Neversink, of course, is the name of one of the townships that make up Sullivan County.  And, there are several hamlets that constitute present-day Neversink -- including a new hamlet named Neversink that's located  just a mile or two from where Old Neversink (once called "Neversink Flats")  was located. 

Interestingly, Neversink Flats isn't the only lost community in the Town of Neversink!  Eureka, near Grahamsville, is another one!

A little history:

Here are the first few paragraphs of Hamilton Child's Gazetteer and Business Directory of Sullivan County, NY for 1872-3's write-up about the Town of Neversink:

NEVERSINK was formed from Rochester, (Ulster Co.) March 16, 1798.  Rockland was taken off March 29, 1809, and a part of Fallsburgh, March 9, 1826.  (The original act shows that the town of Neversink covered a portion of what is now Fallsburgh, Liberty, Callicoon and Fremont.)  The whole town is elevated, and the surface is very much broken and to a considerable extent covered with forests.  The principal elevations are Denman Hill and Thunder Hill, the former having an altitude of about 2,000 feet above tide, and the latter a little more.  It is watered by the Neversink and its branches; Rondout Creek, which flows to the Hudson, and Chestnut  and Lackawack Creeks, tributary to these;  Willowemoc Creek; Red Brook, and several small streams tributary to these.  It is a fact worthy of note that this town is the only one in the County in which there is neither lake nor pond.  The soil is generally a gravelly loam and is best adapted to pasturage.  The people are chiefly engaged in lumbering, tanning and dairying, though the two former branches of industry are receiving less attention than formerly in consequence of the gradual exhaustion of the supply of bark.  The town was early settled by tenants who have since purchased the fee simple.

The town covers an area of 41,989 acres, of which, in 1865, according to the census of that year, 17,993 were improved and 23,996 , unimproved.

During the year ending Sept. 30, 1871, it contained twenty school districts, in which nineteen teachers were employed.  The number of children of school age was 1,035; the number attending school, 842; the average attendance, 381; and the value of school houses and sites, $5,343.

The population in 1870 was 2,458.

Child identifies the following villages and hamlets within Neversink Township:  Grahamsville, Neversink Flats (the lost village that's the main focus of this collection), Claryville, Eureka (another lost village), Willowemoc, Unionville, Low's Corners, and Dewittsville.  Aden, Hasbrouck and Bradley -- actually located in neighboring townships but historically oriented toward Neversink -- occasionally figure in this collection as well.  

Between the Lakes Group has compiled a CD-ROM called "Old Neversink" with all the material on this page, plus much more.  

  for information about how to obtain the "Old Neversink" CD-ROM.

The Old Neversink project  is based largely on the collection of Eugene Cross and his wife, May Bonnell Cross, both born in Neversink in 1872.

Significantly, they had permanently left Neversink by 1914. Thus, this collection is at a point in time, little colored by subsequent events. 

Our objective is simply to provide a glimpse of Neversink as it was perhaps 100 years ago, give or take a few.   We hope you enjoy it.

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These cards are from several sources.  Postcards today represent much of what we have in color of Neversink -- regardless of the liberties the retoucher may have taken in making the picture marketable.  

Please click on the picture to see larger-sized

The photographs below on this page are from Mrs. Cross' general collection of photographs and tintypes -- the ones appearing here are the items that were not pasted into the albums that contained most of her photographs.  The complete contents of the three photo albums that held the bulk of her collection are available on the CD-ROM.

"Old Neversinkers"

Old covered bridge at Neversink, NY, near Aden

View of Neversink from hill in center of village

Another view of Neversink from the same site

Rock cut on new route 55, bypassing old Neversink Village

James Gorton Cross*, 1917

Neversink Dam core

View of Neversink before construction of the Neversink Dam

Merriman Dam core (Eureka, NY) (for car buffs, the auto pictured is a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr)

Neversink District School, circa 1917

Same Neversink District School, circa 1933

The Iron Bridge

View down the Neversink River from the "iron bridge" circa 1933

Village of Neversink, 1930s

A view of Neversink, probably from the 1920s, from the finger of land that today extends south into the reservoir.  The river at this point is flowing right to left, and the site of the future dam is intuitively obvious if one looks near the top of the picture, where the valley narrows.  Shown are the Iron Bridge, the Methodist Church, and many of the houses and store that made up Old Neversink.

Renno Cross* house, Neversink (1)

Renno Cross* house, another view

The CD-ROM also includes additional photographs from other sources, for a total of 210 photographs.

Want to know what names appear among the souvenirs, ephemera, newspaper clippings, and photographs on the CD-ROM?  to see a list.

Eugene Cross* was a Neversink native, born in 1872 (around the time the Gazetteer quoted above was compiled), who followed several careers over the course of his life (like many Neversinkers).  After 1910, he relocated with his family to nearby Liberty.  He was not unusual in that respect either.  

We have his complete diary from 1910.  Here are four dates (January 22 - 25); the tasks he notes depict a slice of life then that may not be what we would expect -- or perhaps we would!!  

Saturday, Jan 22:  Hired a household worker ($2 per week), and stacked lumber at a sawmill

Sunday, Jan 23:  Went to church, and was visited by W. Conklin and family

Monday, Jan 24:  Went to Monticello (County seat) as a juror, stayed at the Hotel Palm there, and roomed with one Norton White (evidently the old country inn custom of rooming with unrelated people was still in effect).

Tuesday, Jan 25:  Recorded a deed for one R. J. Cross* (?), and a mortgage for Higby Everitt* (his maternal grandfather).  (Not noted is whether he was involved in either of the transactions as a principal.).  Paid sixty cents to have his shoes half-soled.  Roomed again with Mr. White, and finally, attended the County Board of Supervisors' meeting.

Images of every page of Eugene Cross' diary for 1910 are on the CD-ROM, along with an index of all proper names and other items the compiler considers significant.  The entries show a slice of life that reflects on many aspects of history and culture in that time and place.  An index of the full diary is provided on this website.  to see the Diary index. 

Neversink was one of the towns in Sullivan County that the New York Ontario & Western Railroad bypassed.  It's noteworthy in this diary to see the frequency with which the railroad figures in daily life when it didn't even run within the township of Neversink.  You could use the Diary to make a good case that the Cross family (and others) left Neversink because the railroad was NOT there.  

In 1872, Hamilton Child, of Syracuse, NY, published the Sullivan County number of his series of New York State county directories.  His firm had already done many of the State's counties, and the Sullivan County product reflected that experience.  Along with Quinlan's History of Sullivan County, Child's Gazetteer stands today as one of the essential source books for Sullivan County history.  

to read more about the Gazetteer and see a comprehensive index of the Neversink excerpt.

Anyone who has looked at much Sullivan County history has heard of "Quinlan's".  Originally published in 1873, and reprinted at least three times since, it is both a rare book and a definitive source.  We've taken the "Neversink" chapter for the Old Neversink CD-ROM  (it would scarcely be complete without it)  and have indexed the pages included in the extract.  

to read more about Quinlan's History and see a comprehensive index of the Neversink chapter.

Paper souvenirs filled many roles around the turn of the 19th century, ranging from funeral mementos to an early version of a school yearbook.  Here are versions of both. 

Other items, such as two programs for plays performed in Neversink, and a variety of newspaper clippings, are found on the CD-ROM.

A funeral card from the 1920s

Neversink Public School "souvenir" for 1904 (cover)

(These preceded yearbooks)

1904 Souvenir (inside page one)

1904 Souvenir (inside page two, with list of students)

1905 Souvenir

1905 Souvenir (obverse, with list of students)

Additional "souvenirs", newspaper clippings, and other paper memorabilia appear on the CD-ROM

Also included on the CD-ROM is a series of family groups based on material available to the compiler. While these groups tend to be concentrated in a few Neversink-area families, their connections through marriage extend throughout the township and into many neighboring areas as well.  Many of the people pictured here also appear in these family groups.  Please note that this is not intended as genealogical "proof" but will hopefully suggest avenues of research for those interested in Neversink.  Also included is are sections on where the families came from BEFORE Neversink.  Between the Lakes Group acknowledges with gratitude our debt to the compilers of the material.  An index is available.  to view the index.

to read some biographical information about May Cross, the collector of these items, and her husband, Eugene Cross, the author of the 1910 diary. 

to see some links pertinent to Old Neversink

There's also a Yahoo!Groups e-discussion group available.  You can join it; no purchase is necessary.  To join the discussion group, just send an e-mail to Neversink-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or

The "Old Neversink" CD-ROM is now available. 

Included on that CD-ROM are not only all the contents of this site but also  the entire Eugene Cross diary for 1910, and scans of the Neversink pages from Child's Gazetteer and Quinlan's History of Sullivan County, providing an interesting insight into rural life in America shortly after the turn of the twentieth century.  Also included are maps, additional photographs, genealogy, and various Neversink miscellany.  The price of the CD-ROM is $15.00 (CT orders please include 6% sales tax).

for more information about how to obtain the Old Neversink CD-ROM.

to learn more about the Sullivan County project underway at Between the Lakes Group.

if you would like to learn about our project on the Town of Fallsburgh -- adjacent to the Town of Neversink, and with many of the same family names present. We've got a CD ready on that locality, too!

to read about our republication of the complete Child's "Gazetteer and Business Directory of Sullivan County for 1872-73" -- for the first time with a comprehensive index.  It's now available!

for information about Quinlan's History of Sullivan County (1873) -- the authoritative history of Sullivan County's early years.  Yup, we've republished this one, too, in its entirety, and we've added a complete new index for your convenience.

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Thanks for visiting us!  We're continually expanding our catalog, so come back and visit us again soon!

This website was last updated 04/18/2009