In 1823 a group of Catskill merchants formed the Catskill Mountain Association, for the purpose of building a hotel on South Mountain, on a flat area known as the Pine Orchard. The site was perfect for a hotel, with sweeping views of the Hudson valley, and two lakes behind it providing water and recreation. The Mountain House was built in fall and winter of 1823, and the hotel was opened in the summer of 1824. Click here for an account of a visit to the Mountain House in 1826.
