Skip to main content

The Curious Case of NY 990V

 


One of the more curiously numbered routes in New York State is NY 990V, a reference route in the southern Schoharie County towns of Gilboa and Conesville. In New York State, a reference route is typically only displayed on small green markers, but a few of these reference routes are signed like a regular touring route. This sparked my curiosity when I first saw NY 990V signed around the year 1990 when I was just a boy growing up and going on family trips between Long Island and the Catskills, thinking "oh cool, a new route".

But NY 990V packs quite a punch of scenery and history in its 6 mile journey from NY 30 in Gilboa, along the Schoharie Reservoir and the Manor Kill to Schoharie County Routes 3 and 18 in Conesville. In past lives, NY 990V was numbered as NY 342 (now used as a number for a state route just north of Watertown), it was part of the Catskill Turnpike in the 19th Century and in prehistoric times, there was a forest in these parts and you can see the fossilized remains of the forest. That forest is now the Gilboa Fossil Forest and is considered to be the world's oldest forest at about 385 million years of age. So let's take a look...
NY 990V starts its journey east from NY 30 by descending towards the Schoharie Creek. You can start to see the hills on the other side of the creek pretty quickly.

NY 990V eastbound at Schoharie CR 13 (Stryker Road). Schoharie CR 13 was severed as a through route due to flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The Gilboa Museum, which features a collection of local fossils, can be reached by turning left here.
NY 990V crosses over the Schoharie Creek in Gilboa. This bridge was built in 2003, replacing a much narrower truss bridge at the same location. It was replaced as part of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (NYCDEP) Upstate Bridge Reconstruction Program as this bridge crosses near the Gilboa Dam of the Schoharie Reservoir, which is part of the New York City watershed.
Just east of the bridge, there is a pull-off for the Gilboa Fossils. The fossils are from the Devonian Period of the Paleozoic Era of geologic history and they are some of the oldest known fossils on the planet.
Fossilized tree stump, root system and all.
Gilboa Dam of the Schoharie Reservoir. There was a pull-off for an overlook at the dam from NY 990V at one time, but when reconstruction to modernize the dam took place, the pull-off was fenced off, obscuring views of the reservoir, dam and a few historic signs. I took this picture and the picture of the two cast irons signs when the overlook was publicly accessible.
The historic village of Gilboa was razed around 1917 when the construction of the Gilboa Dam took place. The land where the village was situated on now sits deep below the Schoharie Reservoir.
The Schoharie Reservoir is part of the New York City water supply, which provides water to residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester Counties as well as to the City of New York.
NY 990V at Schoharie CR 39. The Schoharie Reservoir splits away from NY 990V here and the county road continues on to Greene County and NY 23 in Prattsville.
Just off of NY 990V at the Y intersection with Schoharie CR 39 is a bridge over the Manor Kill. From the bridge, you can see the upper part of Manor Kill Falls. It should also be noted that the Long Path, a hiking trail that runs north from New York City and through the Hudson Valley and Catskills, crosses the Manor Kill here and follows NY 990V for a few miles to the west.
Also at the Y intersection with NY 990V and Schoharie CR 39, this sign could be found for Route ^066.
It has since been corrected with a right side up NY 990V route shield.
NY 990V continues onto West Conesville and Conesville through the woods and alongside farms and homes. The Town of Conesville in the southeastern corner of Schoharie County features the highest elevations above sea level in the entire county. This is a westbound view of NY 990V just west of Conesville and is pretty consistent with how the road looks east of Gilboa.
NY 990V follows the route of the old Susquehanna Turnpike (or Catskill Turnpike) that went from Catskill to Wattle's Ferry (now Unadilla) through Greene, Schoharie and Delaware Counties. This stone mile marker from the turnpike's heyday in the first half of the 19th Century shows that this marker on NY 990V in Conesville is 33 miles away from Catskill.
NY 990V's eastern end is at an intersection at Schoharie CR 3, Schoharie CR 18 and Champlin Road in downtown Conesville. If you continue straight on NY 990V, it becomes Schoharie CR 3 and eventually meets with NY 81 and NY 145 near Potter Hollow in the far southwestern corner of Albany County.
Turning around and looking west at NY 990V in Conesville.
Looking far enough west will get you back to NY 30 and the western end of NY 990V.


How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
RootsWeb.com - The Catskill Turnpike
New York Routes - Reference Route 990V
Alps' Roads - NY 990V
Bridgehunter.com - Gilboa Bridge

Comments

Frosty said…
It is an interesting road. I had never heard of its potential connection to Millwood.
If you’re riding with someone with any tendency for car sickness, you better be careful on the first 10 miles traveling south from 180
Frosty said…
Ignore my previous comment to this post.
I meant to comment on a different post

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w