The discovery of long ago foreclosure and bankruptcy cases is complicating the state’s plan for the Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area in the town of North Hudson, billed as “the gateway to the Adirondacks.”
The problems are interfering with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s plans for a conservation easement on 300 acres, including the 90-acre campground, which the state has been pursuing since at least 2017. A sticking point is that the state Attorney General’s Office requires perfect title and will not purchase title insurance, said North Hudson Town Attorney John Silvestri.
The DEC dug up records leading back to an 1858 bankruptcy case entailing 25 acres, and a 1901 foreclosure case entailing 204 acres. The foreclosure involved Abel Skiff, who purchased land in actual frontier times. In it, Skiff’s heirs retained 3/8ths interest and the mortgage holder foreclosed on 5/8ths.
The risk of a relative appearing to contest the ownership, Silvestri said, was “almost nonexistent.” He asked state officials if they really wanted him to contact all of Skiff’s ancestors because it would “open a Pandora’s box that can’t be shut.”
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