Program

Legends & Lore®

Subject

Folklore

Location

18156 NY-30, Roscoe, NY 12776, USA

Lat/Long

42.069722, -74.945583

Grant Recipient

Colchester Historical Society

In the town of Colchester in Delaware County, New York, there is a valley known as Cat Hollow.

The origin of this name is attributed to an unsettling historical legend set in 1843 that is told among locals. It’s said this is when the local Terry brothers purchased a large tract of land in Colchester and started a lumber camp. They hired ten lumbermen and a woman to cook for the camp. The cook’s pet cat became the men’s object of pestering just so they could be entertained by cook’s swearing. One day one of the men went too far, and a fist fight ensued between him and the cook. The cook won but the man got his revenge by murdering the cook’s cat. When she found her beloved cat dead, the cook sought her revenge by cooking her cat into a supposed “rabbit pie” for supper. After the lumbermen had finished their dinner, the cook revealed her secret.

After this event, it is said that all the men on the job became known as the “Cat Hollow men” and that Cat Hollow valley has been known by that name ever since.