Editing Kerhonkson, New York (section)

==History==

===Colonial Era===
Kerhonkson was the site of a colonial fort, on Deyo's Hill, that served settler-colonial interests.

Before the [[Burning of Kingston]] on October 12, 1777, all the important documents of the nascent [[History of New York (state)#New York in the American Revolution|New York state government]] and government officials were moved to Kerhonkson, remaining for two weeks until they were moved to [[Albany, New York|Albany]], making Kerhonkson briefly the capital of New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oldkerhonksonny.tripod.com/|title=Kerhonkson, NY The Early Years|website=oldkerhonksonny.tripod.com|access-date=2020-03-13}}</ref>

===Canal Era===
The [[Delaware and Hudson Canal]] was completed in 1828. This opened up local industries such as coal, lumber, dairy, and hotel. Barges towed by mules transported goods along Rondout Creek from Pennsylvania to the Hudson River. In the canal era, Kerhonkson was known as Middleport <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://abouttown.us/articles/kerhonkson|title=Kerhonkson |author=Vivian Yess Wadlin |year=2016}}</ref>

===Railroad Era===
The Delaware and Oswego Railroad was constructed in 1909 along the old canal towpath and a station was constructed along Main Street to ship out dairy products. The Summitville to Kingston segment was acquired by the [[New York, Ontario and Western]]. In the line's waning years, passenger service was reduced to Sunday and holiday service, and summer only.<ref>{{cite journal |title=New York, Ontario and Western Railway, Table 5 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=74 |issue=1 |date=June 1941}}</ref> The tracks were pulled up in 1957 once products were being moved by truck upstate. The path is now a popular local hiking and biking destination known as the Rail Trail. It is 3.5 miles long.

===Peg Leg Bates===
In 1951, the famed tap dancer [[Peg Leg Bates]] became the first African-American resort owner in the Catskills when he opened the Peg Leg Bates Country Club in [[Palentown, New York|Palentown]], a hamlet in the northern end of the Kerhonkson Zip Code. His wife Alice E. Bates died in 1987, and Bates leased the property to a new owner, Doreen Richardson, in 1989.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/08/arts/peg-leg-bates-one-legged-dancer-dies-at-91.html|title=Peg Leg Bates, One-Legged Dancer, Dies at 91|last=Dunning|first=Jennifer|date=1998-12-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-07-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Part of Route 209 in Ulster County was named “Clayton Peg Leg Bates Memorial Highway” in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://abouttown.us/articles/kerhonkson/|title=Kerhonkson – AboutTown|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-13}}</ref>

Richardson operated the former Peg Leg Bates club as the "Mountain Valley Resort" until her death in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.recordonline.com/article/20121031/NEWS/210310314|title=Kerhonkson Resort Owner Killed Checking Property for Damage|last=Liu|first=Pauline|date=2012-10-31|work=Times Herald-Record|access-date=2021-03-23|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Peg Leg Bates resort played an important role in the history of the civil rights movement in 1966 when a meeting of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] (SNCC) held there voted to expel whites from its staff.