Port Jervis East End Tour

This was the site of the Old Main Street School and the Main Street Academy. The older, Old Main Street School, stood in front of the Main Street Academy, closer to Main Street. Neither building remains today, but the fenced-off triangular ... Read more

This is the site of the lynching of Robert Lewis in 1892.  Stephen Crane's The Monster is a novella based on the lynching.  He based the fictional town of Whilomville, the setting of a number of short stories, on Port Jervis.  There is ... Read more

This sign is in front of the home of the late Marion Rohner.  Marion Rohner is in the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest serving den leader.  This section of Kingston Avenue was named Marion Rohner Way in her honor as well for ... Read more

After the 1830's, freed slaves in Port Jervis began worshipping in the city.  In 1850, John Wesley Greene, a reverend from Goshen organized a Methodist Church in Port Jervis. in 1898, with financial help from the Port Jervis doctor, David ... Read more

The Monticello and Port Jervis Railroad was built in 1869 and 1870.  The 22-mile long line opened on January 9, 1871.  It followed the path of the Neversink River upstream to Roses Point, at which point it climbed the Catskills to Montice... Read more

McCathey's Beach, also called Neversink Beach and later Joyland Beach was at the end of Beach Road to your right. The Beach was named for Fannie Waymack McCathie and David Morrison McCathie.  David was the manager of the Boston Dry Goods s... Read more

Stephen Tietsoort built a grist mill at this site sometime before 1713.  The creek that once ran through this land was once called Clove Brook (not to be confused with the nearby northflowing creek which empties into the Neversink River), ... Read more

This is the house of Charles Brox, the German-born glassmaker, for whom Elks-Brox Park is named.  In 1866, Brox and William Pountney established a glass business nearby at Hamilton and Canal Streets.  In 1871, he and Wade Buckley establis... Read more

This drainage ditch was built between the canal and Gold Creek to divert water from the canal.  It begins south of the canal across from Maiden Creek, but it takes a much more direct path to Gold Creek than Maiden Creek had.  

It was commonly conveyed that Cahoonzie Street and the nearby village were named after a Lenape chief.  Anthropologist Robert S. Gumer, however, suggests that Cahoonzie was a corruption of Kehoonge, which was likely a Lenape place name. Â... Read more

This small neighborhood park connects Cahoonzie Street with Canal Street via a set of stairs at the north end of the park.

Canal Street follows the old route of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which first operated in 1828.  Although the canal has been completely drained in Port Jervis, you can still see the old bed along the D&H Canal & Gravity Railroa... Read more

Site of Glass Works started by Charles Brox and William Pountney

This is the spot were Maiden Creek once ran southeast to Gold Creek. Maiden Creek, like the nearby Brewers Creek was a creek with headwaters nearby at the southern edge of the Catskills and which drained into Gold Creek.  Over the years mu... Read more

Brewer's Creek, originally called Clove Brook, has since been dammed upstream to create Brewers' Reservoir (or Reservoir #1).  Fred Redeker operated a brewery along this stream in the 19th century and then Deer Park Brewery operated here f... Read more

After William Crane's graduation from Albany Law School in 1880, he rented a room at 21 Brooklyn Street.  An eight year old Stephen Crane and his mother moved in with his brother in the summer of 1880 and stayed with him until the summer... Read more

A bridge was built on Orange Street across the Canal.  It connected the Brooklyn neighborhood to the south and thus receive the nickname of the "Brooklyn Bridge".  The picture here shows the bridge under construction.

This site was the location of the boat basin for the canal in Port Jervis.  Once the canal was abandoned, the basin became a popular spot for ice skating in the winter.