What I am about to tell you is a story that blows my mind. It's about a New York town that was here one day and gone the next. Literally off the map. How does a town simply disappear?

This is the story of Neversink.

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Imagine coming home one day and finding an eviction noticed nailed to your house. I'm sure you would be sick to your stomach. That is what happened to the people of Bittersweet, NY in 1941. According to the YouTube video Catskills Oral History, residents had little time to get out.  Why am I being evicted?

The city of Manhattan was growing so fast in the 1930's and early 40's that they needed more water. The State of New York invoked it's "rights" and literally removed a town of 3000 people so a reservoir could be built. That town was called Bittersweet and today it lies under 175 feet of water known as the Neversink Reservoir.

youtube.com - Drone Tours
Neversink Reservoir - youtube.com - Drone Tours
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Can you believe that homes, churches and bridges were demolished? Even the cemeteries were dug up with some bodies being relocated to a proper grave while others ended up in a common burial site.

This is what the town of Bittersweet, New York looked . Imagine all of that, the building, trees, everything, gone. photo - public domain
This is what the town of Bittersweet, New York looked . Imagine all of that, the building, trees, everything, gone.
photo - public domain
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The resident's of Bittersweet's neighboring community, Neversink, were lucky because their entire town was relocated. Based on the first-hand accounts of former residents in the YouTube video Neversink Reservoir, some of the homes were literally lifted off of their foundations and relocated a short ride down state route 55.

Main Street in Bittersweet, New York. photo - public domain
Main Street in Bittersweet, New York.
photo - public domain
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The residents of Bittersweet had very little time to pack up and move but the State of New York took years, in some cases to pay the residents for their homes. This was a long time ago but if it happened then, could it happen again?

public domain
public domain
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