History Episodes
Voices from the Central Catskills
This week, we highlight four segments from our original "Experience the Central Catskills" audio driving guide, for a westward drive from Olive to Andes on NYS Route 28. DEC Natural Resources Supervisor Bill Rudge and an over...
Treasure Hunt with the Delaware County Diggers!
The Delaware County Diggers is a group of metal detecting enthusiasts with a passion for history and preservation. We joined them at the John Burroughs' Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury, NY, where they beeped and dug their way to a...
Platte Clove and Elka Park
Platte Clove is a steep and narrow valley, accessed by Platte Clove Road between Tannersville and West Saugerties, NY. Part of the road is seasonal use only, offering a gorgeous (and hair-raising) drive April through October....
John Burroughs' Heart of the Southern Catskills
Full audio edition of John Burroughs’ classic essay, "The Heart of the Southern Catskills." In 1886, Princeton geology professor Arnold Henry Guyot determined by survey that Slide Mountain, far to the southwest of the Hudson-...
John Burroughs' Pepacton
This audio edition of John Burroughs’ classic essay, "Pepacton: A Summer Voyage," is the story of Burroughs’ journey down the meandering river he called Pepacton, the name native people gave the stream. Burroughs was in his 4...
The Loop: Haines Falls to Tannersville
We tour "the loop," of Routes 25 and 23c, that connects Haines Falls to Tannersville, via the mountaintop. Hear from Cyndi LaPierre and Dede Thorpe on historic homes and the origins of Onteora Park; famed residents like Maude...
Grand Hotels and Railroad Travel
In this episode, hear from Jon Ham and Bob Gildersleeve about the grand hotels that attracted visitors at the turn of the century, and the trains that got them there. Also... "mutton?!" How one hotel's refusal to serve chicke...
The "Kaat"skills, the Dutch, and Kaaterskill Falls
In this episode, you’ll hear from historian Cyndi LaPierre on the history of the word "Catskills," and if you’re wondering why Kaatscast starts with a “K,” instead of a “C,” this segment should help clear things up. In the se...
Mountain Cloves Scenic Byway - Palenville to Hunter
Welcome to Kaatscast –– a biweekly podcast delivering interviews, arts, culture, and history, from New York's Catskill mountains. Please subscribe, and be the first to hear all the great content, from quick interviews with Ca...