Woodbourne, New York, Sullivan County. Catskill Mountains. Borscht Belt.
I found this very brief description, how Woodbourne came about:
...After the D & H Canal was built in 1827 settlers in the Town of Fallsburg only had to go to Ellenville to trade instead of the long haul to Kingston. The closest settlement in the town to Ellenville and the D & H Canal was Woodbourne. Up until this time Woodbourne had not been an important hamlet but that was soon going to change. Woodbourne was given its name by Gabriel Ludlam. In 1830, Mr. Ludlum had the foresight to see the advantage of Woodbourne’s location to Ellenville and moved himself and his law practice there from Hasbrouck. He was an ambitious man who had great ideas for the area. Although he fulfilled few of his goals, others later achieved them. Soon after the tanning industry was started in Sullivan County. In 1831, Mr. Austin Strong built a tannery at Woodbourne. Mr. Strong went into partnership with Medad T. Morss who later became the sole proprietor. The tannery would be the center of life in the village for 35 years until it burned in 1866. The hamlet of Woodbourne had the largest population in the Town of Fallsburg in the 1870’s when the railroad commenced."
THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FALLSBURG
By Judy Magie, Town of Fallsburg Historian
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