Page last updated
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 at 11:11 PM

Sorry — not yet completed!

If you're a PETA^[1] sympathizer, rest assured that "Catskill" has nothing to do with killing cats! The name was bestowed by Captain Henry Hudson in 1609, in honor of Dutch poet Jan Kaats. Actually, a creek (kill in Dutch) flowing into the [Hudson] river received the name (Kaats Kill). By extension, the range of low mountains to the west, from which the Kaats Kill flowed, became known as the Kaatskill Mountains. Over time, the name transmorgified into Catskill, although some places (e.g., the Kaaterskill Falls) retain the old spelling. The town of Catskill, in Greene County, also took the name from the creek.

Here are some nice pictures of the Catskills.

• ^[1]  A few years ago, PETA members dressed as fish actually picketed the town hall in Fishkill (about 40 miles [65 km] southeast of here), demanding that the town change its name because it "glorified killing innocent fish". These people looked pretty silly after it was explained to them that the town was named after the creek (Dutch kill) that flowed out of the Fish family's large estate.