Purvis - <click to enlarge>
The covered bridge that crosses the Willowemoc is located at the far right
edge of the picture, along with the ramp that allowed access to the bridge's
westerly portal. The road that leads from that ramp and continues on the the
hill behind the community would be the road that leads to Roscoe, later to
become Route 17. The first building on this road, past the covered bridge, and
on the right side of the street was the general merchadise store, probably owned
by Jack Sherwood at the time of the date of this image. The Sherwood residence,
earlier the Sherwood Hotel, or also called the Purvis Hotel, would be the last
building on the left side of this road, at the base of the hill. The building at
the top of the hill would be the Hodge residence, later Kortright's, and later
the Rice house.
If the theory holds that George Purvis bought, or received, one of the
Livingston lots from the Hardenburgh Patent, this would be the area of that lot.
And if that is true, then the original Purvis farm could be included somewhere
within this image. With so many Purvis family members, it can easily be seen how
the original homestead farm's acreage could have dwindled down to thirteen acres
by 1872, creating more of a subsistence type of farming. But just where was the
farm? Perhaps it was at the site of the original Purvis Hotel, with the barn
being that building across the street. Perhaps it was the Hodge residence on top
of the hill. Or, maybe even the house and outbuilding that lies beyond the Hodge
house. This last mentioned site is interesting because the 1875 Atlas shows this
location to be that of "Mrs. Purvis". For me, it's the prime candidate
until we can prove otherwise.
Fred