Wawarsing

Early settlers in the Town of Wawarsing were French Huguenots who migrated over from New Paltz around 1708. The first settlements were near Napanoch. There arose a number of villages during the settlement period, which were built along the waterways in the area, and along the D & H Canal. The largest of these communities was Ellenville.

Wawarsing is rife with natural beauty. There are three state forests, most of Minnewaska State Park, and portions of the Catskill Preserve located within the Town.  The magnificent Rondout Creek and five smaller ones pass through the town, together with several lakes, making the town a paddler’s paradise. For fisherfolk parts of the town are within easy driving distance to the Rondout Reservoir, one of several local water sources renowned for its trout fishing. A part of the former D&H canal runs through the area. Today the former D & H Canal is a popular rail trail, and is used by residents for bicycling, jogging and walking.

Local history buffs can spend hours upon hours at the Terwilliger House Museum, a classic 1895 Victorian house in Ellenville that houses historical materials and documents that describe typical village life throughout the Hudson Valley back to the Civil War and beyond.