"The Heart of the Catskills"
A Brief History
The Town of Liberty was created from the Town of Lumberland in 1807 and was settled mostly by families from Connecticut and other eastern states. Around 1800 settlers arrived in Parksville. Lemuel Martin and Eber Hall are attributed to be the first settlers.
William Parks and his family arrived shortly after and started to build mills and improve the area. Martin wanted to call it Martinville but the settlers revered Parks more, and hence the name Parksville. Although Parks later moved to Ulster County, when he was 80 he visited Parksville, fell ill and wanted to be buried there. His grave and those of his extended family are in the United Methodist (formerly the Baptist) Church Cemetery behind the church, built in 1898. Fun Fact: The Baptist Church in Liberty is an offshoot of the original Baptist Church in Parksville. Another house of worship, the Tefereth Israel Anshei Parksville Synagogue, was built in 1907 and is the new home of the future Parksville Arts Center, a not-for-profit community arts program (Donations). Both houses of worship have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Parksville used to be a hamlet of the Town of Rockland, but the inhabitants decided to annex to Liberty because it was only 4 miles away. Parksville was originally a swamp, but became forested and dry. It is in a valley surrounded by hills. The Little Beaver Kill River and the Coddington Creek run through it. William Bradley built a tannery, and James Bush was a merchant and politician, investing in Bradley's tannery.
Parksville had shops and mills and was a bustling community. This was back in the day, in the early 1800's, when coffee was 36 cents a pound, a gallon of brandy was $1.00, and panthers roamed the hills.
The Ontario & Western Railway (the O&W) mainly contributed to the fast growth of the Catskills area in the late 1800's up through the 1930's. The railroad served the surge of building of summer hotels and houses. Parksville was allegedly the most popular railroad stop on the O&W, and became touted as a pretty village in the heart of trout country.
In 1904, Parksville was officially founded and in the early 1900's it was considered a peaceful, restful destination spot. Within two decades the hamlet had become so popular that it was no longer a quiet, peaceful place. Main Street was so clogged with throngs of people shopping that cars couldn't get through. There were listed 39 hotels and resorts in Parksville, later upwards to 100. After the Great Depression, however, many businesses failed. The large resort hotels still thrived - the Grand Hotel, Klein's Hillside, the Paramount, and Breezy Hill to name a few. The Young's Gap Hotel was built in the 1920's and was the shining star of Parksville. A well-known landmark, Young's Gap, named after a Liberty family, was made famous by the railroad surveyors. It thrived through the 1960's as a fun place to stay.
Unfortunately, over the decades there was decline. The popularity of the railroad through the Catskills diminished, and the last trains ran through Parksville in the late 1950's. Vacationers instead flocked to New Jersey and Long Island beaches, and the vogue of the Catskills waned. Air conditioning was introduced, and people didn’t have to escape to the hills to get fresh mountain air. The doors of those huge resorts began to close where there had been very successful night clubs, comedy acts, and indoor shopping meccas.
The highway Route 17 called "The Quickway" was built and ran through Parksville, parallel to Main Street. Much of the highway was built right over the railroad bed. The original Exit 98 was a stoplight (the only one on Route 17) which slowed traffic, and tourists would stop in the hamlet to explore. There was a brief revival of Parksville in the 1990's. A handful of enthusiastic business owners worked together to bring Parksville to life. Dead End Café, owned by Tom and Michele Caltabellotta, was opened in 1989 and helped to kick start new growth on Main Street: another restaurant, an antique shop, a coffee shop, a silk-screening studio, a tattoo parlor, a video store and a beauty salon, among others. A famous ice cream joint Fiddle’s Dari King popped up, and later Charlie’s Pizza.
However, around 2009, Parksville would suffer, again. Route 17 was going to be converted to Interstate 86 (I-86), and the stoplight removed. Most businesses in the hamlet pulled out when the Department of Transportation started constructing a nearly 3 mile bypass around the hamlet. Dead End Cafe stood firm throughout the whole highway construction, and so did Rolling River Cafe Gallery Inn (est 2008) on Cooley Road, owned by Kim and Rob Rayevsky.
The huge undertaking of the bypass disrupted the area. Even the corner gas station shut down for some time. The highway ramps for Parksville Exit 98 opened in 2011. This surprisingly had a negative impact on the flow of tourism. Parksville had lost its feeling of a destination spot and almost all businesses on Main Street, and ones that had been on the original highway, pulled out. But Rolling River Cafe Gallery Inn bravely weathered the changes, and RJ Baker and Wade Germain, also bravely, opened up the Beaverkill Studio in 2015 and Cabernet Frank’s in 2016, keeping Parksville alive.
POSITIVE CHANGES:
The Department of Transportation constructed a beautiful exit, quite dramatic with the red shale exposed. They improved the roads and signage, and planted flowering trees and plants, and installed a few sidewalks and a municipal parking lot. The DOT also restored the O & W Railroad path which runs along the river. This has now spurred more interest in the community's future growth.
The O & W Railroad path in Parksville is now an active Rails to Trails segment, and collaborative effort by Liberty and Parksville is ongoing to beautify it with flowers and signage, with a plan to connect it to the Liberty and Livingston Manor segments to make it a longer trail for walking and biking. It is voted #2 rail trail in the Catskill Region.
UPDATE: Currently open on Main Street is Cabernet Frank’s, Beaverkill Studio, and Curious Elements (in Beaverkill Studio). Currently open on Parksville Road is New Memories, home of Conflux Gallery, 862 Parksville Rd, Double Up, double decker bus dining & takeout, 268 Old Route 17, Parksville NY, and Pillars of Parksville, a wellness center & yoga retreat.
Other businesses are sprinkled throughout the hamlet (see Businesses & Attractions page).
New businesses are working to anchor in Parksville, and revitalization is forthcoming:
29 Main, home of a number of businesses, 29 Main St and
Parksville Arts Center, community arts programs, 2 Main St.
“Parksvillians” are dedicated to creating a vibrant artistic community, and thanks to the Town of Liberty, Sullivan Renaissance, Sullivan 180, Sullivan County Visitors Association & Liberty Rising, there is active support, spurring on the ambition of the people of Parksville.
PUBLIC ART: Artist Rob Rayevsky & chef at Double Up installed 4 murals on Main Street with a music & dance theme, and a bicycle with Ukrainian colors on the bridge over the Little Beaverkill River .
Artist Charles “CLS” Shriver has installed his wooden post graffiti on a few buildings on Parksville Road.
Artist Sergio Furnari installed a colorful flower sculpture behind the church on Short Avenue and Parksville Road.
Artist & real estate agent James Karpowicz installed a 3D sign on New Memories.
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