Goshen Turnpike, which starts in the village of Goshen and ends at Route 17K in the Town of Wallkill near Bloomingburg, has historically been the main thoroughfare in Scotchtown.

The oldest section of the route, from the village of Goshen to Mount Joy Road and the Wallkill River, was probably built by the families who had settled the frontier lands of Goshen Township about 1720. [1] After the Revolution, when the settlement of the southeastern corner of the Town of Wallkill was increasing, the road was extended north to about half way between Scotchtown and Circleville, though these places did not yet exist.

Jonathan Wilkison, a longtime resident of the area in these early time, described his family’s journey from Warwick to Bloomingburg during the fall of 1791 along this very route. Starting very early in the morning they passed through Goshen on the first day, and made it as far as Squire Morrison’s log house near the road. There they spent the night. According to Wilkison’s account, they were a very kind-hearted family, and he vividly recalled the warm fire in the “great old-fashioned fireplace” full of wood on that chilly autumn night. The next morning they continued there journey, but they quickly reached the end of the road. It was nearly half a mile to the next log house on the farm of Henry Patterson. For the next five miles they traveled through thick forest by following marked trees. After about a mile they thought they were headed in the wrong direction and visited another log house to find a guide. They followed the guide past a few more log houses, arriving in Bloomingburg nearly at nightfall. [2]

In the following years the road was extended through what is now Circleville. According to another early account, “the road was made by simply cutting down the trees and digging out the largest rocks. By this process it was made very crooked, and remained so for many years, notwithstanding the great inconvenience of traveling a roundabout way to get a straight distance.” [3] When the hamlet of Scotchtown was settled and named in the 1790s, the section of the route from Scotchtown to Goshen was known as the Scotchtown Road - a name that still exists in the Town of Goshen and within the Village of Goshen where it is known as Scotchtown Avenue. [4]

The record is not exactly clear as to when the route became a turnpike. George Houston, considered by many to be the founder of Scotchtown, was the driving force behind the construction of the Goshen and Bloomingburg Turnpike, according to the 19th-century historian E. M. Ruttenber. [5]

In the early decades of the 19th-century, turnpike roads were considered a useful alternative to town roads throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. In New York the maintenance of town roads was overseen by a local Commissioner and Overseer of Highways and all able-bodied residents living in established road districts were required to help with repairs. In addition to labor, households might also be called upon to supply wagons or other tools, and could be subject to fines for failure to comply. [6]

By 1800 a growing economy and an expansion of interior trade began to strain this informal system of town roads. Increased traffic overwhelmed the ability of local officials to maintain the routes. According to a recent study, “turnpikes markedly upgraded the road system. Roadbeds were smoothed and hardened to aid year round use. Curves were straightened and bridges replaced fords. This prompted a predictable surge in traffic and gave a big boost to the developing economy.” [7]

Samuel Eager, writing his History of Orange County in 1846, discusses the disadvantages of the “old and present plan” of road maintenance but also sought to acknowledge the development of turnpikes:

Jonathan Wilkison wrote in 1872 that he had remembered when the turnpike was established, but tells us little else except that “one gate was where Richard Slee now lives, about a mile from Scotchtown.” He adds, “The father of Dr. James H. Smiley was the gate-keeper at one time.” [9] The old toll gate was in fact about a mile from Scotchtown at the intersection of Cross Road. The gate was connected to the collector’s home. At this point in the road, the turnpike curved up in front of the gate. A stone in front with crude printing read “From the boroughs [Bloomingburg] to the narrows [Scotchtown], toll 5 cents.” [10]

For agricultural communities like Scotchtown, turnpikes were often the main outlet to distant markets. Early farmers transported their produce north along the Goshen Turnpike to the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike (Route 17K), which connected the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. From there most goods headed east to the Newburgh on the Hudson where they were transported by boat to New York City. In the early part of this century dairy farmers used this road to bring milk to the creameries at Crystal Run and Circleville where there were train stations which provided access to New York City markets. Today the turnpike is also the main route for buses traveling north from Scotchtown to elementary, middle and high schools in the Pine Bush School District.

In the 1970s development in Scotchtown, much of it along the Goshen Turnpike, increased traffic on the old road. The intersection with Scotchtown Collabar Road in the center of the hamlet of Scotchtown became notorious as the site of a large number of car accidents. In 1991 a blinking traffic light was installed. Previously to this installation, there were stop signs on the turnpike but apparently none on the Scotchtown Road. Drivers on Goshen Turnpike reported having trouble seeing vehicles approaching on the Scotchtown Road, further contributing to its reputation as a dangerous intersection. Although the volume of traffic was not believed by some officials to be high enough to justify a full traffic signal, the unusually high rate of accidents finally convinced the county to install the signal in August of 1999. [11]

The Town of Wallkill Comprehensive Plan, adopted July 28, 2005, included the Goshen Turnpike within a “scenic corridor” character area, and recomended that future development along such scenic roads in Wallkill “should pay careful attention to the history and beauty of the corridors.” [12]

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