Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project

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Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project

Your source for all things Borscht Belt! Take our trail, please! 🪧🚙

06/25/2026

Who was Otto Hillig?

Depending on who you ask: a photographer, pilot, castle builder, adventurer... or the man who hid N**i treasure somewhere in the Catskills.

Born in Germany, Hillig spent decades documenting Sullivan County, creating an archive of over 60,000 aerial photographs and 50,000 glass plate negatives.

In June 1931, Hillig and Danish pilot Holger Hoiriis took off from the 9th fairway of what is now the Sullivan County Golf & Country Club aboard The Liberty, making international headlines with their transatlantic flight to Europe.

He later built the stone castle that still overlooks Liberty and according to local legend, hid a cache of N**i treasure somewhere on the property, leaving behind clues that treasure hunters chased for decades.

More than 70 years after his death, Otto Hillig remains one of the Catskills’ most fascinating and mysterious characters.

Join us following our Ferndale Historic Marker Dedication this Sunday, June 28 from 5–7 PM at Otto’s, the restaurant named in Hillig’s honor at the Sullivan County Golf & Country Club, where his flight once began.

This special one-night celebration of Ferndale’s Borscht Belt history will feature rare photographs, storytelling, music, a Marker Project merch pop-up, and specialty cocktails and food available for purchase. ❤️

06/24/2026

August 1973 - the final summer season at Stier’s Hotel in Ferndale. Loving the signage 🧡

Photographs C. Marc Stie

06/23/2026

Stier’s Hotel in Ferndale was started by Frank Stier and his father Moses Wolf Stier in 1920, 8 years after they arrived in New York from the village of Mihova in the province of Bukovina, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and is now in Northwest Ukraine.

Frank traveled to the Mountains and put a deposit down on a farm in Jeffersonville. But on the way back to the train he passed another farm at the top of a hill where Swan Lake Road crossed Ferndale-Loomis road. He stopped, took a walk around it, and thought it was beautiful, and nicer than the other one. He headed back to Jeffersonville to retrieve his deposit and put it on the farm in Ferndale. Like other Jews who had moved to the mountains, they quickly realized that they were better suited for hospitality than farming.

By 1930, Stier’s Hotel had expanded and had also constructed the first swimming pool in Ferndale, a pool so big that it stayed crisply cool all summer long. Many stars like Myron Cohen and Henny Youngman played at Stier’s, often before or after their main show at one of the bigger resorts.

The food, however, was the biggest draw. Under Frank Stier’s exacting attention, the hotel’s reputation for great kosher food traveled far. When a comedian talked to Johnny Carson about starting his career at Stier’s Hotel, Carson reportedly replied, “that’s the place with great food.”

Although summers still sold out, Larry and Dottie could see that the business was literally dying. The hotel was sold and its last guests, including many family members, left for the last time after the High Holidays in 1973.

History + images courtesy of Marc Stier. Stier’s will be honored on our Ferndale marker!

06/22/2026

The Shelburne, one of Ferndale’s finest hotels, in the 1950s. Next week (Sunday, June 28th), you can step inside the hotel’s former playhouse, Shelburne Playhouse, for a pre-dedication open house from 3 - 4 PM.

Link to RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shelburne-theater-open-house-tickets-1992050518726

Come kick off the summer with us. We’ll see you in The Catskills 🌞

Photographs courtesy Steingart Associates.

06/18/2026

Step inside one of the Catskills’ most remarkable surviving landmarks, for one day only!

Built in 1922 as the social hall of the Shelburne Hotel, this rare Borscht Belt playhouse once hosted dances, comedy, live music, game nights, and countless summer evenings in Ferndale. When the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1965, the theater remained, becoming one of the last surviving links to a time when more than 50 hotels dotted the hamlet. Today, a new chapter is being written as owners Leisah Swenson and Monica Byrne continue the building’s ongoing restoration and preservation.

On June 28th, we invite you to explore the building, take photographs, and connect with its owners while experiencing a piece of Catskills history firsthand. Light refreshments will be provided and donations to support preservation efforts are welcome.

Join us for a rare open house of the historic Shelburne Theater, followed by the dedication of Ferndale’s newest Borscht Belt Historical Marker and an evening of stories, photographs, cocktails, food, and local lore at Otto’s.

SHELBURNE OPEN HOUSE: 3:00 P.M. - 280 Upper Ferndale Road

MARKER DEDICATION: 4:00 P.M. - 9 Ferndale Road

AFTERPARTY AT OTTO’s - 5:00 P.M. - 2514 Rt. 52

Free and open to the public.

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shelburne-theater-open-house-tickets-1992050518726

06/17/2026

An early 60s summer afternoon at the Fun Fare in Ferndale!

photographs c. Rhoni Caminsky

06/15/2026

Before it became the Upper Ferndale Country Club, this property was known as the Ruth-Aldo Villa, the summer home of New York City businessman D. M. Balsam, who named it after his two children. The Golant and Smith families purchased the estate in 1921 and operated it as a Catskills resort until 1957.

Shown in slide 1 are Philip Issenoff and Harriet Golant, whose families were instrumental in the hotel’s history; the original main house later became part of Camp Agudah and stood until a fire destroyed it in 2020.

06/13/2026

Ferndale 🌿🌱🌳

06/12/2026

Join us on Saturday, July 11 as we celebrate the unveiling of our 17th historic marker in Roscoe, perched on the northern edge of the Borscht Belt.

Once a key hub for rail travel, rivers, and mountain life, Roscoe continues to serve as both a gateway and a gathering place for visitors and locals alike.

The dedication begins at 4:00 PM at the Roscoe O&W Museum. Speakers include Fred Holtz, PhD, who spent 25 summers at the Campbell Inn.

At 5:00 PM, head to the Roscoe Collective for “Greetings from Roscoe”, an illustrated talk with photographers Isaac Jeffreys (Isaac Jeffreys) and Marisa Scheinfeld (Marisa Scheinfeld) in conversation with Ahu Terzi of The Hound Books.

Through rarely seen photos and ephemera, they’ll bring Roscoe’s Borscht Belt era to life, highlighting the architecture and distinctive vacation culture of the town’s resort years.

The artists will also give a sneak peek at their upcoming publications, and Isaac Jeffreys will also exhibit a selection of his work. Food and cocktails will be available during the program.

SATURDAY, JULY 11 – ROSCOE

4:00 PM: Dedication Ceremony
Roscoe O&W Museum, 7 Railroad Avenue

5:00 – 6:30 PM: “Greetings from Roscoe”
Roscoe Collective, 57 Stewart Avenue

All events are free and open to all!!!

06/11/2026

A walk through Grandview Palace Condominiums (formerly Brown’s Hotel) in 2011. swipe through and see rare views of the Jerry Lewis Theater at the end of its days with the power on!

Brown’s became Grandview Palace after the hotel closed in 1988. The entire hotel was renovated to fit modern aesthetics, aside from the nightclub wing, which was left in all its late-60s opulent glory.

Photographs courtesy Jeffrey Alan 😁

Address

P. O. Box 797
Rock Hill, NY
12775

Website

http://www.maytheborschtbewithyou.org/

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