It’s easy to pinpoint newcomers and visitors in the Hudson Valley by how terribly they mispronounce its towns.
Out-of-towners shouldn’t necessarily be blamed for this, as the region’s place-names are a series of English, Dutch, Lenape and Mohican terms mashed together over the centuries until they formed words pronounced far differently than they are spelled.
For instance, the first time this reporter entered the town of Copake in Columbia County, he attempted to pronounce it “CO-pak-ee,” thinking he was being smart by splitting the second syllable under the assumption the word looked Native American. Though I wasn’t totally off — the name is derived from the Mohican word for snake — achkook — and paug — pond — what came out of my mouth sounded more like a brand of tempura flakes than a town in Columbia County.
Let this guide help you to not make similar mistakes. We’ve talked to historians and other locals about the origins of different place-names in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, and how they’ve evolved to be pronounced the way they are today.
Accord (ACK-ord ), Ulster County
Tucked behind the western slope of the Shawangunk Ridge along the Rondout Creek in central Ulster County, this hamlet’s name is pronounced with the first syllable heavily stressed, distinguishing it from the noun meaning “treaty.”
The location was originally known by early American residents as “Port Jackson,” according to D&H Canal Museum Deputy Director of Collections Bill Merchant.
In the 1820s, the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company constructed a water route from Honesdale, Pa., to Kingston to transport coal to the Hudson River….
