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The Authors of the Great Northern Catskills

The Kaaterskill Clove was popular with notable literary figures and the setting for some of the greatest tales of all time (such as Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle").  Many authors like Mark Twain, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant found solace and/or inspiration in the quiet towns located throughout the Kaaterskill Clove

Father of the American Ghost Story

Washington Irving

The creator of Rip Van Winkle.

Literary Icon

Mark Twain

Literary Master

James Fenimore Cooper

Wife of General George Custer

Elizabeth Bacon Custer

Mary Mapes Dodge

William Cullen Bryant

Bryant was a poet, best known for "Thanatopsis" written in 1811.

Discover more famous individuals that had work inspired by the beautiful Catskill Mountains.