Visiting Old West Hurley - “Old West Hurley Revisited: A Nostalgic Tour on May 25, 7-8pm

Presentation at: West Hurley Firehouse, 24 Wall St

The Hurley area of New York underwent extraordinary changes during the early 1900s to build a safe drinking water system for New York City. To create the man-made reservoirs necessary to gather the water for this endeavor, New York City claimed the right of eminent domain. Within the township of Hurley, the hamlets of Ashton, Glenford, and West Hurley were removed and the area flooded to construct the Ashokan Reservoir. The city condemned these towns, paid compensation to property owners, forced people from their homes, and cleared the land. Construction began on the dam in 1907.

Two cousins, Hobart Rowe and Allen Rowe, became interested in researching one of these former hamlets – West Hurley. The cousins contributed in separate ways to the preservation of knowledge about the town. Hobart Rowe created a scale model, which unfortunately does not exist anymore. However, the library does possess a videotaped interview with Hobart Rowe and slides of some of the homes. Allen Rowe’s research was compiled by his family into a book called “Old West Hurley Revisited: A Nostalgic Tour.” The book was formatted as an imaginary. tourist visit to the little village. This presentation by Kara Lustiber will act as an. introduction to these collections.

Hosted by the West Hurley Public Library and Hurley Heritage Society