Cragsmoor, NY

Cragsmoor is an Ulster County hamlet and census-designated place atop the Shawangunk Ridge, with 433 residents in the 2020 census. The center sits about 1,800 feet above sea level in the southern part of Wawarsing, with Sam’s Point Preserve nearby and the Long Path passing through the hamlet toward the ridge. Ellenville Central School District serves local students. The mountain setting gives Cragsmoor a distinct map above Ellenville and Walker Valley, with homes scattered among ridge roads and old summer properties.

Cragsmoor began as Evansville, an art colony founded in 1879 after painters discovered the ridge’s open views; the name changed to Cragsmoor in 1893. E.L. Henry, George Inness Jr., Charles C. Curran, Helen M. Turner, and other artists worked here, while architect and explorer Frederick Dellenbaugh designed many homes. The Cragsmoor Historic District and Chetolah are listed on the National Register, and the 1897 Stone Church remains a local landmark. The Cragsmoor Historical Society, founded in 1996, now preserves the hamlet’s art-colony and mountain history.