MAMAKATING

Inscription

MAMAKATING
FIRST FORMED DEC. 17, 1743 AS
PRECINCT IN ULSTER COUNTY BY
NEW YORK COLONY. BECAME TOWN
MARCH 7, 1788 & INCORPORATED
INTO SULLIVAN COUNTY 1809.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2022

As the population of Ulster County increased, the colonial government of New York subdivided the area into precincts. The Colonial Laws of New York from the Year 1664 to the Revolution, Vol. 3 provides a record of the formation of the Precinct of Mamakating on December 17, 1743:

Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all the LAND to the Southward of the Town of Rochester, as far as this County of Ulster Extends, and to the Westward of the Wallkill Precinct and Shawangoungh Precinct as far as the Said County Extends, Shall be and is hereby Erected into a Precinct by the name of Mame Kating Precinct…[sic]

James Eldridge Quinlan’s 1873 edition of the History of Sullivan County provides little insight to the origins of the precinct’s name; he suggests that “Mamacotton, (or correctly, Mamakating,) is an Indian word, the meaning of which is lost.” Mamakating was later incorporated as a town on March 7, 1788 by an Act of the New York State Legislature. Secondary sources indicate that the original borders of the precinct changed significantly to accommodate the formation of neighboring towns and counties. In 1809, the Town of Mamakating was encompassed by the newly formed Sullivan County.