Layman’s Monument Restoration Project
February 3, 2009
The image saved in my heading is that of Layman’s monument. It sits high atop the Escarpment wall near Haines Falls, NY. Frank Layman, a local firefighter, lost his life while fighting a terrible forest fire on August 10, 1900. The monument marks the general area they found his body. The inscription on the monument says:
“IN MEMORY OF FRANK D. LAYMAN,
OF HAINES FALLS,
WHO LOST HIS LIFE ON
THIS SPOT AUG. 10, 1900,
WHILE WITH OTHERS FIGHTING A FOREST FIRE
WHICH THREATENED TO
DESTROY THE HOMES AND
BUSINESS INTERESTS OF
THE PEOPLE OF THIS PLACE
BY THOSE GRATEFUL
FOR HIS DEVOTED SERVICE
THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED”1
I had passed this monument and read the inscription many times while hiking, always wondering about the history behind this incredible man. I would learn more about the last days of his life, from the Daily Mail, a local newspaper servicing the people of the Catskill mountains.
On Sunday, February 1, 2009, I glanced at the front page of the Daily Mail, only to see myself staring back at me. Yes there I was in my Boy Scout uniform, with a sash full of badges, grinning from ear to ear. I guess that’s better than seeing me being led out of some courthouse in handcuffs and a raincoat pulled over my head. Anyway, the caption under the picture stated;
“Life Scout Dan Coughlin III of Palenville has received approval from the Hunter Town Board to perform restoration work in the spring at Layman’s Monument for his Eagle Scout project.”2
In his article, Mr. Jim Planck described my meeting with the Hunter Town Board and more importantly to me, went into the background of the monument.
“Layman had been a Twilight Park employee, and it was the Twilight Park Association who originally funded the memorial and caused it to be created.”2
Interesting enough I did some digging of my own and “Googled” Frank D. Layman. In one of my “hits” I came across a web page that stated there was a Frank Layman listed in the “Town of Hunter, 1896 Green County Directory”. The listing stated;
“Frank Layman—laborer PO Tannersville “.3
This was beginning to border on obsession with me!!!
Mr Planck references the Saturday, Aug. 11, 1900 issue of the Daily Mail to describe the events on Mr. Layman’s last day.
“A fierce fire was raging in the forest on the mountain in the vicinity of the Laurel House and Hotel Kaaterskill last night.”
“It started in the clove below Kaaterskill Falls about a quarter of a mile from the Laurel House.”
“A large party of men are fighting the flames, but whether their efforts would be successful could not be determined last night.”
“Oscar Ford and Frank Layman, two of the fire fighters, were caught in the ravine below the falls while working to stop the progress of the fire.”
“Ford, after falling from a ledge, succeeded in getting out, suffering with some severe burns.”
“Layman, who was following him, fell back and had not been seen up to the time this report reached us. It is feared he has been burned to death.”
“At least 200 men are fighting the fire in the woods around the Laurel House”.2
Mr Planck references the Monday, Aug. 13 issue of the Daily Mail to describe the aftermath of the fire and the fate of Mr Layman.
“The body of Frank Layman, who was thought to have perished in the flames Friday afternoon, was found Saturday morning only a short distance from the ledge over which his companion jumped and escaped, burned into such a charred mass as to make recognition impossible.”
“He was identified by means of the watch he carried.”
“He was a son of Charles Layman, of Tannersville, 25 years of age and unmarried.”
“Some idea of the fierceness of the fire can be conceived when it is learned that the flames where Layman was fighting the fire leaped fully one hundred and fifty yards, starting another fire which quickly formed a semi-circle hemming in the men on one side, while at the other, a ledge fully twenty feet high with jagged rocks below stared them in the face if they would escape; and this dangerous leap they took and succeeded in escaping, but Layman, not so fortunate, was overtaken by the flames before he could reach the ledge, and perished.”
With his research and the stroke of his pen, Mr Planck succeeded in transforming the eroding monument of stone into a living breathing sole. In me, he resurrected the “volunteer spirit” of Mr Layman. For this was no mere pile of stones held together by cement, battered by time, but the heart of the Town of Hunter. I will never be able to hike past this place without stopping and paying my respects.
Thank you Mr. Planck for the wonderful article and a new perspective on the people and the place we call “The Catskills”.
Mr. Layman, a special thank you… for your service… and at such an unbelievable price!!! You and I will be doing a lot of talking this Spring. See ya up there at the monument!!!
- This quote was taken from the actual plaque on Layman’s Monument
- The Daily Mail, Sunday, February 1, 2009, Vol. 217, No. 32, www.thedailymail.net, Author, Jim Planck
- http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygreen2/1896_town_of_hunter.htm
