History:

The Frank D. Layman Memorial is a historic monument located in Hunter, New York. The monument was erected in 1901 to commemorate Frank D. Layman, who died on the site of the memorial on August 10, 1900 while fighting a forest fire. The monument is pyramidal in shape, four sided, and rises upward from a base approximately seven feet in diameter to approximately 11 feet. (Source: Wikipedia)

Frank Layman Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Directions:

Layman’s Monument can be best reached either from Laurel House Road or Scutt Road. On this outing we reached Layman’s Monument by parking at the end of Scutt Road. (Note there is limited parking at this location. It probably is best to park at the designated Scutt Road parking area.) Near the end of the road there is a path that leads to a footbridge. Facing the end of the road this path will be on your left. There are several paths that take you from Scutt Road to the hiking trail. These paths include two old railroad right of ways. These railroads are the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad and the Catskill & Tannersville Railway. Cross the footbridge and walk to a trail intersection turning right and then follow the blue marked trail. The trail markers are well laid out and there is a sign with mileage and arrows pointing to Layman’s Monument. Note when you approach Spruce Creek along the trail and come to a large man-made rock foundation the trail follows uphill. It does not follow Spruce Creek at this point. The blue markers can be missed at this section.

Layman’s Monument has a nice view of the western head of Kaaterskill Clove. The parking area for Kaaterskill Falls is below. See above photos.

Recent News:

In 2008 a Boy Scout working on his Eagle project decided to help restore the Frank Layman Monument.

‘Daniel Coughlin, a resident of Palenville and a member of Troop 131, Saugerties, is working on his promotion to Eagle Scout, and said he selected restoring Layman’s Monument as his community service project to attain that rank.’

Read more at Life Scout to restore Layman’s Monument on South Mountain

Inscription on Layman’s Monument reads:

IN MEMORY OF

FRANK D. LAYMAN.

OF HAINES FALLS.

WHO LOST HIS LIFE ON

THIS SPOT AUG. 10, 1900.

WHILE WITH OTHERS

FIGHTING A FOREST FIRE

WHICH THREATENED TO

DESTROY THE HOMES AND

BUSINESS INTERESTS OF

THE PEOPLE OF THIS PLACE

BY THOSE GRATEFUL

FOR HIS DEVOTED SERVICE

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED.

A revisit to the former Hunter Railroad Station. It looks like someone painted the outside of the building from white to a light brown (beige) color since the last visit. Also the porch overhang poles are now white and the bricks/ blocks in the front have changed color.

Link to previous visit and photos. Read more about the history of the Hunter Railroad Station at Wikipedia.

The old Hunter Railroad Station currently serves as a private home. Colonel’s Chair can be seen in the background. The summit is 3,199 feet above sea level.

Hunter Fire Station built in 1952.

Located along Dale Lane in Elka Park

Stony Clove Notch is a narrow pass, roughly 2,220 feet in elevation located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. Stony Clove Notch is traversed by New York State Route 214. In the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad traveled through Stony Clove Notch as well. (Wikipedia- Stony Clove Notch)

In the photo below a black SUV passes Notch Lake as it travels north on Route 214 through Stony Clove Notch.

Devil’s Tombstone is located in a rugged mountain pass in the Catskill Mountains called Stony Clove. It has been said that Stony Clove was a favorite haunt of the Devil during the early days in settlement of the Catskills. One object closely associated with the Devil still survives in the campground, it is the Devil’s Tombstone. The tombstone is a large boulder, approximately seven feet by five, which was probably carried down the mountain many centuries ago by a landslide or glacier.

Devil’s Tombstone is one of the oldest New York State campgrounds. It is a small primitive campground with wooded sites and a small shallow lake, Notch Lake. (www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24462.html)

The mountain in the clouds. Several photos stitched together.