"Malcolm A. Booth, a more than 40-year resident of the Town of Goshen and a historian, died Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002, at the Orange County Residential Health Care Facility. He was 66 years of age. The son of the late Emmett and Pauline Rice Booth, he was born Apr. 22, 1936, in Ogdensburg.
Mr. Booth grew up in northern New York, helping with his family cottage rental and fishing guide business on Booth's Island. After graduating from St. Lawrence University, he finally settled in the Goshen area.
Mr. Booth was president of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Rural Development Advisory Corp. and assisted in the creation of hundreds of single-family first-time homeownership opportunities and over 200 senior citizen apartments in Goshenand the surrounding area. He was involved in the adaptive re-use of five historic buildings and the creation of over 80 senior apartments in Hearthstone in the Town of Goshen.
He was also a graduate of Cooperstown Master of Museum Administration program and formed the basis of his thesis on the creation, development and National Register listing of the Delaware & Hudson Canal and the Canal Park in Cuddebackville. He was a founding member and executive director of the Orange County Community of Museums and Galleries and served as a consultant to the NY State Historic Preservation Office. In cooperation with the Orange County Historian's office, he identified and documented the existence of the first canal in America, built by Cadwallader Colden in Coldenham, later obscured by the construction of Interstate Route 84. He authored "Short History of Orange County, NY" in 1975.
Mr. Booth was a principle in the firm of BTK Associates, Inc., and provided historic,archaeological and architectural resource surveys as a consultant for hundreds of development projects from the early 1970s until his death. He was also budget officer for the Town of Goshen for many years and most recently served as a member and past chairman of the Town of Goshen Zoning Board of Appeals. He was also a longtime member of the Town Republican Committee, was a life member of the Inc. Orange County Chapter of the NYS Archaeological Association and served on the executiveboard for over 10 years, most recently as treasurer.
Mr. Booth is survived by several cousins, including Jane Orcutt of Callicoon, Beth Gurley of Baldwinsville, Darlene Bautaw of Canton, Nancy Vredenburg of Springville and Susan Gascard of Paris, France.
There were no services. The body was donated to N.Y. University School of Medicine in New York City."
SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT, 7 Jan 2003