Frank D. Layman Monument
The Frank D. Layman monument is located on South Mountain along the blue-marked Escarpment Trail in the North Lake area. It is located a short distance from Kaaterskill Falls and is accessible only by foot. The site offers a commanding view of upper Kaaterskill Clove as it faces towards Twilight Park and the distant Hunter Mountain. Just below the monument is a steep ledge that drops off into the clove.
The inscription on the monument reads: “In memory of Frank D. Layman, of Haines Falls, who lost his life on this spot Aug. 10, 1900. While with others fighting a forest fire which threatened to destroy the homes and business interests of the people of this place. By those grateful for his devoted service this monument is erected.”
The devastating Catskills fire of 1900 in which Frank Layman (1872-1900) lost his life started on August 10th (at around either 10am or 3pm, depending on the source) in Kaaterskill Clove below Kaaterskill Falls in close proximity to the Laurel House, and a little further from the famed Kaaterskill Hotel. Guests of both hotels were the first to smell the smoke. The fire would reach within 300 yards of the grand Laurel House hotel. Some of the hotel patrons left in fear, while others had their trunks packed and were ready to leave with short notice.
Although no one knows specifically how the fire started, the first theory, and the most published, attributed it to the lengthy regional drought that dried the trees and land. One newspaper article stated that it hadn’t rained in nearly 40 days. A second theory was that the fire was accidentally started by “tramps” camping out in the woods. Perhaps it could have a combination of both possibilities.
The fire destroyed several hundred acres of forest land. The hotels were saved. Other fires caused by the dry conditions were also raging at the same time in the Catskills at Cairo Round Top, Black Head Mountain the Plattekill Clove.
Within a few months of Layman’s death, community residents and guests of the nearby hotels raised over $700 to construct a monument to the brave hero, which was erected in 1901 on the spot where his body was found. The plot of land for the monument was donated by George Harding, owner of the Hotel Kaaterskill which had been threatened by the fire.
For more information about Frank D. Layman and the August 1900 fire that took his life, please see my blog post dated October 22, 2020.
