Local History by Dede Terns-Thorpe - Boyd Allen

This week’s story is about a past local man, Mr. Boyd Allen; a quiet gentleman who did much for the community and asked nothing in return.

With golf season just around the corner, this little tidbit is about the property years before it was a country club. (Mary and Howard Leach made their home in the stone building that had been the Tannersville Country Club. The course itself was open to the public, but the Country Club building was for members only.)

This information came from a discussion with Nancy Allen, a local scholar, hiker, and history buff. She said at one time Louis Allen (Boyd’s father) owned all the land that is now the water treatment plant, the golf course, Dolph’s, and O’Neils (the old Larkins). This explains how Allen Road and Allen Brook were named.

Louis Allen lost his left arm after a car accident on Route 32, beneath the train tracks between Catskill and Saugerties. Louis eventually met and married Millie, who many remember as the owner of Allen’s Hardware Store in the Twin Peaks building (5950 Main St).

The Great Depression came, and with it, the hardships and, at some point, the property was sold.

The Village Market (Dolph’s) stands where Morton Francis, Boyd's uncle, lived.  This is where Boyd ate most of his meals. 

In the rear was a barn for the chickens. Being a teenager then, Boyd raised perhaps as many as 1000 chickens, providing eggs to the summer hotels and parks.

Boyd’s mom Estelle, worked for the telephone company in the rear of the Twin Peaks building on Main Street, or Gray’s as the name above the building says. The operators lived up on the third floor.

Thank you, Nancy,  for this information. I hope it’s all written correctly and people get the chance to picture the area in their minds.  

Boyd Allen had been the Mayor of Tannersville at one point. He was either a Trustee or President (rotating positions) of the Tannersville Evergreen Cemetery for over 50 years and held many other volunteer positions.

Boyd is one of the people in the Evergreen Cemetery that helped to make our town what it is today.

Thanks for reading. I hope you had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. Have a good week, be careful, and stay safe.

Dede Terns-Thorpe/Town of Hunter Historian

Hunterhistorian@gmail.com.