Tannersville, New York, known as the heart of the Catskills and as "The Painted Village in the Sky," developed through a 200-year history shaped first by numerous small hemlock-tree tanneries, whose work gave the village its name and created many forest-related jobs, along with sawmills, gristmills, woolen mills, and furniture factories that drew families to work the land. The labor was difficult but supported local prosperity. The tanneries began in 1820, and by 1890 their unrestrained use of hemlock had destroyed the virgin forest, collapsed the tanning industry, and left the mountains to grow back in the hardwoods of today. Tannersville remained one of the busiest and proudest Mountain Top communities, and its mountains and vistas attracted the nearby private cottage communities of Onteora Park and Twilight Park in 1887 and Elka Park three years later, all of which contributed financial support, employment, and culture. From the turn of the century through the 1920s, Tannersville experienced a boom as hotels and boarding houses filled the streets and the Ulster & Delaware Railroad opened a station in the village, making travel to the mountains faster and more comfortable and helping tourism flourish. In 1902, the village had 52 hotels and boarding houses accommodating 2,350 guests, and by 1920 more than 100 boarding houses stood in the village and its outskirts. Incorporated in 1895, Tannersville became the highest-elevation mountain village in New York at 1900 feet and became known for its spring scenery, cool summers, fall foliage, winter attractions, recreation, and colorful village center.