One year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a survey was conducted in New York City in an attempt to determine the level of fear among city residents of possible future attacks.

The survey concluded that “New Yorkers were very concerned about future terrorist attacks and also concerned about attacks involving biological or nuclear weapons… a significant number reported they would immediately evacuate, regardless of police or public health communications to the contrary.”

The survey, published in the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health in 2003, confirmed what residents of Sullivan County already knew: that in times of strife, be it the 9-11 attacks, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those living in the metropolitan area flee the densely populated city to the perceived safety of “the mountains.”

Perhaps this was never so evident as following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The war in the European theater fueled anxieties all along the east coast that the vaunted German Luftwaffe might launch a full scale air attack on the United States, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor raised public consciousness that an enemy attack on American soil was suddenly possible.

Along with regular blackout drills in virtually every town from Boston to Delaware, including Sullivan County, concerns over an air raid on New York City sent substantial numbers of city residents scurrying for alternate living arrangements, and hundreds relocated to Sullivan County, resulting in a boom in the local housing market.

As early as Christmas, 1941, local realtors were reporting significantly increased interest in available residences in the county. One Liberty real estate broker reported that in the two weeks immediately following the formal Declaration of War, he received more than 100 inquiries “by mail or in person.” Other real estate agents reported a similar increase in activity.

“Possibility of air raids on New York and the metropolitan area, envisioned in plans made for Sullivan County as a potential evacuation area of probable large extent, already has created a demand for housing in the county from metropolitan residents and, while thus far most of them can be satisfied, a shortage by next spring is anticipated by many realtors,” the Liberty Register newspaper reported on the front page of its December 25, 1941 edition.

“Not a few of the requests have come from New York physicians, interested in the feasibility of establishing practices in the county on the theory that an influx of New Yorkers, in the event of an emergency, would overtax available medical facilities.”

Meanwhile, there was an increasing rumbling among homeowners here that the government might resort to conscripting homes to accommodate evacuees from New York City in the event of an air raid there. This practice was fairly common in England in the early years of the war. Extensive surveys were conducted to catalog available residences, and refusal by householders to cooperate with those surveys was deemed a prosecutable offense.

It is difficult to determine how many of those relocating to the County from New York City after Pearl Harbor actually stayed here. Census figures show a 7.5 percent increase in population here between 1940 and 1950, but that was the same increase as in the previous ten year period, and despite similar movement into Sullivan following 9-11, the population grew by just 4.8 per cent between 2000 and 2010.

Perhaps the most significant impact of both events on the area—and many other areas, as well—was a solidarity of purpose, a likeminded resolve that as Americans we would never forget those tragic events, and that we would do whatever it took to make sure such devastation never happened again.

“The attacks of September 11 were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified,” said former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani. “We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic, and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.”

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.

Contributed Photo

“Our enemies have made the mistake that America's enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness.” - President George W. Bush talking about the 9-11 attacks.