Town of the Week: Wurtsboro

  |  April 15, 2013
Masten-Quinn_House,_Wurtsboro,_NY

Masten-Quinn House, Wurtsboro, via Wikipedia

The pace is slow and sleepy in the village of Wurtsboro, located in the town of Mamakating, Sullivan County. Back in the day, however, Wurtsboro and Mamakating were hopping Catskill resort towns, drawing in visitors from far and wide to drink in the village’s bucolic backdrop of greenery and mountain views. These days, it’s a quaint village and bedroom community populated with small, independent businesses.

For years, Wurtsboro has been a destination for motorcycle enthusiasts, and the village frequently plays host to groups of riders coming in from all over the state (yes, there is a Harley shop in town). And, in spite of the fact that Wurtsboro is a small mountain town, there are places to go in the village, like the Canal Towne Emporium, one of the area’s most popular shopping spots. The Emporium isn’t just an antique store; they also sell furniture, preserves, candy, and tons of other country store ephemera. They’re also a year-round Christmas store. The village has a grocery store, wine shop, several cafes and restaurants, and even a small airport. If you’re curious about what lies along Wurtsboro’s main business drag, Sullivan Street, the Wurtsboro Board of Trade came up with this handy-dandy visitor’s guide.

Wurtsboro is one of those places we like to look at when we feel like torturing ourselves with inexpensive lake houses, and given that there are several lakes just west of the village, it’s easy to do. Although the real estate market seems relatively sane right now (average listing price is $228,796, and median sale price is $149,000, according to Trulia.com), it seems that there was a big surge in listing prices between March and April of this year, so Wurtsboro may be poised to see even more of an increase in home prices.

The village is located along Route 17 (soon-to-be Interstate 86) in the southeastern section of Sullivan County, approximately 1 hour, 22 minutes from NYC.

wurtsboro capture

Town of Mamakating Website

Wurtsboro Board of Trade

GMAP

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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