The Fort Delaware Museum, located in Narrowsburg, NY.

Fort Delaware Museum

Fort Delaware is a representation of the first white settlement on the Upper Delaware River, called Cushetunk, in 1754 by the Delaware Company Pioneers. Today´s Fort represents the development of the settlement over a thirty year period. The Fort is owned, operated and maintained by Sullivan County through its Division of Public Works.

The original settlers were farmers who came primarily from central Connecticut and were of English descent. They were searching for more land because it had become too crowded in Connecticut to suit colonial farming techniques. A group of Connecticut men formed “The Delaware Company” and became proprietors. In the traditional New England way of land distribution they owned the land and either sold or leased it to farmers moving into this frontier, these proprietors moved their families to the frontier and never sold their land.

The Delaware Company purchased land from the Lenape Indians, with the first deed signed in 1754. The land purchased was a 10 mile long strip along both sides of the Delaware River (situate in modern day New York and Pennsylvania). Procedures for filing land claims were very different in the 18 th century. Also at that time, the States of Pennsylvania and New York were engaged in a boundary dispute, disputes of other colonies really didn´t matter much to those early Connecticut farmers, so they claimed the land for Connecticut! And they called their community, “Cushetunk.” To those white settlers, it sounded like what the Lenapes were calling the place. KASH-ET-UNK, or “a place of red stone hills.”

Museum Hours, Operating Schedule and Rates

Open Weekends from Memorial Day through June
Open Friday through Monday, from the last Friday of June through Labor Day
Friday, Saturday & Monday Hours: 10 am to 5:00 pm (last tour at 4:00 pm)
Sunday Hours: 12 Noon to 5:00 pm (last tour at 4:00 pm.)

Admission

Adults $7.00
Children (5-14) $4.00
Senior Citizens (62+) $5.00
Family Pass $20.00 (admits 2 adults and up to 3 children)
Special Rates for camps, student groups and adult groups - with a complimentary ticket for the bus driver!
Children under 5 are free when accompanied by an adult.

Special rates for camps, student groups and adult groups

A tour of the facilities includes demonstrations of early settlers´ lifestyles and craft-making. A gift shop and picnicking facilities are located on the grounds. Each spring, the Fort is host to over 1,000 students who participate in the Student Days program.

Location and Directions

Fort Delaware Museum
15 Route 97
Narrowsburg, New York

Phone (845) 794-3000, x-5002 (September-April)
Phone (845) 252-6660 (May-August)

Located in the Hamlet of Narrowsburg, in Sullivan County on State Route 97 (designated Scenic Byway) in the historic Upper Delaware River Valley approximately 45 minutes north of Port Jervis, NY, 30 minutes south of the Village of Hancock, and 30 minutes west of Monticello, NY.