Patrice Estess

What a wonderful piece of local history...

The history of Saunderskill Farms (named for the tributary of the Rondout Creek that flows through it) is as rich as the soil that has supported it for 12 generations. Originally granted to Lieutenant Hendrick J. Schoonmaker by Peter Stuyvesant in 1663 as payment for military service, the family's original 300 acres of prime Rondout bottomland has been continuously farmed since 1680.

Second in age only to the Hull family farm in Southhold, Long Island, Saunderskill Farm now includes more than 800 acres of vegetables, flowers and orchards. The stone manor house, built in 1787, still stands on the property, as does the barn that housed oxen used to pull barges on the Delaware & Hudson Canal, a section of which meanders through the property. Saunderskill is one of the few farms in the nation to have received the rare Tricentennial Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Jack and Alice Schoonmaker still reside at and run the farm, along with their sons David and Danny.

The farm stand, along Route 209 in Accord, is run by Danny and his wife Cathy.

This is an old fashioned stand with many baked goods, fresh sandwiches and soups, cider donuts and on and on!!

The greenhouses are busting with wonderful annuals and perennials as well as

The coffee is wonderful. I often will go there on a weekend morning and sit outside listening to the new water garden gurgle and reading the paper. How relaxing...

If you find yourself in this area, be sure to stop by...it is worth the trip!!

An interesting intro to our town...trust me, we might like our libations but I never noticed that it got front billing on the sign!!

An interesting tidbit:

Originally named Port Jackson, it is thought that the name "Accord" resulted from a petition of the townspeople to the Capitol in Albany for a new name. The response was that the authorities could not come to an accord about a new name so the name "Accord" was chosen. The local pronunciation of this word is with a flat 'A' with the accent on the 'A' (ack-chord).

Here is the town mueum

The railroad now a privately owned structure. I'm not sure if it is a home but I do remember when it was a deli...

The entire Town of Rochester enjoyed a period of prosperity from 1902 into the 1940s when the Ontario & Western Railway (with stations in Accord and Kyserike) provided transportation-to-market for products of the local farms, mills and quarries. Additionally, the trains brought in summer visitors from urban centers, chiefly New York City, who were in search of fresh air and healthful food for their families.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 622 people, 226 households, and 157 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 183.6 per square mile (70.8/km²). There were 256 housing units at an average density of 75.6/sq mi (29.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.44% White, 2.41% African American, 0.80% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 2.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population.

There were 226 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,083, and the median income for a family was $48,542. Males had a median income of $25,368 versus $35,455 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,672. About 5.5% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.

A cool place to live...although winter can be long and tough...

We have a schedule for the upcoming shows of the world class facility that we are so fortunate to have here in the Hudson Valley. If you have never attended, it is a treat!! Try to make one (or more!) this year...horse person or not, it is pretty neat to see these beautiful horses sailing over these huge jumps!!

I just spoke to someone who works there and they have returned from they are returning from the other Circuits...gearing up for the Hudson Valley, Yahoo.

Here is some information that I got from their website...

Well, I went away for the weekend only to come home and find "I couldn't get there from here"...After travelling through New Paltz in an attempt to go over Mohonk...this is what we found...INCREDIBLE

I have lived here most of my life and have never seen this road so flooded...it looked like a huge lake...all roads were closed so...we proceeded to take Rte 32 N only to find

it to was closed....off to take back roads to Esopus to cut across on 213...CLOSED...

now what??

Police station might be next but...I am an appraiser and do have enough roadways in my feeble brain...lets try Gardiner...that bridge is higher....sssoooo, my grumbling husband turns the car around once again and we head back through New Paltz to Route 208 S to Rte 44-55...

You would never know these were 2 roads...you might be able to see the telephone poles...

So, after about an hour of frustration, we found our way by heading south...what a long day after a 7 hr drive from PA!!

Home at last :-)