The Anchors of Wurtsboro

~~ Nestled in the valley between the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains is the historic village of Wurtsboro. Center point for the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which carried coal from Honesdale to Kingston and named after the canal’s founders, Wurtsboro has been a central spot for travelers for over a hundred years.

At the center of the village is Canal Towne Emporium, which has been owned and operated by the Holmes family since 1869, having first opened in 1839 as a supply store for the canal. As the Fulton and Holmes General Store, it operated for a hundred years selling everything from groceries and household goods to hardware, sporting goods and practically everything the local townsfolk required. In 1976, the store was transformed into Canal Towne, the brainchild of Doris Holmes who restored the building back to its original look and décor and opened with the Golden Rule as the store’s motto: “treat the customer as you would like to be treated”.

From the moment you step on our original floorboards, you’ll know you’ve left the modern world behind. Here, you can bring pleasure and joy back to gift giving and home decorating. Peruse the aisles, and visit each room downstairs and up for fine, locally handcrafted gifts, decorative accessories, country furniture, foods & candies. It’s all here in our lovingly restored 1840’s general store that recalls the quieter and slower times when it was a trading post for the D&H Canal.

Across the street is Crystal Connection which joined the village in 2008, growing into the premier crystal metaphysical destination for New York and the northeast. Its a very unique space and experience housed within an 1890s antique church lined with molded tin up the walls and ceiling. As soon as you drive up you'll view all the giant stones out front in its medicinal crystal garden and rose quartz rock garden. Once inside you'll be in aww of the inventory and variety from all over the world. In the afternoons the light shines through onto all the crystals through the original stained glass windows. Weekends offer Aura Photography, Tarot & Intuitive Readings as well. You'll certainly leave refreshed, in harmony with yourself and with a new perspective for the beauty of nature.