In order to create the 8,300-acre Ashokan reservoir several communities in the valley were flooded; people either abandoned or moved their homes. The house that our local fire chief lives in, a quarter of mile down the road from me was transported in the early 1900’s from Olive, a town that was flooded to make the Ashokan Reservoir. Miles and miles of railroad track was removed and relain, highways were discontinued, and over 30 cemeteries and the bodies in them were relocated. A steam whistle was sounded a full hour just before the area was flooded indicating that people had to leave. Then the waters came rushing in. Can you imagine? Entire towns were relocated to just outside the reservoir’s boundaries, hundreds of houses built and thousands of people relocated. Historical markers indicate where towns used to be. "Former site of..."
In my mind’s eye, I can see entire towns simply submerged under water, laundry still on the line. Of course this isn’t true. But during a drought, when the reservoir was dry my parents walked along the reservoir floor they found evidence of the towns, stone foundations, windowpanes, old plates. This might be an apocryphal story, the drought was before my time, but it is compelling nonetheless.
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