Marisa Scheinfeld

05/07/2026

Before Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon was Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cross-dressing communities gathered in relative secrecy in the mountains.

Named for an 18th-century French spy known for cross-dressing and shifting public identity, the bungalow colony took its name from a figure long tied to disguise and ambiguity.

A few miles from Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon sits in a less documented chapter of Catskills life.

Part of an ongoing project exploring hidden and overlooked histories in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

05/07/2026

Before Casa Susanna became widely known, there was Chevalier d’Eon, Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cross-dressing communities gathered in relative secrecy in the mountains.

Named for Chevalier d’Éon, an 18th-century French spy known for cross-dressing and shifting public identity, the bungalow colony took its name from a figure long associated with disguise, secrecy, and ambiguity.

A few miles from Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon sits in an earlier iteration of the same world, a less documented edge of Catskills life.

Part of an ongoing project exploring hidden and overlooked histories in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

04/01/2026

The Catskill Game Farm - once America’s greatest zoo. Today, a weathered entrance, Kodak sign stubbornly clinging on and scattered remnants tell a strange, complex story full of wonder and legacy.

Part of an ongoing project uncovering the hidden histories of the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

03/25/2026

Katonah, my adopted hometown — aka “the village that would not drown.”

In 1893, New York City claimed Katonah through eminent domain to secure land for its water supply. Rather than disappear, residents bought back their homes and businesses and relocated the entire village one mile south.

Fifty-five houses, barns, stores, churches, and even cemeteries were hauled along tracks of soaped timber, pulled by horse-drawn winches. More than a century later, many of these structures are still standing in “New” Katonah, the town that refused to vanish.

Remnants of old Katonah still linger — if you know where to look.

From an ongoing project on fringe and alternative histories of the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Book forthcoming.

06/17/2024

It is a joy to see each one. It’s also an honor to create them with my friends. Before we began there was not a single historic marker to celebrate the Borscht Belt. Now there are six. Thank you to all who’ve shown up and continue to.

06/12/2024

Honored this show still has wings and landed in Florida at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida. Founded in 1981 by Tess Wise, a Polish Jew, Wise escaped from a N**i labor camp at the age of 17 with the help of a non-Jewish neighbor she had known before the war. She dedicated her life to fighting antisemitism and the ultimate consequences of hate.

A panel at the entrance to the exhibit (slide 5) tells of a 1930s advertisement printed in the U.S. boasting “ALWAYS A VIEW, NEVER A JEW.” The rhyming, hateful, and recycled rhetoric comes straight out of the ancient antisemitic playbook, currently unfolding before our eyes.

The easy answer here is that antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred but that’s not the whole answer. The proliferation of antisemitism is a symptom. When antisemitism moves from the fringe and onto the streets it’s not about Jews. It’s about everyone else. Antisemitism is a warning system of a much deeper crisis.

In the face of adversity, when Jews in America were told “No, you can’t come here” and “No, you can’t go there either,” the Borscht Belt provided an avenue for freedom and self-expression. In the safe, free space of the Catskill mountains, a macrocosm of creativity was born. Countless artists, writers, musicians, entertainers and more found freedom, rebellion, celebration, tradition, independence and resilience in the Borscht Belt. The famed era remains an example of the transformative power of taking exclusion and adversity and turning it into extraordinary new adventures in Jewish spirit, creativity, growth, renewal.

While I can’t wait to eventually share the new book I’ve been working on for the past 4 years, the Borscht Belt is a topic I’ll stand by until the end of time.

08/09/2023

“I’m not like a regular Jewish mom. I’m a cool Jewish mom.” 🙃
💛🪧🚎

07/11/2023

Presenting 𝔻𝕒𝕪 & ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕔𝕙𝕥 𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕥 - featuring photographs by and

𝔻𝕒𝕪 & ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: showcases a selection of images from Scheinfeld’s acclaimed book THE BORSCHT BELT, created in a naturally-lit, documentary style. Juxtaposed with her work are theatrically lit and conceptualized photographs made by Isaac Jeffreys. The distinct perspectives of these two artists offers a manifold celebration of the Borscht Belt in its most contemporary state.

A curated selection of rare objects and previously unseen ephemera will provide a glimpse into the era during its heyday.

Join us and at the opening reception on Sunday, August 13 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the Grocery Store Gallery (62 Main Street, Mountain Dale).

Many thanks to for making this exhibit possible. Additional thanks to our partners -


🪧⭐️🪧⭐️
The only other thing we can say is — this show is gonna serve.

07/05/2023

Tune into the latest edition of Catskills News Pod with Marisa Scheinfeld to hear about our upcoming marker dedications and events! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/radio-bold-news-pod/episodes/CATSKILLS-NEWS-POD-WITH-MARISA-SCHEINFELD-OF-THE-BORSCHT-BELT-HISTORICAL-MARKER-PROJECT-e26i3r6/a-aa39shb

06/22/2023

Thank you Jewish Women's Archive! So glad to reconnect and chat about a new project I am working on (Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project ) and the many women who made the Borscht Belt what it was!

"From the 1920s through the mid-1960s, the Borscht Belt was one of America’s top vacation destinations. For more than 45 years, the Borscht Belt created a feeling of belonging for working and vacationing Jews, in a world where they’d experienced so much prejudice.

The region also had a strong influence on the cultural and economic landscape of New York State and shaped popular American culture and imagination. Before Las Vegas became world renowned for its entertainment, the Borscht Belt was the country’s premier entertainment destination."

JWA talks to Marisa Scheinfeld, founder and director of Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project - read more: https://bit.ly/3PiyrCr