2022-01-03: Kerwin Road?

I want to preface this post by explaining that nobody knows what's happening in Purling NY. I want to preface this post by explaining that nobody knows what's happening in Purling NY. A hamlet in southern Cairo, Purling is an old, mostly has-been settlement with a number of roads that have given me more trouble than I've had in four years of roadwalking. 

The first issue arises with three roads south of town: South Road, Kerwin Road, and Faurito Road. Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and the official USGS maps all disagree on what roads go where, and none of them accurately represent the situation on the ground. There's a road that connects South Road with Route 24 in central Purling, and another road that runs parallel to it, then dead-ends. Some maps say the thru road is called South and the dead-end Kerwin; others say the reverse. Some say the dead-end actually connects (it doesn't) or links up via Faurito Road (not a road; it's a private, fenced-off 4x4 trail). To make matters worse, the thru road is signed Kerwin at one side and South at the other.

The second issue deals with High Ridge Villa and Stewart Road. East of Purling, Phillips Road and High Ridge Villa Road are allegedly (according to all three maps) connected via Stewart Road. High Ridge Villa, however, is a dead-end road with no outlets. At the curve of Phillips Road, where Stewart Road allegedly exists, is somebody's house. Needless to say, this was annoying to discover on foot in twenty-degree weather.

All that is a lot of words to say I have no idea which roads I walked this Monday, and nobody else seems to have any idea either. Enjoy the pictures.

A sign across the street from the post office in Round Top tells the hamlet's history. I was unaware that the prominent hill had an indigenous Kanien'kéha name.

A view of Round Top/Wawantepekook over the hamlet's cemetery along South Road.

North Mountain, really more of a ridge along the Catskill Escarpment, seen from a field along South Road. This southern part of Cairo is near the town's mountainous border with Hunter and Jewett, providing views of less familiar mountains.

Stoppel Point, seen to the north from the same vantage point as above.

This field, or more likely the creek that runs through it, was the site of a battle between early settlers and native peoples.

A wooden footbridge at Glen Brook Farm crosses the Shinglekill Creek near the intersection of South and Kerwin Roads.

Mossy boulders and rocky forests line the thru road's eastern side.

The Shinglekill seems significantly larger just a half-mile downstream, after it's joined by the Trout Brook.

This partially disassembled four-wheeler skeleton gave added to the almost post-apocalyptic feel of east Purling.

The old post office building on Route 24 in Purling. The Purling Post Office was shut down in 2005 due to low demand, but the building is relatively well maintained.

A large abandoned manor, one of many in the area. While Cairo is rife with abandoned buildings, the situation in Purling seems especially dire; nearly half the structures in the hamlet seem empty.

Torn tarps cling to the peeling paint on this abandoned inn along Silver Spur Road.

This abandoned Winnebago is less historical than the previous structures, and sits in a flat area near the house that occupies the mythical 'Stewart Road'. Many more modern buildings in Purling sit empty, including a roller rink I used to frequent as a kid.

I'm a sucker for abandoned things sometimes; the idea of man's constructs so quickly decaying to nature is oddly fascinating, and this truck is the last of over a dozen abandoned structures I photographed; most didn't make the cut.

I must applaud the residents of Purling for trying so hard to keep their dying hamlet alive; this hand-painted sign has a remarkably upbeat charm about it.

The Purling Forge, a historical building, is undergoing renovations, and the renovators evidently have artistic aspirations for their renewed building.

The single greatest attraction in Purling is Shinglekill Falls, a sizeable waterfall right in the middle of town. Unfortunately, all the overlooks are privately owned by local hotels, so this shot from the side of a dead-end road is the best I was able to get.

A view of the Catskill Escarpment to the northeast over Mountain Ave, climbing upwards out of Purling and back towards Round Top.

This little unnamed stream, a tributary of the Trout Brook, runs under Route 39 near Round Top; to the north of the road, it quickly disappears under thick brush and forest.

Okay, just one more abandoned picture. This old basketball hoop in Round Top has been decaying for some time, and is now littered with moss and lichens, not unlike the dilapidated house outside which it stands.

This reassurance marker on Route 31 uses an odd font that I haven't seen on any county route markers before. Close inspection suggests that the '3' may have been hand-cut, rather than stenciled or punched.