People of the Lost Hamlets
This page will introduce you to just a few of the many people displaced by the Rondout Reservoir. As construction proceeded, the New York City Board of Water Supply issued condemnation notices to confiscate properties as required, allowing folks to remain in their homes as long as possible. In a 1936 interview, James D. Sheils predicted that area residents would not go far. "A lot of people in the valley couldn't be induced to leave this section," he said. "You'll see. They'll stay as close to home as they can."
The construction of the Rondout Reservoirdisplaced over 250 families, some of whomhad resided in the valley for generations. Even the remains of their ancestors were removed from the cemeteries and buried elsewhere.“That will be the bitterest pill of all for the old-timers,” said Dr. Urban T. Kemble. “Their loved ones – to have to move them after all these years of peace.”
Dr. Kemble was a country doctor living in Eureka. He always kept a bag packed and ready for the call to attend to an ailing patient, travelling in all sorts of weather to deliver babies and treat the sick. In the winter, he would walk on snowshoes or ride in a sleigh pulled by a team of oxen or horses. Often paid in potatoes, corn or venison in lieu of cash, he was the only doctor in the Lackawack valley.
Before building his house in Eureka, Dr. Kemble lived by camping on the site. When the reservoir construction forced them from their home, he and his wife Myrtle would relocate to Hurley, New York.
Will Evans was the Lackawack blacksmith in horse & buggy days. He operated a gas station andgeneral store when the automobilereplaced the horse in town. In a 1938interview by the New York Telegram, Will's wife Lizzie wondered where they would go, after living in the home they built in Lackawack for 32 years. Their new residence would be Woodbourne, where both Will & Lizzie lived to be age 93.
Nellie Sheeley Hornbeck also wondered where she would go; the Sheeley family were among the earliest settlers of Eureka. The Hornbecks would eventually move to Grahamsville when the dam construction forced them out of Eureka.
Nellie's husband Grover Cleveland Hornbeck was a renowned local fiddler & guitar player. His music is among that recorded in Dances from Woodland: Square Dances from the Catskills, at Woodland Camp, Phonecia, NY, by Norman Cazden. Hornbeck operated a garage in Eureka since 1906 and owned the first automobile in the valley.
Jim McDoll was a lifelong resident of Lackawack who worked in many trades. He worked in tanneries and as foreman of the excelsior mill which made "Yankee feathers," pine tree bark shavings used as packing material, and it was said that he could farm a rockpile.
McDoll spent eleven years employed by BrooklynAlderman Thomas Sheils managing his horse farm: Grand View Farm and racetrack in Montela, pictured above. 73-year-old Jim spoke in his 1938 interview about Tom Sheils' involvement in the Tammany Hall "Boodle" scandal, in which he was among 25 politicians indicted for taking bribes to award a bridge contract in New York City. Sheils was never convicted and maintained his honesty to the end.
Lorin and Cora Wright in front of their Lackawack residence in 1936. Residents of Lackawack since at least 1900, the Wrights would relocate to Napanoch when forced from their farm by the dam construction.
After 30 years as Lackawack postmaster, Albro H. Brown locks the door of his general store and post office for the final time. He was transferred to Ellenville.