by Town Historian Al Dumas
As Independence Day approaches, I wanted to share some interesting history about the founding and growth of Thompson as it relates to the Revolutionary War and the construction of a large turnpike that today consists of many sections of Route 17.
When General George Washington held his wartime headquarters in nearby Newburgh, he generated interest in westward settlement into the areas which are now known as Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan Counties.
Men such as William A. Thompson (our Town’s founder) from Litchfield, CT and two brothers – Samuel and John P. Jones from Goshen – bought large areas of land and began planning a turnpike that would eventually travel from Newburgh to Cochecton. The Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company was founded in 1801 and construction soon began. In fact, the workers that flocked to the area to build the road resulted in the founding of Sullivan County in 1809!
History unfolded as the turnpike was built…First, it went from Newburgh past Montgomery. This town was named after one of Washington’s generals, Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the battle of Quebec on December 31st, 1775. Then, the turnpike followed a path from Bloomingburg to the Town of Mamakating, established in 1788.
The turnpike continued past Rock Hill where a dispute unfolded as to the road’s next stop. William Thompson wanted the turnpike to go through his settlement of Thompsonville, but the Jones brothers got their way – and the road went through their established settlement of Monticello (aptly named after Thomas Jefferson’s famed estate in Virginia). The route of the turnpike ultimately impacted the resulting growth of the Village of Monticello.
The road continued through Mongaup Valley, White Lake, Bethel, and Fosterdale before ending up at Cochecton on the Delaware. Many historians believe this turnpike is what led to the growth of the area we know as the Catskills region.