The sign attracted attention as soon as it went up at Chadeayne Circle near the intersection with Main Street. The white letters on a green background let motorists know that they were passing Idlewild Creek.
But were they? The question came up in the newspaper office. “Who put up the sign?” a staff member wondered. “Isn’t that Canterbury Brook?” a long-time resident wanted to know.
The Cornwall Local employees weren’t the only ones who were puzzled. Some members of the Cornwall Historical Society were skeptical about the sign’s accuracy. And at a Little League game, a spectator suggested that the Local do some investigative reporting.
So we called the county DPW, and received a response from the county executive’s office later in the day. Kristin Jensen, an assistant to the executive, got the scoop from David Church, the county’s planning commissioner.
He said that the Orange County Water Authority received a grant to identify streams within the Moodna Creek Watershed. “All the sign information,” Mr. Church reported, “was vetted with multiple parties and knowledgeable locals and professionals. There was some question about the name of Idlewild/Canterbury. All recognized inventories call that creek ‘Idlewild.’ The only official Canterbury Creek in the vicinity is within Black Rock Forest.
“Some local residents,” Mr. Church continued, “apparently refer to it as Canterbury given that the Canterbury Brook Inn is nearby. But the official name is Idlewild.”
Coincidentally, on the day we heard from the county, Janet Dempsey (the former Town historian) stopped in the office. “Is it Canterbury or Idlewild?” we asked her.
“They’re one and the same,” she replied.