Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project

Borscht Belt Historical Marker ProjectBorscht Belt Historical Marker ProjectBorscht Belt Historical Marker Project

Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project

Borscht Belt Historical Marker ProjectBorscht Belt Historical Marker ProjectBorscht Belt Historical Marker Project
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bethel, ny

Gazebo Park, Kauneonga Lake

3562 RT-55

Kauneonga Lake, NY 12749


MARKER TEXT


Sullivan County tourism began in Bethel in the 1840s when the White Lake House and White Lake Mansion House were built for gentile guests. By the 1920s, over 50 Jewish hotels such as New Empire, Kenmore, and Woodlawn Villa dotted the communities of White Lake and Kauneonga Lake. 

The Fur Workers Resort, an interracial hotel, offered cultural and progressive programs. In 1949, African American musician and political activist, Paul Robeson was invited to perform at the resort weeks before his infamous concert-turned riot in Peekskill, NY. Later, the resort became Camp Hi-Li, a Jewish summer camp. Bethel was also home to Forestview Lodge, which catered to the African American community.  

In the 1950s, Bethel transitioned to a destination of over 50 bungalow colonies such as Dubin’s, Lapidus Cottages, Karnofsky’s, Sunny Lane, and Zane’s.  


Woodstock Music and Art Fair: From August 15-18, 1969, 500,000 people gathered for a weekend of live music on Jewish dairy farmer Max Yasgur’s farm. The Kenmore Hotel hosted a production center creating silk-screened signage for Woodstock. The iconic festival remains a symbol of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.  


JEWISH AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION - 

BORSCHT BELT HISTORICAL MARKER PROJECT - SULLIVAN COUNTY HISTORIAN 


DEDICATION SPEAKERS:

  • Daniel Sturm, TOB Supervisor 
  • Marisa Scheinfeld, Marker Project 
  • Isaac Jeffreys, Marker Project  
  • Elliott Landy, Photographer  
  • Leo Glass, Graduate of the White Lake four-room grade school and a descendant of the Kemore Hotel –  

Bethel Marker Dedication

    Marker Dedication Video

    bethel-Kauneonga Lake-White Lake

    White Lake Billboard, 1950s. Courtesy of Sullivan County Museum

      Kenmore Hotel

      Zane's Bungalow Colony

      Zane's Bungalow Colony

      You’ll get MORE at The Kenmore!

      The Kenmore Hotel was Kauneonga Lake’s pride & joy—a massive 4 story hotel that dates back to the early 1900’s, retrofitted and remodeled throughout the years before closing in the 1970s.

      In 1969, The USCO Art Collective worked with Intermedia Systems to create over 1500 silk-screen signs (of many kinds) for the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair at Yasgur Farm in Bethel, and the Kenmore Hotel Casino was used as the sign production headquarters! Who knew that a Borscht Belt Hotel had such a significant role in the most iconic and historic music festival of all time!

      Zane's Bungalow Colony

      Zane's Bungalow Colony

      Zane's Bungalow Colony

      Zane’s was a bungalow colony that featured it all - right on Kauneonga Lake, it had a casino, water sports, movie theater within walking distance, “heated bedrooms”, and so much more. These images from the 1960s are just a glimpse into the classic Catskills excitement places like this had to offer. 

      Hotels & Bungalow Colonies

      Bethel

      Kauneonga Lake

      Kauneonga Lake

      Hotels
      Maple Grove Farmhouse
      Mountain View House (Emr's)
      Horseshoe Lake House
      Liff Hotel
      President Hotel

      Kauneonga Lake

      Kauneonga Lake

      Kauneonga Lake

      Hotels
      Arlington
      Balcony House
      Block's Mansion
      Buckner's
      Carlton
      Columbia Hotel
      Finneran's
      Flag House
      Glenwood
      Golden Eagle
      Hilltop House
      Hurd's
      Kenmore Hotel
      Kensington Hotel
      Kenneth Hotel
      Kroner's Ramsay House
      Kushner's (originally Tiagera Inn)
      Lynn's
      New Empire Hotel
      Panzer House
      Rita Hotel
      Rosedale Hotel
      Roselawn Villa
      Sylvan Manor
      Tieger Inn
      Victory
      West Shore Country Club
      Woodlawn Villa

      Kauneonga Lake

      White Lake

      Bungalows
      Amsterdam's
      Calvin's Cottages
      Chernoy's Bungalows
      Cohen's Bungalows
      Elinoff's
      Epstein and Galan's Bungalows
      Fink's Kauneonga Park (now Klausenberg)
      Freedman's Lake Road Cottages (later Pine Tree Hill Cottages)
      Forman's Bungalows
      Hill's
      Joshpe's Bungalows
      Klein's
      Mintz's
      Pearlman's Lakeside
      Pollman's
      Rosenberg's Cottages (previously Top Hill Day Camp, now Carpathian Homes)
      Schmuckler's/Schuler's Hilltop House
      Shapir's
      Sheppys
      Skolnick
      Stein's
      Sunny Lane
      Top Hill

      White Lake

      White Lake

      White Lake

      Hotels
      Brown's Hotel Royal (later Bradstan)
      Camp White Lake (adult)
      Fur Workers' Resort (later White Lake Lodge, then Camp Hi-Li)
      Heilshorn
      Hellman's
      High View House
      Hoffman House
      L. F. Taylor
      Lake Shore Chateau
      Laurel
      Lenox
      Mansion House
      Pines (later Ranch House)
      Pontiac Hotel
      Prospect House
      Racine's
      Shanghai Lodge
      Sunny Glade
      The Waldheim
      White Lake Hotel
      White Lake Lodge
      White Lake Mansion
      White Lake Maples
      Willard Hotel

      White Lake

      Bungalows
      Ben's Hide-a-way Bungalows
      Camp White Lake
      Cohen's Fairview (Zimney's Fairview after 1962)
      David's Bungalows
      Dubin's
      Faiman's
      Gold Dan
      Goldsmith's
      Karnofsky's
      Kaywood
      Lake Shore Cottages (previously Wynick's Bungalow Colony)
      Lapidus (now Satmar)
      London
      Mansion House
      Nudel's Bungalows
      Nusbaum's
      Phillip's Bungalows
      Pullman's [Max Pullman] (later London Cottages)
      Ruth's
      Schecter's Pine Shadows
      Shep's
      Wachtel Colony
      Wasserman & Roth
      Weitzman's
      Winnick's
      Zanespublic about the importance of preserving our shared history.

      White Lake NY Hotels in the Early 20th Century

      Narrated by Cy Plotkin whose parents bought the original Woodlawn Villa in 1920. A brief history of hotels around White Lake and Kauneonga Lake, Sullivan County, New York.  Created by Sullivan County Historical Society.

      Copyright © 2025 Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project - All Rights Reserved.

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