Margaretville Mountain Inn & Cauliflower

P 7-19            Margaretville Mountain Inn & Cauliflower

 

7-19 Jacob Van Benschoten had 2 children, 6-10 Sally Van Benschoten-Hewitt and John Van Benschoten.  John’s son Nelson would have been Hughie’s 1^st cousin, 4 times removed. His sons would be 2^nd cousins, 3 times removed.

Located on Margaretville Mountain is an historic Queen Anne style Bed and Breakfast.  Built by a grandson of Jacob Van Benschoten; Nelson Van Benschoten in 1890.  Nelson and his 2 sons claim credit for introducing cauliflower growing to the area. 

In 2013, by happy accident in an otherwise sad occasion, part of the Green family stayed at the Margaretville Mountain Inn while gathered to attend services for Ina Mae Green-Scudder-Every’s husband Richard Every.  Pure coincidence was the discovery of the historical plaque at the front door that connected the Greens to the original builder. 

The Victorian front pallor at the Inn was the scene of shared memories and reminiscences of Dick and Ina Mae, lasting into the late evening, beside a warm fire place and adult beverages. 

Long a trading center for the area’s farms, Margaretville became the nucleus of the important cauliflower growing industry in the Catskills during the first half of the 20th century. Initially growers sent their product to NYC markets in iced barrels on the railroad (the Delaware & Eastern, later named Delaware & Northern, which connected with the Ulster & Delaware Railroad in Arkville). The Margaretville Cauliflower Growers Cooperative, formed in 1929, combined with two other area cooperatives to establish an auction block in what is now the municipal parking lot. There, New York City commission houses purchased truckloads of cauliflower which were then driven to the city. The auction operated through about 1950.

Cauliflower reigned as a major crop in the area.  Even a young John Hewitt Green harvested cauliflower in the early 1940’s.

A greater detailed description of the Inn with photos and history are on my cloud as a pdf file.  see: https://drive.google.com/?tab=jo&authuser=0#my-drive