Roscoe is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

(and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) in Sullivan County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 497 at the 2020 census. Roscoe is in the southwest part of the town of Rockland, adjacent to

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

. It is named for New York Senator

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...

. Roscoe calls itself "Trout Town, USA." The town is a destination for fly-fishing enthusiasts because of its location at the intersection of two rivers popular for trout fishing (the Beaver Kill and the Willowemoc Creek). The community is a popular stopping point for people traveling along Route 17 (between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

) because the facilities are right by the access road to the highway. These include gas stations and convenience stores.

History

In 1789 Roscoe was called Westfield Flats. It was the home of the Delaware Indians, where wolves roamed freely. Roscoe, like most of the Catskills, was part of the Hardenbergh Patent in the early 18th century which in turn was purchased by the last

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was locate ...

, Robert Livingston. The first settlers were brothers who bought the area around Roscoe from Livingston's son Jonathan Livingston. Stewart Street is one of the community's main streets. On November 19, 1916 a devastating fire destroyed 23 buildings in town, mostly along Stewart Avenue. Over 100 firefighters came from Livingston Manor and

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

to help control the flames, but after firefighters lost water pressure they were unable to do very much. The

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

was spared. During the construction of

(Southern Tier Expressway), the section near Roscoe was one of the last to be completed, requiring travelers to exit onto the local truck roads for several miles. Roscoe is a frequent stopping point for those traveling Route 17 between

and Western New York. The Roscoe Diner is a popular spot both for students heading to and from colleges in New York State and for flyfishermen as well as locals. The

Dundas Castle Dundas Castle is a 15th-century castle, with substantial 19th-century additions by William Burn, in the Dalmeny parish of West Lothian, Scotland. The home of the Dundas family since the Middle Ages, it was sold in the late 19th century and is c ...

and Roscoe Presbyterian Church and Westfield Flats Cemetery are 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 ...

Despite being in Sullivan County, Roscoe is within

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

607 rather than 845 (originally part of area code 914) because an independent telephone company, known today as Citizens Telecom, furnishes the local service to Roscoe. This company also furnishes local service to the towns in neighboring Delaware County, whereas the adjacent towns in Sullivan County are serviced by

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

, originally New York Telephone and later NYNEX.

Geography

Roscoe is located at . 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 CDP has a total area of , all land. Roscoe is just inside the boundary of the

Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...

and is at the junction of Beaver Kill and Willowemoc Creek.

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 597 people, 261 households, and 157 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 314 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.14%

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 ...

, 1.17%

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 ...

, 1.68% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 1.84% 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 2.01% of the population. There were 261 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.96. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $45,577. Males had a median income of $41,618 versus $19,500 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 CDP was $17,307. About 2.1% of families and 4.8% 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 none of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Joan Wulff, "America's First Lady of Fly Fishing" * Eric Banks, composer and choral conductor * Russ Hodge, former American track and field athlete

Notable Attractions

*Roscoe O&W Railway Museum *Tennanah Lake

References

External links

Roscoe, NY, Chamber of Commerce

{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Sullivan County, New York Hamlets in Sullivan County, New York