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Phoenicia is a hamlet (and census-designated place) of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 309 at the 2010 census, making it the highest populated community in the town. The village center is located just off Route 28 at its junction with Route 214 and is nestled at the base of three peaks, Mount Tremper, Romer Mountain, and Sheridan Mountain. The community sits at the confluence of the Esopus Creek and Stony Clove Creek. A popular getaway for New Yorkers, the hamlet has frequented many tourism guides as among the best vacation towns in the greater New York City area. [edit] History
The geographic area that would eventually be named Phoenicia was fertile hunting and fishing land for the Mohawk, Mohican, and Lenape peoples for hundreds of years before European settlers arrived. Of particular note are the Esopus Lenape, who are believed to be the people who spent the most time in the area. The first European settlement in the area is believed to be in the mid-18th century, as Ulster county as a whole began to see more European immigration and land access in the more fertile lower valleys became restricted. These access restrictions particularly began to push poorer subsistence farmers into the Catskill mountains. Most of these early settlers were of Dutch, English, and Scottish origin, with Dutch being the most commonly spoken European language. The 19th century saw industry move into the area, with tanning becoming the dominant employer early and eventually ceding to bluestone quarrying towards the latter half of the century. This era saw the decline of Dutch cultural dominance. The hamlet housed the Phoenix Tannery from 1836 until it closed around 1870, eventually burning down in 1873. The Phoenix, along with most of the new industry in the area, primarily employed recent Irish immigrants and was at different times known as the Newkirk and Simpson Tannery, Simpson Tannery, Simpson’s Tannery, and Edinburg Tannery. Many believe the Phoenix Tannery is the source of the hamlet's name. As the extractive industries of tanning and quarrying began to wane in the region towards the latter half of the 1800s, tourism began to take off with Phoenicia a major center. An 1879 article from the New York Times “In The Ulster Catskills: Attractions of Shandaken Valley,” notes “many thousands of people will come [to the Catskills] annually to escape the heat of the pent-up cities, and spend some of their hard-earned money in gaining renewed strength and vigor of body and mind.” The railroad (the Ulster and Delaware Railroad) arrived at this community first, making it the first to develop the tourist industry which is still a major part of the local economy. The New York Central Railroad acquired the railroad on February 1, 1932. It continued passenger service through the development, albeit only once-daily except Sundays in its final years. That service ended on March 31, 1954. Phoenicia was also the western terminus of the Catskill Mountain Railroad's tourist operations (which ran on the former Ulster and Delaware tracks), but this service (2022) no longer operates. In 1960, the Empire State Railway Museum opened in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station. On August 23, 1986 Phoenicia became the home of The Shandaken Eagle, a two-ton cast-iron eagle with a 13 foot wingspan who originally lived atop New York City's Grand Central Depot. The Phoenicia Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Beginning in 2010, the town has hosted the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice every August. [edit] Research Tips
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