 |
Front
view of
the main
guest house
of the farm |
This
summer marks
probably the
last chapter
in the history
of Trout Valley
Farm, better
know locally
as the Fred
Banks place.
Located on the
banks of the
Beaverkill near
the State Campsite,
it will this
year pass into
state hands
and most probably
become part
of the state
park.
The
farm officially
closed its doors
this summer
and little remains
to remind of
its past glory,
except the buildings,
and an occasional
fisherman or
golfer or two,
personal friends
of Fred and
his wife Marguerite,
the owners.
The state will
take possession
shortly after
the first of
the year.
Trout
Valley farm
has been in
operation as
a resort for
77 years, of
which 43 years
have been under
the direction
of Banks.
Back
in the days
when a tannery
stood where
the Beaverkill
State Campsite
is now located,
Trout Valley
Farm was jusT
a farm operated
by a man named
Waterbury. He
later sold the
property to
Tom Davidson
who operated
it successfully
for some time.
The farm later
passed into
the hands of
his son, Jay
Davidson, who
first started
to take in fishermen
and made the
farm into a
resort.
The
present owner,
Fred Banks,
first visited
the Farm as
a boy in 1909
with his parents
who had come
to vacation
there and escape
the heat of
Newburgh, on
the Hudson River,
where they lived.
Thirteen
years later
young Fred returned
to purchase
the property
which he has
operated in “the
old tradition” ever
since.
Names
of some of the
first masters
of the art of
fly fishing
can be found
on the old registers
of the farm.
Still
in use on the
farm is a wagon
used in the
old days to
bring guests
and their baggage
from the train
at Livingston
Manor or over
the mountain
to the farm.
The wagon was
pulled by a
handsome team
of horses; today
a not so glorious
tractor furnishes
the power. The
wagon is used
to haul material
about the premises.
The
nine-hole golf
course on the
property has
the honor of
becoming one
of the first
laid out in
this country
in 1901. A group
of summer guests
organized a
golf club and
with consent
of the owner
had a course
laid out and
built and setting
up a fund for
its upkeep and
improvement
for many years.
Besides the
purchase of
a lawnmower,
holes, flags,
and poles they
also invested
in a flock of
sheep to keep
the fairways
clipped.
The
group also purchased
a trophy for
which they vied
yearly. Many
famous matches
took place on
the course.
In later years
after other
courses were
built in the
area, many hotly
contested team
matches were
held with golfers
from the DeBruce
Club Inn and
the Twin Village
Golf Club at
Rockland. Of
course this
was only a pastime
held after the
more important
spring trout
fishing had
fallen off during
the hot summer
days. Unique
in early season
playing was
the “trout
hole” stakes
which were paid
off that evening
or the next
morning when
fly fishing
had priority.
Beaverkill
in the early
days was known
for its baseball
team comprised
of local boys
and guests at
the farm and
from Clear Lake
House. The team,
called
“The
Collegians”,
trimmed all local
teams but finally
went down to a
crushing defeat
at the hands of
a team from Pepacton.
The star pitcher
was Neuman Wagner,
whose father owned
the farm where
the Prince Hall
Castle now stands.
The catcher was
Liph Snedecor,
whose parents
owned the Beaverkill
falls property
at Turnwood.
In
these early
horse and buggy
days one of
the favorite
pastimes was
going on all
day drives in
the three-seated
buckboard. One
favorite trip
was upstream
to Shin Creek
at Lew Beach,
over the mountain
to Grooville,
thence to DeBruce
and home again
to Livingston
Manor. Another
favorite of
fishermen was
over the mountains
to Pepacton
for some bass
and pickerel
fishing in the
Delaware, a
picnic, then
home. Today
we can make
these same excursion
in hours by
car. Today Pepacton
lies under millions
of gallons of
water backed
up by the dam
at Downsville.
Only the reservoir
and a graveyard
still carry
on the name.
Times
have changed,
and so have
people’s
tastes. Fishing
in the Beaverkill
is not what
it was in the
past, but then
for many years
the sport lost
much popularity.
Younger folks
want more glitter
and glamour
when on vacation.
They want to
be entertained,
not entertain
themselves as
when Trout Valley
Farm was a leading
resort. Filtered,
chemically treated
pools of concrete
and steel have
replaced the
cold gasping
thrill of a
dip in a spring
fed stream.
Modern cars
with special
wheel suspension
systems carry
people smoothly
along ribbons
of concrete
and asphalt,
past untold
wonders of nature’s
beauty. Millions
pass withing
yards of the
covered bridge
at Livingston
Manor and never
know it is there.
Many local people
do not even
know where the
Beaverkill Falls
is located,
a spot that
was a must for
picnickers of
forty years
ago.
Trout
Valley Farm,
a landmark to
the “old
tradition” has
served its day
and now passes
into oblivion.
As Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Banks retire,
it will give
them a little
pleasure to
see that the
spirit which
make their resort
a landmark for
its time is
starting to
return with
the ever mounting
flood of outdoor
campers which
overflow the
Beaverkill Campsite
next door.
No
longer will
guests sit with
feet propped
against the
porch rail after
dinner, as in
the past. The
nine-hole golf
course, no longer
popular with
the larger 18-hole
courses now
available, will
probably soon
make way for
campsites. A
page in history
is rapidly drawing
to a close.
Trout
Valley Farm
lives on only
in the memories
of a few now.
All that will
someday be left
are these written
words.
from
the Livingston
Manor Times
(No longer
in existence),
1963.
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