Nestled right at the base of the Shawangunk Mountain ridge in Spring Glen sits a piece of Borscht Belt history that is not often discussed. While the Homowack Lodge wasn’t as well known as hotels like the Nevele, it still saw reasonable success in its own right. Sitting on the southern border of the Borscht Belt area, this allowed it to see popularity while still being somewhat far from the action.

The site started as the Hom-O-Wack House in the early 1940s by the Fatt family. The name Hom-O-Wack derives from the local Native American terminology meaning “water runs through” after the Homowack Kill, which flows nearby. The original house had 17 rooms and because of the parcel it was built on, expanded linearly. Florence Fatt, their daughter, married Irv Blickstein who helped manage the hotel.

The years following World War II brought about the convergence of Jewish vacationers seeking out a getaway for the summer. This necessitated an expansion and the 17-room boarding house evolved to include 30 guestrooms. Business for the hotel heightened in the 1950s and 60s, even with the advent of air travel. The 1950s brought the construction of the new, and current, main building. In 1959, a blaze reportedly brought down two employee apartment buildings. This loss was estimated at $40,000. The hotel once again expanded in 1964 off the main lobby to include a spacious dining room and kosher kitchen. Another blaze on May 27, 1964, damaged a then-new 72-room addition to the resort. The main building was saved, but the compensation was estimated at $100,000.

In Ross Padluck’s book Catskill Resorts: Lost Architecture of Paradise, he says “the physical constraints of the site created a situation in which each new guest room wing was attached to the far end of the previous.” Unlike most Catskill resorts, the Homowack Lodge expanded horizontally rather than vertically. This style led to long corridors which Padluck said “became a favorite subject for comedians entertaining in the distant night club.”

The hotel still remained popular for a long time despite this, and featured a bevy of activities. It included three outdoor pools, one Olympic-sized and two smaller pools for kids. There was also an indoor swimming pool. Homowack also had indoor lounges, indoor tennis courts, and an indoor ice skating rink. Across the road, one could find more courts for tennis and basketball. There was a ski slope with two lifts, as well as a nine-hole golf course. The hotel also uniquely featured a four-lane Brunswick bowling alley right below the main lobby.

A brochure from 1979 also boasts bocci courts, 18-hole miniature golf, “top entertainment in Homowack’s luxurious air-conditioned Nite Club,” and “live disco.” The pricing at that time was a weekly rate of $187.50 for a “standard” room.

Later in its run, Sam Davidman bought the Homowack. He converted it into strictly “glatt kosher.” It ran like this until his passing in 1993. In 1995 it changed ownership once again and became ultra-Orthodox. However, it was still open to the public. By 2005 it was in disrepair and the Homowack closed its doors.

The resort saw a new life in 2006 with Machne Bnos, a Jewish Hasidic sect. The property housed the Spring Mountain Resort, as well as the Congregation Bais Trana Children’s Camp. The owners intended to make various improvements to the derelict property. Since its inception, however, issues plagued the property. Machne Bnos was accused of not having the proper permits for any kind of construction. Neighbors had also drawn concern over zoning and environmental issues, as reported by the Sullivan County Democrat at the time.

On July 9, 2009, an oil spill was reported, which brought the New York State Department of Health in to investigate. During their inspection, the department found leaky roofs, water in or near electrical boxes, along with exposed wiring, per the Democrat. The department also found the drinking well submerged, with a possibility of being contaminated. This, along with a long list of other violations, resulted in the state giving until the 13th to rectify the issues.

With the issues still not being fixed, the state called for the voluntarily evacuation of the guests at the camp by the 15th. However, this proved unsuccessful, as more than 200 girls reportedly continued to use the property. On the 23rd, the state denied a permit application for an overnight camp certification, giving the order for the congregation to vacate the premises.

As reported by the Times Herald Record, the congregation was ordered to hire a third party to act as a fire marshal and conduct 24-hour fire watches. They were also ordered to hire some contractors for plumbing and electrical work, a mold-removal consultant, and a sewage treatment professional.

Still on the property, Congregation Bais Trana was given three days to evacuate the camp. New rules were also set in place. These rules declared that unoccupied areas were to be locked off, and that the pool and main kitchen were to be closed. Bais Trana then reportedly left the property the next day.

According to county property records, in June of 2014, Beautiful Earth Group from Brooklyn purchased the property for $115,000 via a county tax auction. The group also paid $392,000 in still-owed back taxes. They reportedly intended to restore the hotel portion of the property for private use, while the rest of the property was to be opened up for public, recreational usage.

In the present day, the Homowack Lodge is listed as being owned by an entity called AJM Houses LLC. The current state of the property has not been made public, and attempts to reach local building inspectors were unsuccessful. To date, no plans have been announced for the property, which sits and decays, waiting for whatever the future may hold.