Interpretive Sign Project

Colchester's Historical Driving Tour of the Towns that make up Colchester:  Downsville, Colchester, Corbett, Shinhopple, Gregorytown, Horton and Cooks Falls.  Please take the tour and visit all twelve signs to learn more about Colchester's rich heritage.

Rafting sign

Please download our PDF version of the driving map or you can pick up a map at the Colchester Town Hall, 72 Tannery Road, Downsville, NY or at the Colchester Chamber of Commerce Visitors Booth on River Street (Route 30) in Downsville, New York.  Map boxes are also attached to the signs at the Colchester Visitors Booth, Covered Bridge Park in Downsville, at the Corbett Chimney Park in Corbett, at the Shinhopple Memorial Center in Shinhopple and on the Cooks Falls sign across from the Cooks Falls Fire Department on Cooks Falls Road. 

This tour can be done as a driving tour of all twelve signs or it can be broken into a short walking tour of the first four signs in Downsville, New York.  The complete sign tour is a 50 mile driving tour through Colchester Township and will take approximately 2 ½ hours to complete.  Please drive and park carefully and be respectful of the private properties near the signs. 

Click on each sign name to see full sign view and then click the back to this page to see more signs.

National Geo Badge

Sign 1.       GPS: 15437 Highway Route 30-Downsville--N42-04.668' W074- 59.367', Elevation- 1110’.   Lumber Industry.  This sign is in front of Paige Cemetery near the Colchester Chamber of Commerce information booth.  Continue down Route 30 to Bridge Street, turn left on Bridge Street.

Sign 2.       GPS: 34 Bridge Street-Downsville--N42-04.593' W074-59.489, Elevation -1101'.   Rafting.  This sign is located at the Covered Bridge Park.  Continue across the historic Downsville Covered Bridge to the next sign on the corner of Bridge Street and River Road.

Sing 3.       GPS:  92 Bridge Street, Downsville-- N42-04.449 W074- 59.369, Elevation -1108’.    Old Downsville Cemetery.          * 1 ½ mile walking tour to this point.  Turns left on River Road and continue to Route 30 by The Downsville Motel, turn left on Route 30 and continue through Downsville on Route 206 to Sign 4 on the left just as you are leaving the village.

Sign 4.       GPS:  27830 State Highway 206, Downsville-- N42 -05.174 W075- 00.060.   Elevation -1206'. Tub Mills Falls.      * 3 mile walking tour to this point.  Head back to Downsville on Route 206 and turn right on Route 30 at the traffic light.

Sign 5.       GPS: 12689 Highway 30/Barney Hollow, Downsville-- N42- 03.338  W 075-00.776.   Elevation- 1083'.   Bluestone Quarries.     *5.1 miles.  Continue on Route 30 to Trout Brook Road, turn right and continue until you reach the Shinhopple Memorial Center on your left.

Sign 6.       GPS: 1462 Trout Brook Road, Downsville-- N42- 03.533 W075-03.862.  Elevation- 1157'.   Shinhopple.      *10.6 miles.  Turn around and travel back down Trout Brook Road to Route 30, cross Route 30 and continue on River Road to Gregorytown Cemetery on your right.

Sign 7.       GPS:  2090 River Road, Downsville-- N42- 01.703  W075-02.360. Elevation -1102'.  Gregorytown       *14.2 miles.  Continue down River Road and turn left on Fuller Hill Road, follow Fuller Hill Road to Horton.  Cross over to Chiloway Road to the Fishing Access Bridge pull off. 


Sign 8.        GPS: 1 Chiloway Road, Horton-- N41 58.325  W075-01.026.   Elevation 1138’.   Horton.   *21.2 miles.  Travel back across the Beaver Kill River and turn right on to Cooks Falls Road into Cooks Falls. 


Sign 9.       GPS: 261 Cooks Falls Road, Cooks Falls-- N41-57.366 W 074- 59.410. Elevation -1168'.  Cooks Falls.       *23.2 miles.   This sign is located across from the Cooks Falls Fire Station.  Continue on Cooks Falls Road and enjoy the scenery along the Beaver Kill River.  Follow Cooks Falls Road until you come to the blinker light in Rockland and turn left onto County Route 7/Route 206.  Follow this road through Rockland until just before the steel bridge which enters Colchester (just past the Roscoe Nursing Home).  This sign is on the right just before the bridge that crosses the Upper Beaver Kill River.

Sign 10.     GPS: 482 Rockland Road/Cat Hollow Road, Colchester-- N 41-57.864 W074-54.445. Elevation -1318 '.  Colchester Fishing.      *31.6 miles.   Continue on County Route 7/Route 206 until you come to Jug Tavern Road on your left.  Turn left on to Jug Tavern Road and follow that to Campbell Mountain Road.  Turn right on Campbell Mountain Road and follow that to the end and turn left on to River Road.  Follow River Road until you come to the Community Center on your right and then turn right onto Corbett Road and follow that to the Corbett Chimney Park on your left.

Sign 11.     GPS: 182 Corbett Road, Corbett--  N42-02.725 W 075-01.544.  Elevation -1152’          Corbett and Corbett Community Life (double sign)    *45.7 miles.   This double sign is located at the historic Corbett Acid Factory Chimney Park.  Note the Roebling steel bridge that crosses the East Branch of the Delaware River.  Turn back on Corbett Road and turn left on River Road and follow that to the last sign approximately five miles on your right by the Colchester Highway Department Building driveway.

Sign 12.     GPS: 6272 River Road, Downsville, Colchester Highway Department-- N42-04.315 W074- 59.634 . Elevation -1116'.  Railroads.      *49.6 miles.  Look to the left of the sign, the original Downsville Depot building can be seen at the end of Depot Street and is now a private home.  Follow River Road back to Bridge Street turning left and follow Bridge Street over the Downsville Covered Bridge into Downsville.  This completes the tour. 

We hope you have enjoyed your trip.

Driving time approximately 2 ½ hours.

Please email your feedback on this driving tour and our interpretive signs to: info@colchesterhistoricalsociety.org

 

These historical interpretive signs were designed and researched by Kay H. Parisi-Hampel, Colchester Township Historian based on the information and historic photographs in the Colchester Historical Society collection and with the assistance of Historical Signage Committee:  Anne Hood, Angela Walker, Arthur Merrill, Betty Vernold and Betty Watson.

This project was funded by the Colchester Historical Society, the O'Connor Foundation, Colchester Township, the Downsville Women's Club, Downsville Lions Club, Travis Kinch Woodworx and many individual donors.