Highland, New York, United States

🇺🇸 Highland is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The town's name denotes its location on elevated ground north of the Delaware River. The town is in the south-western part of the county.

History The town was formed from the Town of Lumberland in 1853. Barryville is named for William T. Barry, postmaster general under President Andrew Jackson. The community grew up around the D&H Canal, which opened in 1828 and operated until 1898. The canal ran through what is today the centre of the hamlet, and the canal company operated a number of stores, an office and a dry dock there.

The Delaware River also served as the conduit for timber cut in the area and rafted to Philadelphia for use in the ship building industry. Men made fortunes in the timber business, and when the industry died in the middle of the 19th century, many river communities died with it. In fact, writing in 1899, John Willard Johnston, lawyer, historian, and the town of Highland's first supervisor, predicted a dire future for Barryville.

"Barryville is a small, poor village now", he wrote, "but at one time supported an active business. The lumber of the region being exhausted, the business of canaling declining and now abandoned, it has for the last 25 years been waning, until now it seems to have reached a bottom of hardpan. Human imagination can hardly reach anything in the future likely to improve it; but it will probably remain indefinitely the small poor place it now is".

Geography The south-western town line, marked by the Delaware River, is the border of Pennsylvania.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 51.7 square miles (134 km²), of which 50.0 square miles (129 km²) is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) (3.25%) is water.

Communities and locations in Highland • Barryville – A hamlet in the southern part of the town, located on Route 55 by the Delaware River. • Eldred – A hamlet in the central part of the town, located along Route 55, and the location of the Highland Town Hall. • Highland Lake – A hamlet east of Eldred, located by the lake, "Highland Lake". • Lake DeVenoge – A private community east of Highland Lake. • Minisink Ford – A hamlet in the south-western part of the town by the Delaware River. • Yulan – A hamlet in the western part of the town on Routes 21 and 23.