Then and Now Photos (Monticello, NY)

Pictured above are two former Masonic lodges at 5 Bank Street, Monticello, NY, as they appear in 2025; followed by its predecessor at the same location (built 1898, burned in 1909, rebuilt 1910). The brick house pictured is the former home of Melvin and Janette Couch at 377 Broadway (corner of Spring Street) in 2008, Monticello. The last photo is of the former Sullivan County Jail, where Adelaide Branch was detained in December 1913 following Melvin Couch's death, photo taken 2010. (Color photos by Tom Rue.)

Then and Now (Monticello)

Summary of Addresses & Spatial Alignments:

Dr. John F. Curlette's Office & Residence: 435 Broadway (South side) — Located 100 yards east of Room No. 3, where Adelaide ran across the street at 5:00 AM on December 21, 1913, to ring his night bell.

First Presbyterian Church: 11 Jones Street — Situated on Jones Street between the Courthouse and the Mansion House Hotel, where Rev. Arthur J. Waugh preached Couch's December 23 funeral sermon.

Mansion House Hotel: Northeast corner of Broadway and Jones Street — Served as the press headquarters for hounding Hearst and Pulitzer reporters during the late December 1913 media circus.

Sullivan County Jail: 2 Bushnell Avenue (Behind Courthouse) — Located directly behind the 414 Broadway courthouse, where Adelaide was held in the 2nd-floor hospital ward until Sheriff Kinnie smuggled her out the rear door on December 28.
Rebuilt Masonic Temple (Room No. 3): 5 Bank Street (Broadway & Bank St) — Ground Zero of the scandal, housing the 10x6-foot wooden board partition where Adelaide lived for three years.

Melvin H. & Janette Couch Residence: 377 East Broadway (South side) — Located 190 yards east of Room No. 3 at the corner of Spring Street (Sanborn Block 25), where Couch's private parlor funeral was held.

St. John's Episcopal Church: 15 St. John Street — Located 240 yards northwest of Room No. 3, pastored by Masonic Lodge Chaplain Rev. Walter Stocker.

South Fallsburg O&W Station: NY-42 N / Rail Trail — Located 5.2 miles northeast, where Sheriff Kinnie drove Adelaide at 5:00 AM on December 28 in a 60-horsepower getaway car to bypass reporters watching the local Monticello depot.