Nathaniel Parker Willis, one of the "Knickerbocker" writers, enjoyed the time he spent here so much he bought property in Cornwall, establishing a country home he called Idlewild. His many writings on the area helped make Cornwall a popular spot for health-seekers. Winslow Homer, the famous water color artist, spent summers in the hamlet of Mountainville - then known as Ketcham Town - as a young artist and many of his pastoral themed water colors were made there and depict the local scenery.