Catskill Road

United States Migration  Trails and Roads  Massachusetts  New York  Catskill Road

Did an ancestor travel the Catskill Road of Massachusetts and New York? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.

The Catskill Road, also known as the Catskill Turnpike, also known as the Ancram Turnpike, is about a 100 mile (161 kilometer) pathway from Springfield, Massachusetts to Catskill, New York, via Ancram, New York. The route went westward from Springfield, Massachusetts toward the southwest corner of that state. It entered New York State near the town of Ancram and went thence northwest to the town of Catskill on the west bank of the Hudson River. From Catskill the highway was usually called the Catskill Turnpike and hugged the north edge of the Catskill Mountains running toward Unadilla (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River.

Route
There may have been two forks of the Catskill Road. New York State historical roadside markers show Ancram was connected by old turnpikes both to (a) Barrington, Massachusetts via Hillsdale (Nobletown), New York, and to (b) Salisbury, Connecticut. Therefore, immigrants from Springfield could have chosen two main routes of nearly the same length to arrive at Catskill:

Connecting Routes. The Catskill Road connected with several other migration routes:


 * Springfield connections:


 * King's Highway also known as the Boston Post Road goes from Boston, Massachusetts to New York City, and south to Charleston, South Carolina with extensions on each end. In Massachusetts and Connecticut there were at least three competing routes for the Boston Post Road. Parts were laid out 1650 to 1735; its length remained in heavy use through 1783, and some parts are used to this day.
 * Old Connecticut Path a pre-historic Indian path from Boston, Massachusetts to the Connecticut River Valley at Springfield, Massachusetts and south to Hartford, Connecticut.


 * mid-trail Massachusetts connection:
 * Greenwood Road from Hartford, Connecticut to North Canaan, Connecticut to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Albany, New York.


 * mid-trail New York connection:
 * Albany Post Road


 * Catskill connection:
 * Catskill Road (or Catskill Turnpike; also known aa the Ancram Turnpike) from Springfield, Massachusetts to Ancram, New York to Catskill, New York to Unadilla, New York (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River.

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the Catskill Road from Springfield to Catskill are: