Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike

File:Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike marker.jpg in the town of Montgomery.]]

The Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike began on the eastern bank of the Delaware River in the hamlet of Cochecton, New York, where travelers could continue west through Pennsylvania on the Cochecton and Great Bend Turnpike toward Binghamton. This turnpike became the basis for modern PA 371. From Cochecton, the turnpike headed generally southeastward to the city of Newburgh on the Hudson River{{cite book |last=Blackman |first=Emily C. |title=History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofsusqueh00blac |accessdate=December 16, 2010 |year=1873 |publisher=Claxton, Remsen, and Haffelfinger |location=Philadelphia |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofsusqueh00blac/page/510 510] |chapter=The Newburgh Turnpike}} by way of Monticello and Wurtsboro.{{cite book |last=Adams |first=Arthur G. |title=The Catskills: An Illustrated Historical Guide with Gazetteer |url=https://archive.org/details/catskillsillust00adam |url-access=registration |accessdate=December 17, 2010 |date=November 1, 1990 |publisher=Fordham University Press |isbn=978-0-8232-1300-9}} The old turnpike path roughly corresponds to what is now CR 114 from Cochecton to Fosterdale, NY 17B between Fosterdale and Monticello,{{cite map |title=New York State Map |publisher=I Love New York |year=2009 |cartography=Map Works}} CR 173, CR 172, and CR 171 from Monticello to Bloomingburg,{{cn|date=May 2021}} and NY 17K between Bloomingburg and Newburgh. The Quickway (NY 17) closely parallels the old turnpike alignment between Monticello and Bloomingburg.

On March 20, 1801, the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company was established,{{cite book |last1=Quinlan |first1=James Eldridge |last2=Antisell |first2=Thomas |title=History of Sullivan County |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEkVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |accessdate=December 16, 2010 |year=1873 |publisher=Beebe, G. M.; Morgans, W. T. |location=Liberty, New York |page=11 |chapter=Introduction}} tasked with building a road from the Delaware River at Cochecton to the then-village of Newburgh. The company's initial funds came from the village of Newburgh and area residents, who allocated $126,000 to the new company.{{cite book |author=Newburgh Daily Journal |chapter=History of Newburgh |title=The Newburgh Centennial: 1783–1883 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924032745592 |accessdate=December 16, 2010 |year=1883 |publisher=Ritchie and Hull |location=Newburgh, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924032745592/page/n60 55]}}{{cite book |editor-last=Nutt |editor-first=John J. |title=Newburgh: Her Institutions, Industries and Leading Citizens |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924100417199 |year=1891 |publisher=Ritchie and Hull |location=Newburgh, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924100417199/page/n64 59] |chapter=Stepping Stones in a City's Growth}} These funds were used to construct the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike in 1810. The construction of the toll road caused the area surrounding the highway to quickly grow in size. At its west end, the influx of workers led to the creation of Sullivan County in 1809. To the east, the traffic generated by this and other turnpikes sparked a similar period of growth and prosperity in the village of Newburgh. The village became a city in 1865.

The turnpike served as the area's main transport route until 1871, when it was replaced in purpose by the Middletown and Crawford Railroad.{{cite book |last=Meier |first=Fritz G. |title=Around Crawford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQ2KmbV02u8C&pg=PA8 |accessdate=December 16, 2010 |year=2010 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-7237-6 |page=8}} Ownership and maintenance of the highway was turned over to the towns it passed through in 1872, effectively dissolving the toll road. In the early 20th century, the state of New York took over maintenance of the old turnpike from Fosterdale to Newburgh, repurposing the highway as a toll-free state road.{{cite map |title=Official Map Showing State Highways and other important roads |year=1926 |publisher=State of New York Department of Public Works |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}} Two sections of the highway became part of state routes when the modern New York state route system was established in 1924,{{cite news |title=New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 21, 1924 |page=XX9}} and the entire Fosterdale–Newburgh highway was assigned a number as part of the 1930 state highway renumbering.{{cite news |last=Dickinson |first=Leon A. |title=New Signs for State Highways |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 12, 1930 |page=136}} The piece from Monticello to Bloomingburg was bypassed by the Quickway in the mid-to-late 1950s;{{cite news |title=Paving the Way to the Catskills |last=Ingraham |first=Joseph C. |date=October 19, 1958 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=X30 }} however, the rest of the Fosterdale–Newburgh segment is still state-maintained as parts of NY 17B and NY 17K.

• List of turnpikes in New York

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Category:Turnpikes in New York (state)

Category:History of Orange County, New York