Hiking to Doodletown -Exploring A Genuine Ghost Town
Details
Since we love Hiking, so why not Hike to w a True Adventure a REAL Ghost Town" "Doodle-town" What makes the this hike so interesting is the history of the area.
The name is said to derive from the Dutch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_language) Dooddel, or "dead valley", with the "town" suffix added later by English-speaking settlers.
Doodletown was an isolated hamlet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(New_York)) in the Town of Stony Point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stony_Point,_New_York), Rockland County (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockland_County,_New_York), New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York), United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States). Purchased by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Interstate_Park_Commission) during the 1960s, it is now part of Bear Mountain State Park (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Mountain_State_Park) and a popular destination for hikers, birdwatchers, botanists, and local historians. It is located north of Jones Point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Point,_New_York), west of Iona Island (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_Island_(New_York)), and southeast of Orange County (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County,_New_York). The former settlement is now a ghost town (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_town).
The settlement was a crossroads for soldiers during the Revolutionary War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War) during battles at Bear Mountain's Fort Montgomery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Montgomery_(Hudson_River)) when many hundreds of British soldiers marched through the tiny settlement prior to a bloody and significant battle with colonists. The Doodletown Road was used by troops accompanying Mad Anthony Wayne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Wayne) on his successful attack on Stony Point.[ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodletown,_New_York#cite_note-doodleto-2)
Early residents worked as loggers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logging) and miners (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining), and the remains of the mines are still visible today. There were also small farms and businesses. Others worked at the Iona Island Picnic Grove, a resort built on Iona Island after the Civil War. Around 1900 the United States Navy purchased Iona for an ammunition depot. In 1903 there was a severe explosion at the site, and a worker
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In the 1890s, Thomas Edison (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison) bought a defunct iron mine in Doodletown to test his proposed technique for an improved method of refining ore. Nothing came of his project, although several iron mines had been successfully developed and abandoned in the neighborhood at a much earlier date.from Doodletown was killed.
By the 1920s, the height of population for Doodletown, the settlement had a school, a church, several small businesses, two cemeteries and approximately 70 homes. At least several families had lived there for generations. Around this era, military and tourism-related enterprises on nearby Iona Island (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_Island_(New_York)) employed residents, as did the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Interstate_Park_Commission).
Members of the first family to settle in Doodletown during the 18th century, French Huguenots whose name was anglicanized to "June," were also the very last to leave it in the 1960s.
Other residences were maintained as second homes or were inhabited by retired people from the New York City area, and Doodletown's population thus reached its historic peak of about 350 residents
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The Demise
In its peak in the 1920's, Doodletown had a new, larger school, the finest building in the town. There were three primary roads, a lane connecting to Seven Lakes Drive, several dead end lanes, two working cemeteries, and approximately seventy homes. Many families like the Junes, Herberts and Weyants had lived there for generations.
BUT, Beginning ca 1921, and throughout the following decades, the Park began to expand its borders by slowly purchasing the settlements properties. Many of these properties were then rented out to Park employees. In 1962, the Park planned to build a ski resort where Doodletown was located. The residents were to be bought out. Some were relieved to be able to sell. At the time, homeowners were unable to secure home improvement loans, and buyers were unable to obtain mortgages, since the lenders felt that the town's demise was inevitable. Others, strongly resisted, and were threatened with condemnation through eminent domain. In early 1965, the last of the Doodletown residents had moved out. This included the June family, whose members had lived there continuously since 1762. Ironically, the ski resort was never built. The Park now owned all of the land, except for the two cemeteries. In 1966, the buildings were demolished and the debris was buried. The town was left to revert to its natural state, wild and largely overgrown.
The last remaining building, the stone school house, was kept as a shelter for hikers until vandalism caused the park commission to tear it down in 1980.
Today, many foundations, walls, and staircases are still visible. The area is accessible by various trails and former roadways. The town's cemeteries contain graves ranging from centuries old to much more recent years, as former residents and their relatives can still choose to be buried there. Steel signage has recently been installed by the park service, listing which families owned each property and often showing photographs of former buildings. Orientation signs are located at intervals throughout the area.
We will See the, sidewalks, cellar holes, wells, walls and foundations, with photos to show how they once appeared when lived in. Visit three cemeteries, including one that is "lost". Plus, explore its secret places such as the ancient Indian rock shelter, the Tree Nursery, Doodletown Mine, Edison Mine, the town's swimming hole, and secluded waterfalls. The tour rambles past a beautiful small reservoir, along old roads and paths, past pretty streams through beautiful woods, valleys and hills, with magnificent mountain views
35 min Ride each way-
PRICE is Only $ 23.00 pp
(rt transportation and a tip for driver included )
Walking Hiking 3-.5 miles Round trip w Minimal Elevations Changes
We need a guide because maps are not accurate w GPS
You should bring Water, Camera, cells phones, Comforting walking shoes and flashlights-
Questions? robbgill@yahoo.com
Thanks, Robert
Payments to
ROBERT GILLIGAN- PO BOX 184, Ridgewood,NJ 07451
or with Paypal