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 Over time the Catskill Road connected with several other migration routes:

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