Milton Hardenbergh, the first of the Hardenbergh family to come to the Beaverkill valley. Enlargement

The history of the Hardenbergh family [spelling note] in America begins about three hundred years ago. One of the earliest recorded members of this extended family was Johannis Hardenbergh, who, on March 22, 1707 , purchased an immense parcel of land of almost two million acres from Nanisinos, the Esopus Indian, who was proprietor of extensive lands in Ulster County . The following year, on April 20 of 1708, British Queen Anne granted a land patent to Hardenbergh and six others for the property that was acquired from the Esopus Indians. Included in this massive parcel was most of what is now known as the Catskill Mountains , as well as the remaining lands owned by the Esopus Indians. However, it was a constant battle to attempt to survey the boundaries of the parcel, as surveyors were met by unfriendly Indians who made their work daunting and difficult. In 1726, and then again in 1746, Johannis Hardenbergh paid to acquire the marks of Indian claimants on a new deed to what he believed was already part of his patent.

Milton Hardenbergh’s Place

The Hardenbergh/Hardenburgh Patent was finally surveyed and divided among its shareholders into fifty-two “great Lots' in the year 1751, and for the most part, the Catskills remained a wild, untouched wilderness for another half century.

The name Hardenbergh surfaced again in history books in the late 1800s. Cornelius Hardenbergh, a descendent of Johannis Hardenbergh, served as supervisor of the town of Shawangunk and was a member of Ulster County 's Board of Supervisors. He worked to assist the county in acquiring tax-sale lands, but was not in favor of having the county pay taxes on these lands. He was elected to the State Assembly and continued his work to correct illegal or unequal assessments for tax purposes. In March of 1885, then-State Assemblyman Cornelius Hardenbergh introduced a bill that forbade the state to sell any of its land holdings in the Catskills, and in due time the lands which Ulster County had acquired through tax sales were passed on to the State of New York. Eventually, a bill creating the Forest Preserve became law. This bill provided for the protection and administration of the lands owned by the people of the State of New York , thus “saving” the future of the Catskill mountains . Indirectly, Cornelius Hardenbergh assisted in preserving much of what we now know as the Catskill Park .

Old Hardenbergh Home near the Iron Bridge, was sold in 1910. Enlargement

As far back as the early 1800s, the reputation of the Beaverkill for its trout fishing began to surface, and the Beaverkill Valley and surrounding areas were visited by anglers who took their fishing seriously. Private fishing clubs were started, and boardinghouses that catered to these sportsmen began to spring up along the winding dirt roads that followed the stream.

In 1895, a club named the Fly Fishers Club of Brooklyn began on the farm of Benjamin F. Hardenbergh. It was formed after a few avid fly fishermen from New York acquired a one-mile stretch of the Beaverkill at Craig-e-Clare that flowed through Ben Hardenbergh's farm. (Ben Hardenbergh, or B.F. as he was commonly known, married Clara Green. Their children were Ralph, Joseph, Linda, Blaine (who moved to Ohio ), Lividell and Mae (Hostler). The family moved to Margaretville where Ben ran a feed mill for a few years; however they later returned to Craig-e-Clare.

Frances Hardenbergh, taken at their farm in 1921. Enlargement

In 1896, B.F. Hardenbergh operated the Beaverkill House, which was listed in the Summer Homes magazine, a booklet published by the New York , Ontario and Western Railway to entice more vacationers to the mountains. The establishment was located about 3 miles from the railroad station and accommodated 20 guests, with free transportation if guests remained for more than a week. Adults were charged from $5 to $7, transients $1. Summer Homes advertised “a large club house on the premises, located on the bend of the river, with pure mountain air, table well supplied with fresh milk, butter and eggs, best fishing for many miles around. 2 miles to fish hatchery, telephone in house connecting with depot, have secured Berry Brook for early fishing.”

Saddle string run by Burr C. and Cammy Hardenbergh at the Edgewood Lake House, Cammy is on the right along with guests of the Lake House. Enlargement

The legendary fly fisherman Theodore Gordon, dubbed the “Father of dry fly fishing in America ” was known to have stayed at the Beaverkill House and often fished the stretch of the Beaverkill from the covered bridge downstream to the Delaware/Sullivan County line.

Benjamin's brother, Milton Hardenbergh, (December 31, 1847-1932) was the first of this branch of the family to come to the Beaverkill area. (There were two other brothers, Jonathan, Jasper – known as Uncle Jap, who lived in Liberty - and a sister Nancy Hardenbergh Wood.) Originally from Neversink, Milton married Frances Green, who was a cousin of his brother Ben's wife Clara. Milton was a logger and rafter, and was one of the last to run rafts out of the Beaverkill Valley . For many years, he was the caretaker for the Dundas Castle in Craig-e-Clare. Frances and Milton also took in boarders, and the notice in Summer Homes recorded that they “could accommodate 15 and charged adults $5.” The farm was located on the property that was eventually sold to the Schwaningers, later Margaret and George Renner's, across the iron bridge at Craig-e-Clare. While Frances ran the boardinghouse, Milton had a sawmill on the flats. It was an “up and down” saw, not the circular saw that is more common today. The whole mill was run by water power, as the Beaverkill flowed by the field on which it was located. There was a large house that was used for cooking, with the kitchen in the back and a huge dining room that seated up to 15 guests; and further down on the field a nice croquet court, with a sleeping cabin below.

Cammy Hardenbergh and his Ford, August 1926, at home. The house had belonged to Milton and Frances Hardenbergh before it became Cammy and Caroline’s. Enlargement

Milton and Frances Hardenbergh had three sons: Cameron Alonzo “Cammy”; Kennie, and Burr Cleveland “B.C.” or “Babe”. There were other children who did not survive infancy; and Kennie died as a 9-year old child after suffering from diphtheria.

Cammy and his wife Caroline had no children. They first lived near the Huggins place on Berry Brook, then operated a sawmill on a small piece of land Cammy bought from his father Milton. Cammy's mill, unlike his father's, was powered entirely by gasoline engine. While he started out on just an acre of land, he eventually acquired the rest of his father's property.

Cammy and the Ford 1926 Enlargement

Several of the Hardenbergh women were school teachers: Benjamin's daughter Mae, who taught school in New York City; Ella Lindsay, who first taught school in Cooks Falls, then was moved to teach in Craig-e-Clare where she met Burr Cleveland Hardenbergh and eventually married; her mother Anna Johnston, who was educated in Andes and taught school when only 16 years of age; and Ella and Burr's daughter, Anna Hardenbergh, who received her teacher's education in Walton.

Ella Lindsay and her friend, Denna Holly, at about the time Ella was a school teacher in Cooks Falls. She moved up to teach in the Craig-e-Clare school, which is where she met Burr Cleveland Hardenbergh, who became her husband. Enlargement

Burr Hardenbergh and his wife, Ella Lindsay, settled in the Pelnor Hollow area of Craig-e-Clare, the site of the present-day Seth Sternberg place. They had three children: Anna (born in 1913), Elwin (born in 1920) and Kennie (born in 1923.) These members of the Hardenbergh family were horsemen, farmers, and loggers. Burr was a horse dealer, and in an interview a few years ago, his son Elwin remembered that his father would travel “all over” to find horses, from Beaverkill to Walton to Unadilla. Burr trained horses and son Kennie remembered “some he'd take to boarding, and he bred and raised ponies and spotted horses. Most of the horses he bought had some sort of a problem when my father got them. People spoiled them. We rode and worked them, some were put in harness. We had some tough horses!”

Cammy, Ella and Kennie Hardenbergh with Kennie’s donkey in front of the house they moved to, now owned by Emory Campbell. Enlargement

“He'd start them out – Dad used to put a bit in their mouth, then tie a rope to the halter, and get them to circle around. Then he'd put a saddle on them, get them used to it, and then we'd ride them. Then just when they got to be good, he'd sell them! My father always sold the best horses.”

For a while, Burr ran a ‘saddle string' with his brother Cammy at the Edgewood Inn. The brothers would travel up to the top of the hill at Edgewood Lake every day to take out tourists for rides all during the tourist season.

Burr also had a farm with a number of cows and pigs, did some logging and generally lived off the land and ‘by his wits.' His daughter, Anna, was a crack rider, according to her son, Gene Smith. In fact, it was said that when an unsuspecting buyer came by to purchase or trade for a horse, Burr would put little Anna up on the mount, to show off how ‘well broke' the horse was, when indeed it was not the degree of training the horse had, but the fact that Anna was the best rider in the bunch and could handle any steed she was asked to ride.

Baby Elwin and big sister Anna Hardenbergh at the Beaverkill Mountain Farm house Enlargement

In addition to farming and dealing with horses Burr, along with other family members, worked on the construction of the magnificent Scottish-replica stone castle commissioned by Ralph Wurts-Dundas. At the time, Wurts-Dundas was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in America when construction began in 1910. His young daughter, Muriel H. Dundas, became the wealthiest heiress in the country after her father's untimely death in 1927. (It was said that Anna Hardenbergh was the only little girl who lived on that section of the Beaverkill, and was a favorite playmate of young Muriel Dundas on a regular basis.) Most of the Hardenbergh family settled in and around the vicinity of Craig-e-Clare, with Dundas Castle very much a part of their history. Anna told her son, Gene Smith, that the round stone balls perched on top of the castle gates were cut by her grandfather, Peter Lindsay, who had a talent for working with stone.

During those years, Burr's wife, Ella, ran a boardinghouse, as the train that traveled up to Roscoe brought scores of city dwellers anxious to experience the excellent trout fishing and the charms of the wild countryside. The Hardenbergh children grew up helping out at the boarding house and doing the farm chores, such as milking the cows, gathering the eggs, raking hay, and driving the horses. A favorite source of entertainment for their city guests was taking them on hayrides in the big open field just ½ mile up the hill from the farm.

Kennie remembered that as a child, the roads around Craig-e-Clare and Beaverkill were mostly dirt roads, and the Hardenberghs often traveled by horseback almost everywhere. Shopping would be done in Roscoe or in Beaverkill. They used to ride over Burnt Hill and through the Beaverkill Covered Bridge (through the back way) to reach the stores. While the horses weren't afraid of the bridge, they were afraid of the trains – it was still common back then for the old O&W ( Ontario and Western) to steam noisily into Livingston Manor and Roscoe, to unload its passengers of fishermen and summer visitors.

Expert horseman Burr Cleveland Hardenbergh, as early as his son Kennie can remember him (when Kennie was about 4 or 5 years old, dating this photo to about 1927-8) with his spotted stallion. Burr, or B.C. as he was known, was quite a horseman who bred the stallion and had several spotted foals by him, which he raised and trained. The stallion could do “tricks” and Burr is demonstrating how he would have the horse run in circles one way, then turn and run the other way on command. Enlargement

While Burr and his brother, Cammy, had a few “Model T” cars when they were younger, it was horses that Burr loved. Kennie and Elwin had many fond memories of those horses their father worked with every day, in particular a beautiful spotted stallion that he trained, bred and raised several foals by. Old faded photographs sparked vivid memories; some in particular brought wide smiles to their faces, as the brothers related story after story about horses – one that only their mother could drive, one that killed its mate in the harness, one that was struck by lightning, one that ruined a neighbor's rhubarb bed that young Elwin was paid to plow. In fact, another colorful story involved the family's first car – in about 1934.

“My father used to put the car away for the winter. It was a '29 Chevrolet, and the car couldn't make it up the hill to go home – we had to take the horses down that hill, have them hooked to a sleigh, then from the sleigh to the car – we'd drive the horses up the hill to put the car away for the winter – then we'd drive the horses wherever we needed to go!”

“Crack Rider” Anna Hardenbergh Enlargement

Burr had a number of good teams of horses, and used them to work on the town roads – in later years, Elwin also worked with his father and his horses for the town - scraping the roads, plowing, whatever had to be done. Since the dawn of the acid factory industry, horses had been used for hauling wood - logs, material, etc. in place of trucks, as in those days, trucks were few in number.

All the work horses needed shoes, and when the horse shoers couldn't come to their farm, Kennie and Elwin had to ride the horses to the blacksmiths' shops – there were two in Roscoe, one where the laundry is now, and one across from Trinca's – and in Livingston Manor next door to the Agudas Achim Temple. Large animal veterinarians were also in good supply. Elwin remembered Roy Johnston in particular, of Livingston Manor, who always had solutions for horse problems. “My father had lots of remedies, too, for heaves (a respiratory disorder) and thrush (hoof rot – he used Venice of turpentine with a sharp stick to reach the root of the problem.) He could tell a horse's age by looking at its teeth. He used to be like a vet, and helped anybody who had a sick horse.”

Anna Hardenbergh - good shot! Enlargement

Other memories the brothers had were of the Gypsies who frequented the area: “I was about 14 years old, I guess. Gypsies traveled through, dealing horses all the time during the summer. They weren't too bad. If my father had a lot of horses, he'd sell to the gypsies. They'd have their big gypsy wagon in the fields outside of Livingston Manor, (near the airstrip) and stay about two or three days. They would tell your fortune; they had all sorts of stuff. They'd be there for a while, then someone would call the cops and they'd make them move on,” Kennie remembered.

By the late 1930s, Burr and Ella moved the family from the farm they grew up on, the Beaverkill Mountain Farm, to the land now occupied by Emory Campbell, near Cat Hollow. In addition to his many horses and cows, Burr started a sawmill in that region, which was not far from his brother Cammy's.

Kennie Hardenbergh with little Gene Smith and a team of donkeys. Enlargement

Burr and Ella's daughter Anna grew up to be a beautiful young woman who, in addition to being an expert horsewoman, also enjoyed deer hunting. She was known for her skill with a rifle, and took many nice bucks over the years. Anna married Lauren Smith, who worked for the Town of Rockland . The couple had two children, Eugene (Gene Smith) and Sadie. Sadie, who inherited her mother's beauty, sadly developed leukemia as a child and died when she was just a teenager. After Anna's husband Lauren suffered a stroke in the 1950s, she went to work as a waitress in Roscoe to support her family. She lived a good long life and died at the age of 82 in 1995.

As Eugene (Gene) grew up, he spent a lot of time with his uncles Kennie and Elwin Hardenbergh, and was photographed often with them and their teams of horses. Eventually, Gene married Donna Bidlack, from Grahamsville. Today Donna is employed by Royal Wulff Products, a company now run by Doug Cummings and his mother, the famous fly caster Joan Wulff. Gene has worked for many years at the BOCES (Sullivan County Board of Cooperative Educational Services) campus in Liberty as the Supervisor of Maintenance of the facility. He is particularly interested in encouraging sports involvement with youngsters at the local schools of Livingston Manor and Roscoe – Gene's is a very familiar face in the stands as he and Donna attend many local sports events. Today the couple resides in their home on several wooded acres at the end of the Hazel Spur Road .

The beautiful Anna Hardenbergh Enlargement

Kennie Hardenbergh always retained his love of horses, and as he grew older, learned to shoe horses himself, and was able to earn extra money by shoeing as a hobby. He worked for a while at the Roscoe Feed Mill, and then for the Town of Rockland for many years. He is the father of five: Glenn, Jimmy (who lives in Florida ) Virginia Daus, Timmy, and Penny Roach. Kennie resides in Beaverkill in the summertime, and travels to the state of Florida for the winter.

Elwin Hardenbergh served in World War II during the entire war, and fought in two invasions, including the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines . He was a decorated veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star. After the war ended, he eventually bought a sawmill, a short ways from his Uncle Cammy's. He reminisced about the times when young Roger Lynker, his stepson, helped him log with horses: “Roger helped with cutting logs and hauling them to the sawmills. About that time I only had one horse to skid logs with. The horse, about 9 years old, was named Jack. Roger worked with him. Jack had been spoiled when he was younger, and when people would try to drive him, he'd run away. He was a little smarter than they were! I could drive him, though. I learned from my father (Burr) how to drive.

Elwin Hardenbergh served in World War II during the entire war. He fought in two invasions, including the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines. He was a decorated veteran, who was awarded the Bronze Star. Enlargement

“We had a log truck, and worked about 8 to 10 hours each day. We'd work till about 2:00 ; then load up the logs to take to the mill. We knew Old Jack used to run away and run home. We'd be skidding logs and had to watch when it got to be around quitting time – he'd run for home!” (much to young Roger's dismay). “We'd be working up by the cemetery in Lew Beach and he'd go down the back side of the river and over the hill. He'd never run down the road, though.”

Elwin passed away during the winter on January 18, 2005 , just a few years after our interview. Elwin was the father of Linda Hardenbergh, who today lives in Parksville, and Teddy Hardenbergh, who resides in the state of Florida . He was also the beloved stepfather of Roger Lynker, who provided these memories of his “old man.”

Roger was raised by Elwin from the time he was about 4 years old after his mother, Sylvia, and Elwin were married. Elwin had a quiet strength which his young stepson drew upon – and grew to appreciate as an adult.

He describes his stepfather as being “patient and kind. It took a lot to make him mad. He liked animals, and horses were always important to him; he took good care of them. He always did his own shoeing, could figure out how to do anything that needed to be done. He was always laughing and joking and had a good sense of humor.”

Sadie Smith with the colt she hand-fed, shortly before she died Enlargement

“In his later days he went from being a horse dealer to being a car dealer, would fix up cars and sell them for a good profit. He was 80 years old and still wheeling and dealing. He sold a car that he bought for little or nothing, fixed it up and then sold it for a lot of money. He was a cobbler, would take stuff that was complete junk and make it go, and was able to learn things about mechanical work. He could fix anything.”

Roger learned about the woods from his stepfather – “the way the old man worked in the woods is totally different than now. On an average day, he'd cut 6 trees, skid them out, roll them on the truck by hand and take them in. Now, one person can cut 18 trees in a day, cut up and delivered. The skidding equipment is much better. The job is totally different, you used to cut logs by horse and load them right there. Now it's different, the roads go back in the woods, and you can take a truck right back in.” Elwin worked with horses in the woods till the late 1960s.

Kennie Hardenbergh and a favorite team of spotted horses. Enlargement

Roger stated that there is “never anthing like being in the woods”, and he carries that love of the woods with him today, instilled by the fond memories of working with his stepfather all during his younger years.

Roger remembered that when the family first moved up to their home on the Beaverkill there was a cable bridge over the river for years, and his mother, Sylvia, always longed for a proper bridge. Elwin made the local headlines when he bought the old county iron bridge near Big Pond, and worked on it for a full year. According to Roger “He took that bridge from up near the Turnwood store and moved it; put it together on the land by drilling and bolting. He hired a crane for the day to swing it and set it across the river. He had no formal education but he was able to construct that bridge, and it was his legacy.”

The scene is pretty far away and difficult to make out, but the back of it said it was taken from the back porch “up on the hill” where Ella used to live. That would be the Beaverkill Mountain Farm, up off Pelnor Hollow Road, where Burr and Ella first settled before moving to the site of present-day Emory Campbell’s. The photographer thinks that the white building across the valley is the Beaverkill Church.

The iron bridge that Elwin Hardenbergh purchased still stands over the Beaverkill at the Hardenbergh property below Lew Beach . Ironically, the only other original iron bridge of its kind stands over the Beaverkill at Craig-e-Clare, near where young Elwin grew up. Roger had the original bill of sale for the bridge from the County to Elwin framed, and presented it to his mother on her birthday.

Roger and his wife, Debbie Edwards, lived for many years in Roscoe where they raised their son, Roger (who now lives and works in Livermore , California .) Roger owns a logging and excavating business, and Debbie serves as the Superintendent of Schools in Livingston Manor. The couple recently constructed a new home on Ragin Road , and has moved back to the Beaverkill valley, the valley of Roger 's childhood, home of the Hardenbergh families.