Mamakating is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the southeastern section of

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in th ...

, United States. The population was 12,655 at the 2020 census.

History

Johanis Hardenburgh, a resident of Kingston, Ulster County, had purchased a large tract of land known as the Hardenburgh Patent in 1706. This land and another patent known as the Minisink Patent were what is now most of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and Sullivan Counties. The town of Mamakating was organized on December 17, 1743, as the Precinct of Mamakating in

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

, and was coextensive with what became Sullivan County. Some say it was called Mamacotten. Over decades, the precinct was partitioned into towns. The Town of Mamakating is considered the first town in Sullivan County; its first county seat was raised in the village of Bloomingburg in 1809. During the early and middle 18th century the construction of forts all along the

Old Mine Road Old Mine Road is a road in New Jersey and New York said to be one of the oldest continuously used roads in the United States of America. At a length of , it stretches from the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the vicinity of Kingsto ...

(today

US 209 U.S. Route 209 (US 209) is a long U.S. Highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. Although the route is a spur of U.S. Route 9, US 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, coming within five miles of ...

) was undertaken to protect the European settlers' continued expansion and capture of Native land. There were three forts built in Mamakating. Fort Westbrookville was built in 1750 on what is now the Sullivan and Orange county border and until several years ago it was a restaurant. In 1757 a fort was built north of the village of Wurtsboro and it was called Fort Devans. A building was later added to make it larger and it is now owned by the operators of Wurtsboro Airport. Another fort was built on the east side of the Bloomingburgh Mountain. It was called Fort Roosa and was built in 1731. It is still standing and is considered the oldest building in Sullivan County. Many people traveling the old mine road from Kingston found land that was good for planting crops, plenty of game to hunt, streams filled with fish, and virgin trees to build homes. They decided that it was a good place to settle down and raise a family. Following the end of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Mamakating was reduced in size by formation of Deerpark, Orange County, and Lumberland in 1798. Mamakating was reduced to its present borders by formation of Thompson in 1803 and contributing a part to Forestburgh in 1837. In 1788 the first school in Sullivan County was built in Bloomingburg. In 1825 two brothers by the name of Wurts decided to build the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...

. It carried coal from Pennsylvania to the people in New York City. The first canal boats loaded with coal arrived at the Hudson River in November 1828. On their return trip they brought back many of the things that were needed by the people of Sullivan County. By doing this, the canal made money each way on their trip. The D and H Canal helped bring prosperity to Mamakating and all of Sullivan County. In 1899 the railroad came and marked the beginning of the end for the D and H canal. In recent years there has been an effort by interested citizens of Sullivan County to save what is left of the D and H canal. There are many places where you can see what the D and H looked like. One is on the line between Summitville and Phillipsport where a lone stretch of the canal and the towpath, along with a dry-dock have been cleaned up. The county has posted signs explaining the various parts of the canal. There are many historic places in Mamakating, one of the most important of which is the grave of Manual Gonsalus, the first European immigrant. His tombstone is dated April 18, 1752. Other historic places are the Phillipsport United Methodist Church built in 1823 and the Bloomingburg Reformed Church built in 1820 and now a county historic landmark. There is also an old cemetery located north of Wurtsboro called the Stanton Cemetery where many of the oldest settlers are buried. This is a popular place for genealogy hunters looking to locate links to their past. Up on the east mountain above the Wurtsboro airport there can still be seen the remains of the old lead mine. Some of the lead mined there was used to make bullets for the Union Army during the

US Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded f ...

. In the early 19th century there were several hundred tanneries in Sullivan county with several in Mamakating. The leather from these tanneries was of superior quality and during the Civil War was used to make many of the boots, saddles and other leather goods used by the Union Army. In fact Mamakating tanneries, in the year 1850, produced 29,000 hides of leather from five water and horse powered tanneries. The town of Mamakating town board asked the town co-historian John Masten to form a historical society in the town of Mamakating. They took ownership of the old school building in Summitville and completely renovated it. Masten eagerly accepted the offer and today the building has an archive room, a great meeting room with many pictures and histories of all the areas of Mamakating, and many artifacts of our area. The Historical Society has about 165 members. The unique designation of "Mamacoots" has been invented locally referring to residents of Mamakating. It is a humorous combination of the original "Mamacotten" and the suffix "kuts."

Geography

The eastern town line is the border of Orange County and the northern town line is the

line.

passes through the town north–south, and

NY 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and runs east as a limite ...

(the future interstate 86) crosses east–west. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (2.37%) is water. The highest elevation in the town is , near the junction of Mamakating Avenue and Park Road in the

Mamakating Park Historic District The Mamakating Park Historic District is located on the ridge north of Masten Lake on the highest ground in the Town of Mamakating, New York, Mamakating, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a Catskill Mountains, Catskill vacation c ...

. The lowest elevation is , at the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with Orange and Ulster counties where the Bush Kill drains into the Shawangunkill.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 11,002 people, 4,153 households, and 2,936 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,629 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.96%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.14%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.33% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.89% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.77% of the population. There were 4,153 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was nearly about $41,726, and the median income for a family was $49,615. Males had a median income of $40,811 versus $28,329 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,451. About 7.2% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mamakating is organized under a town council government, with six council members representing specific wards within the town and a supervisor having a vote equal to any council member on legislative matters. A clerk, highway superintendent, and two justices are also elected.

Departments

Building Department

Local management of building permits and ongoing building projects within Mamakating.

Parks & Recreation

Made up of multiple department heads that each oversee many faucets of the town's fringes, such as summer camps, rental properties and employment within Mamakating's parks and related facilities.

Justice Court

Mamakating has no large or supreme court system, but is home to a local Justice court. The court handles issues such as traffic infringements, small claims cases and payment of fines and surcharges.

Highway Department

The Highway Department provides maintenance, improvements and snow removal for Town roads.

Assessor's Office

Handles the release and collection of censuses and other important forms and dates throughout the business year.

Dog Control

Primarily responsible for dog registration and the management of stray pets within the town of Mamakating. For a full, official list of department heads and their related departments, as well as for reference, refer to the town'
official website.
''

Communities and locations in Mamakating

*Bashakill – a marsh in the southern part of the town. * Bloomingburg – a village. *Burlingham – a hamlet by the eastern town line. The Hart House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2006. *Culvertown – a hamlet by the western town line. *

Haven Haven or The Haven may refer to: * Harbor or haven, a sheltered body of water where ships can be docked Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Haven (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter), from the novel series * Haven (comics), from the ''X-Men ...

– a hamlet by the southeastern town line. *High View – a location by Bloomingburg. * Mamakating Park – a community northeast of Wurtsboro village. Built in the 1890s as a resort community and now listed on the

*Mount Prosper – a hamlet west of Wurtsboro village. *Phillipsport – a hamlet north of Wurtsboro on Route 209. *Roosa Gap – a location west of Burlingham. * Spring Glen – part of the Ulster County hamlet along Route 209 is in Mamakating. * Summitville – a hamlet north of Wurtsboro on Route 209. *Winterton – a hamlet in the southeastern part of the town. *

Wurtsboro Wurtsboro is a Village (New York), village located on U.S. Route 209 in New York, U.S. Route 209 in the town of Mamakating, New York, Mamakating in Sullivan County, New York, United States, near its junction with New York State Route 17 (which i ...

– a village. *

Wurtsboro Hills Wurtsboro Hills is a mountain range in Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors M ...

– a hamlet northwest of Wurtsboro village. * Wurtsboro-Sullivan County Airport (N82) – an airport north of Wurtsboro village. *Yankee Lake – a hamlet west of Wurtsboro village and adjacent to an eponymous lake.

References

External links

Mamakating, NY - Official town site

{{authority control Towns in Sullivan County, New York Towns in New York (state)