Sullivan Diner
The long-abandoned Sullivan Diner, formerly the Restop Diner, in Parksville first opened its doors in 1969 on the former site of the Prospect Inn. According to John Conway in his book Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills “the diner came from Wayne, New Jersey in two 17 ½ foot sections, each weighing 40 tons . . . The diner had a capacity of 101. The owners also refurbished the nearby Gail Motel and erected a gas station. The facilities were open 24 hours and employed 65 people.” The diner closed around 2004. The adjacent former motel, located on the same parcel of land as the diner, now operates as apartments.
The hamlet of Parksville provides a small snapshot of the economic hard times that have faced Sullivan County since the decline of the tourism industry in the 1970s. Changing American vacation patterns and the closing of the railroad forced many businesses, including some of the largest and most famous hotels and resorts in the area, to close. Unfortunately, despite a short-lived business revival in the 1990s and years of work by various planning committees, the hard times are still evident in and around Parksville, especially with the downtown area nearly abandoned.
The recent Route 17 (soon to be Interstate 86) highway bypass away from Main Street only added to the hamlet’s challenges. Prior to the interstate, Parksville was bisected by Route 17 and had the last remaining traffic light on the entire Route 17 / I-86 route. With the completion of the new I-86 bypass, and with little need to stop, drivers now quickly speed by Parksville with little recognition that it is even there. As a result, many other businesses such as the West 17 Diner (later the I-86 Diner), the pizzeria, several restaurants and the ice cream place have also closed their doors.
Contrary to its current situation, in its hey-day the hamlet of Parksville was once a thriving community. The hamlet, first settled in the early 1800s, was named after Williams Parks, an early resident and mill owner. The late 1800s arrival of the O & W (Ontario & Western) railroad made Parksville, located in a pretty valley with the Little Beaver Kill River running through it, a popular tourist destination for anglers and those seeking a refreshing summer vacation. At its height, as hard as it may be to imagine today, Parksville was home to nearly 50 hotels, inns and boarding houses.
