Today, our area is beginning to recover from a long economic declined caused by several factors, but chief among them was the end of the mass hospitality business in Sullivan and Ulster counties, popularly known as “the Borscht Belt.” But a group is planning to recognize that part of the state’s history through historical markers.

The “borscht” moniker dates back to the state’s influx of Jewish people to the region. The slightly sour, thick soup made with beetroots and served with a dollop of sour cream is an essential part of East European cuisine and it was introduced to Americans by the Jewish immigrants who came, primarily to New York, from 1880 to 1920. Driven from Russia and East Europe by violent antisemitism, they moved to New York City, making it the city with the largest Jewish population in the world, a status it retains today, with more Jewish inhabitants than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined.

However, the U.S. of the 1920s had its fair share of antisemitism too, and the striving, hard-working Jewish population of New York City often found hotels and resorts shut to them. So they built their own. In time that resulted in more than 500 hotels of all sizes and shapes, rising up in a band across Sullivan County, into Ulster County and even Orange County. Along with those were many more smaller ventures, primarily the 50,000 bungalow colonies that developed their own significant culture.

Following an upgrade of Route 17 in the 1950s, the traffic to the Borscht Belt shifted off the railroads and into cars. By the late 60s, various roads in our area were infamous for incredible traffic on weekends.

And the phenomenon generated other industry booms in our area, like the stand-up comedy scene. The list of stars who started in stand up at these hotels is a long one and covers the map of American comedy in the post-war era, with Woody Allen in one corner, Sid Caesar in another, Joan Rivers over there and Lenny Bruce over here. Perhaps the most brutalist of them all was Don Rickles, who pretty much attacked every audience with a carnivorous passion. A whole culture evolved around the resorts like the Concord or Nevele.

The Borscht Belt hotels were also reportedly a massive marriage bureau, and innumerable romances began (or ended) during summer stays in the Catskills.

The images from the great hotels in their day are always of grand swimming pools, huge dining rooms, stages with star comics on them, and many great golf courses. But today, most of the hotels are gone, and that leaves a massive gap in the modern understanding of the area. To keep the memory alive the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project was established.

The leaders of this project include photographers and historians, such as Marisa Scheinfeld who has published books of her work showing the hotels as they are today and has appeared in The New York Times, the National Geographic, the Wall Street Journal, and other mainstream media. Kelli Huggins, a historian and a specialist in Catskill and animal history, such as the famous train dogs, Railroad Jack and Owney in the 19th century, is also involved.

The project’s website (Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project) says, “The Mission of The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project is to create, preserve and designate places important to the Borscht Belt’s vibrant history while considering the era’s impact on American Jewish life and the legacy of the Catskills.”

The website points out that, as of 2022 when they began the project, there were no historical markers of the Borscht Belt in the area.

“Our goal is to create a comprehensive marker system [in digital and physical formats] and a compendium self-guided audio driving tour that traverses the region.”

And so an important period in the history of Ulster and Sullivan counties will get an accounting. The project leaders say, “This large-scale interpretive project will benefit the communities they are placed in by sparking interest in local history, be easily accessible to the public, and educate citizens and visitors alike about the events that have shaped our past.”