If you enjoy reading, you probably find comfort in being surrounded by books. The earthy-sweet smell of novels you've owned since childhood, the wisdom and wonder contained within their pages, and the names on fraying spines that remind you of epic journeys taken only in the mind. Now imagine a whole village dedicated to the preservation of books. You'll find just that in the sleepy town of Hobart, tucked away in New York's Catskill Mountains. While reading for pleasure has diminished across the country,
this small village offers hope to America's bibliophiles and lovers of old books.
To onlookers in the late 20th century, nothing about Hobart suggested it would be a pioneer of anything. Don Dales, a local investor and bookshop owner, told The Guardian that in 1999, "Hobart was essentially a ghost town." There was a settlement here as far back as the mid-18th century, and following the American Revolutionary War, it grew slowly into a village of agriculture and commerce connected to the rest of New York State via a railway line (which is now part of a scenic trail). But as with many villages whose economies were built on farming and/or manufacturing, Hobart's story in the latter half of the 1900s was one of precipitous and inevitable decline. Who knew that an ancient form of technology would spur a reinvention? The dreamy town of Windham may be the gem of the Catskills, but if pre-loved books are your thing, there's no better vacation spot in this stunning mountain range than Hobart.
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Exploring Hobart's Book-Filled Main Street
There are several reasons why books became the lifeblood of Hobart. It started with Bill and Diana Adams, a physician and lawyer whose Manhattan apartment was overflowing with books. In 2000, on a well-judged whim, they bought a storefront on Hobart's Main Street and opened Wm. H. Adams Antiquarian Books, which is still running today. Their shop specializes in old literature, including novels from the 17th to 20th centuries, art books, biographies, scholarly works, history books, and Greek and Latin texts.
In 2005, Don Dales, who grew up in nearby Stamford, moved to the town, and, inspired by Wales' booktown, Hay-on-Wye, opened a couple of bookshops of his own. It was a fanciful passion project, but Dales rightly sensed his booktown-in-the-Catskills idea had some purchase. There are now seven bookshops in Hobart, each with its own carefully curated stock. And thanks to a viral TikTok video in 2021, hundreds of tourists visit Hobart each week in the summer, coming from all across the U.S.
Kick off your Hobart literary pilgrimage at Wm. H. Adams Antiquarian Books, then head along Main Street from bookshop to bookshop. New York Books & Ephemera is a love letter to its home state. Alongside books on New York art, culture, architecture, history, and folklore are biographies of (and memoirs from) some of the state's famous sons and daughters. At Creative Corner Books, you'll find creatives perusing the shelves, looking for culinary inspiration, DIY advice, crafts instruction manuals, or gardening hacks. Lion Eyes Books deals primarily in art books and hosts small art exhibitions, while Quarry Books is a mystery and sci-fi specialist. Liberty Rock Books has been amassing its collection of used books for decades. It also stocks new books by bestselling authors, along with vintage postcards and jazz records.
Other Things To Do In Hobart
One of the best times to visit Hobart is during the annual Festival of Women Writers, usually held in early June. There are also regular book launches, author readings, and art exhibitions that all make for a great excuse to plan a trip here. The Mural on Main gallery hosts exhibitions throughout the year, merging various artistic disciplines like painting, sketching, and collage, along with workshops on how to craft riddle-poems, hone your drawing skills, and the like. There are also lovely hiking trails in the surrounding Catskills, like the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET), a 26.6-mile route following an old railway line from Hudson to Rensselaer.
If you're planning a trip to Hobart, consider staying in nearby Stamford, which offers more in the way of food and dining. Other options include New York's Oldest town, Albany, around a 90-minute drive away, or Syracuse, one of the most affordable vacation cities in the U.S, which is around 2.5 hours to the west.
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