The community was one of the four early nineteenth century settlements in the jurisdiction of the town. It has previously been known as "Shawangunk," "Crawford," and "Bloomfield." Another community named "Crawford" is located to the northwest in bordering Ulster County. This hamlet was an early terminus for a short line railroad, the Middletown & Crawford Railroad. This line was bought by the Erie Railroad, which served the town until the 1970s.
Passages that mention Pine Bush, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Orange County, New York1881 · page 168Read the page →
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His father. Dr. Charles Winfield, was a prominent physician, well known in the counties of Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan, residing upon a farm adjacent to the village of Pine Bush, where the subject of this memoir spent his youth attending school ; later, partly employed in labor upon his father's farm, and partly as a merchant's clerk in the country store of Mr. Wm. I. Smith.
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History of Orange County, New York1881 · page 419Read the page →
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The present business of Pine Bush comprises the following: the station buildings of the Crawford Railroad, Earl Terwilliger agent; two hotels, the Taylor House, now kept by Hezekiah W. Cole, and the well-known Decker House, now kept by, S. G.
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The history of Orange County, New York1908 · page 192Read the page →
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Pine Bush. — This is located near the Shawangunk River, in the northern part of the town, near the Ulster County line, and it is a thriving business village, the most important in the town. It is the northern terminus of the Crawford Branch Railway, and its post-office serves a large section of country on both sides of the river in that region. The village site is generally level and attractive, upon the high bank of the stream at that point, and the land environment comprises a most fertile farming section. The old grist mill there belongs to the Revolutionary period,
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An outline history of Orange County1846 · page 269Read the page →
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Pine Bush. — The western boundary of the town, at the time we speak of, was the Shawangunk Kill. On this Mr. Robert Milliken erected a saw mill — called Milliken's Mill on the town records in 1768. This appears to be the earliest mention of a saw mill on this stream. The following mills formerly were on this kill, within the breadth though not all within the limits of the town. Beginning at (he south, and counting down the stream, we have first, the old flour mill,
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Pine Bush, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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