Mount Utsayantha Project News

Restoring a Mountain and Preserving a Legend
By Helen Budrock, Assistant Director
The Catskill Center for Conservation & Development

Catskill Center News - Fall 2003

DRIVING THROUGH THE DELAWARE COUNTY VILLAGE of Stamford, most people can identify the stately Utsayantha Mountain because of the many telecommunication towers that rise from its peak. Look a little closer, through the clearing at the crest of the mountain, and you can make out the silhouette of a small building. That building—a historic observatory constructed in 1926—is the focal point of a strategy to rebuild a mountaintop recreation site that is without question Stamford’s greatest underutilized asset.

Mount Utsayantha got its name from the legend of a local Indian maiden, Utsayantha–which means “beautiful spring.” She was said to have borne a child whose father was white, something that made her father, the chief, so furious he buried a tomahawk in the white man’s skull and rowed with the baby to the center of a nearby lake and drowned it. Utsayantha followed her father to the lake, and in her despair, drowned herself too. Upon discovering what she had done, the legend says the chief recovered her body and carried her up the mountain, where he buried her. Her grave site was believed to have been discovered in 1862, and although many doubt its
authenticity, a monument was placed at the site in 1936.

Fueled by the tragic legend, the development of Utsayantha Mountain as a tourist site began over a century ago, when a carriage road and a wooden observation tower was constructed on top of the mountain in 1882. In 1889, nearly 20 acres of the summit was purchased by Dr. S.E. Churchill– one of Stamford’s prominent leaders of the time–and deeded to the Village of Stamford upon his death in 1917. The original tower blew down in 1892, and again in 1895. In 1901, it blew down again and was rebuilt, its replacement standing until it burned down in May of 1926, following a severe thunderstorm. The existing observation building was dedicated just one month later, in June of 1926, in time for the busy summer tourist season.

During Stamford’s heyday, it was known as the “Queen of the Catskills” boasting many hotels and boarding houses for the summer tourists. A carriage ride to the top of Utsayantha Mountain was a favorite activity, and in 1924 alone over 6,000 visitors were recorded. The mountain continued to enjoy active use by tourists through the first half of the 20th century. In 1934, the State erected a 68-foot steel fire tower that was manned by observers until 1989 when–like the other fire towers of the Catskills–it was officially closed by the DEC.

In the 40’s and 50’s the observation building remained open, serving as a souvenir shop. Sometime in the 1960s the number of tourists started to decline, the observation building was closed, and the site began to deteriorate. By 1979, the boarded up building had been the target of vandals and was in poor condition. Crews from nearby Camp Summit helped remove debris, replace broken windows, and paint the building. By 1986, the site and tower house once again had fallen prey to vandals and was in need of restoration. This time, members of a regional hang gliders associated organized a work party in preparation for an upcoming hang gliding competition from the mountain. The hang gliders repaired the observatory, cleaned up the park, and provided picnic tables and fireplaces for the public’s enjoyment.

With the closing of the fire tower in 1989, and no regular presence on the mountaintop, the site once again became a favorite target for vandals. The picnic tables and fire tower observer’s cabin were dismantled and burned, the masonry fireplaces destroyed, and graffiti scrawled across the observation building. Due to lack of maintenance, old walking trails that once looped around the mountaintop have become overgrown and are now blocked by fallen trees. Given its current condition, the building and site have become a liability to the Village. Faced with the decision to either save the historic observation building or tear it down, in December 2002 Stamford Mayor Waylen Bray approached The Catskill Center for assistance in evaluating the structure and examining the potential for redevelopment of the entire site. Earlier this year, we began work on a plan that examines potential options for the redevelopment of Mt. Utsayantha as a tourist destination and a valuable recreational resource for the people of Stamford and the surrounding area. The plan contains information and presents various options for restoration of the observatory and fire tower, as a well as a landscaping master plan for the park itself. It covers issues like access and security, and also examines the potential for additional trail development. With momentum building, a pro-active Village government, and a grassroots group called “Friends of Utsayantha” in the works, we have high hopes that Utsayantha Mountain can be restored to its former
glory and once again become a destination for tourists and a recreational asset for the people of Stamford.

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