty’s population had reached 4,704, while Monticello increased by 23.7 percent to 5,222, making it once again the largest village in the county. It has maintained that position ever since.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.