Chichester, NY | |
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hamlet | |
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| Etymology: from founder's name | |
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| Coordinates:42°06′06″N74°18′34″W / 42.10167°N 74.30944°W /42.10167; -74.30944 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Region | Catskills |
| County | Ulster |
| Founded by | Frank and Lemuel Chichester |
| ZIP code | 12416[1] |
| Area code | 845 |
Thehamlet ofChichester, New York, formerly referred to asChichesterville, is one of the northernmost communities in the town ofShandaken, being adjacent to the borderline betweenUlster andGreene counties.
The hamlet of Chichester, New York, is not to be confused with the city inWest Sussex,England. One difference is that, unlike the city ofChichester, England, the "i" in Chichester, New York, is pronounced like "eye" instead of a vowel sound such as in the word "chip".
The hamlet was founded in 1863, by brothersFrank andLemuel Chichester, whom the town is named after. The Chichester brothers were the sons of Samuel Chichester, the contractor who built theCatskill Mountain House.[2] They were looking for a good location to construct a furniture factory. When they found the right place, the workers at the factory began moving in the area surrounding the factory, therefore founding the company-owned hamlet of Chichester. Thenarrow gaugeStony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad (which would later become a branch of theUlster and Delaware Railroad) was built through the town in 1881.
As was customary in that time, workers were often paid with company scrip which could be redeemed in the factory-owned general store.[3]
The factory was later purchased byWilliam O. Schwartzwaelder, who was of German ancestry, and renamed the factory after him. The rest of the hamlet was starting to expand, all of the houses and buildings being built by the factory, as were the other buildings. There was one general store in the town, and sold such merchandise assaddles,animal feed, andhardware. There was also a post office and a schoolhouse in the town, the schoolhouse being a house at present.
The furniture factory went out of business decades later in 1939, a few years after the great depression, which devastated the business. The village, at the time comprising 44 houses and buildings, was put up for auction on October 28, 1939.Joseph Day was the auctioneer. The houses and building of hamlet were purchased at the auction,[4] and it has been in the hands of private owners ever since the auction.
Chichester is within theCatskill Park, and is situated in a mountainous valley. The northern portion of the hamlet bordersGreene County, directly south of the hamlet ofLanesville.
There are two major creeks that run through the hamlet. These are theStony Clove Creek, which starts atNotch Lake inEdgewood, andWarner's Creek, which also starts in Edgewood. The two creeks there, however, are called by the locals Stony Clove and Ox Clove.
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