New York Has A Lost Town Most People Don’t Know About

Most of the greatest destinations that you’ll ever visit in the state of New York are our small towns. With so many fantastic small towns scattered all throughout our state, you may have started to feel like you had crossed all of the big-name locations off of your bucket list. But what if I were to tell you that there’s actually a hidden town in the Catskills that you’ve probably never even seen before? Let’s test your knowledge of the Empire State as we discover one of the more interesting lost towns in New York.

If you've ever traveled out along Route 55, you've probably noticed that sizable body of water that you pass by.

Something you may not have noticed though? The fact that beneath the surface of the Neversink Reservoir is a lost town that once was.

Originally founded in 1798, Neversink featured all your favorite small-town essentials from a two-room schoolhouse and covered bridge to a darling little main street.

Sadly for the former residents of Neversink, in 1941 the Board of Water Supply made the heartbreaking decision to sink both the town of Neversink and the town of Bittersweet. Their names make this all the more ironic, don't they?

With the population of New York City growing rapidly, the state had to come to the realization that the creation of more reservoirs would be needed. As a result, this meant the town of Neversink would be both sunken and relocated.

With the town of Old Neversink sitting below the surface of one of the largest man-made reservoirs, some say when the water is low they can see things like the town's old bridge peaking through.

What's now considered to be the town of Old Neversink, those who were living here were forced to relocate their lives, loved ones, and businesses to what is now known as the town of Neversink - just a quick drive from the original town's location. If you think this is a strange act, then you might be interested to know that quite a few New York towns were sunken during the 1900s to make way for new reservoirs that would provide our residents with drinking water.

Since the old Neversink, NY is underwater, perhaps you can imagine what it must have been like as you enjoy fly-over video of the Neversink Reservoir as it looks today:

Neversink is one of several fascinating lost towns in New York that lie beneath our treasured bodies of water. Did you realize that lost towns were hiding underneath our state’s reservoirs? To take a look at other pieces of the past, check out how the remnants of this abandoned zoo are hauntingly beautiful!