In 1997 the Shandaken Historical Museum and the Ulster County Civil War Round Table hosted Civil War Day at the Pine Hill museum in commemoration of the l36~ anniversary of the firing on Ft. Sumter. During the ceremony a camp fire burned, banjo music was played, numerous people dressed in period clothing, and four white canvas shelters were set up which included a display of items associated with life in a campsite during wartime. Kevin Umhey (pictured) gave a lecture on the war, with emphasis on the Grand Army of the Republic. The Museum maintains a permanent exhibit of artifacts related to Shandaken's part in wartime United States, as well as offering documents and papers related to wartime history.
The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel was indeed a grand structure, stretching across both counties of Ulster and Delaware. This structure, built in the heyday of the 1 9th century Catskill Mountain massive hotel boom, was one-eighth mile long, three stories high with livery, laundry, billiard room, bowling alley, tennis courts, croquet green, and contained the once famous Diamond Spring which flowed from a marble fountain of the hotel's rotunda. The Grand Hotel opened in 1881 and was totally demolished in 1966. Unique about the dual-county location was the owner's ability to accommodate customers during various alcohol-restricted periods by having a portable cart moved back and forth between counties!
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