The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Leni Santoro

Roscoe’s brand new Riverside Park is a tribute to history and teamwork. The official ribbon cutting ceremony took place on July 4.

Former Town of Rockland Supervisor Pat Pomeroy was one of the speakers.

“The first time I came to Roscoe it was 1963,” began Pomeroy. “The highway ended in Livingston Manor and you came up Old Route 17. The old railroad tracks were right there where the highway is now. And there was an old abandoned railroad station. Once you were over the railroad tracks you came to [Keener’s] Roscoe House.”

The entrance ramp to Route 17 West now takes the place of where Keener’s Roscoe House once stood.

“This [the park area] was their yard,” continued Pomeroy. “This side was owned by William Keener. Frank Keener owned the Antrim Lodge. They were cousins.”

The highway was completed in 1979. It was one of the last legs of Route 17 to be done. According to Pomeroy, the reason it took so long was because there was much concern about protecting the rivers.

In the early 1970s the State of New York donated 6.8 acres of land to the Town of Rockland. Ever since, there have been many people in Roscoe who felt the land was the perfect place for a park. Pomeroy explained that Dick Verona was the first person to call her attention to the property when she was president of the Roscoe Chamber. Then, when Miriam Stone was president of the Chamber and Pat Yelle was chairman of the Roscoe Renaissance Project, the Chamber decided to allocate some of the money they got from Sullivan County Renaissance to start developing the park. A landscape architect was hired and a survey was done to discover the best uses for the property.

Roscoe’s Riverside Park is located across from the entrance ramp to Route 17 West in Roscoe. There are three picnic areas. Two are close to the ample parking available at the park ,and the other is more secluded being set deeper into the park.

The birdhouses that adorn many of the trees in the park were suggested by Lilly Constant and painted by many of the youth members of the Sullivan County Longbeards.

Some of the seating available in the park is constructed with cobblestone salvaged from when they tore down one of the Old Route 17 bridges. They were dumped by the river and the group has utilized them as benches.

Future plans include a handicap accessible fishing area.

 Sara Fetick, Haden Fetick, Logan Romich and Hannah Fetick cut the ribbon at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Roscoe’s Riverside Park.

To view more photos from Roscoe’s Riverside Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony visit the Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.