History of Rockland County, New York (1798–1900)

During the American Revolutionary War, Rockland County was a strategic crossroads, camping ground and vital link between the northern and southern colonies.

The land was cleared, homes, schools and churches were built and sawmills and gristmills erected along the numerous creeks.

The area that became Rockland County was originally inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, including Munsees, or Lenni Lenape.

Hudson, thinking he had found the legendary "Northwest Passage", sailed on the Half Moon up the river that would one day bear his name, passing through the area that is now Haverstraw before exploring north towards what is now Albany.

In June of 1664, the Berkeley-Carteret land grant established the colony of New Jersey, dividing present-day Rockland and Bergen Counties into separate political areas.

A number of unique, Dutch-style red sandstone houses still stand, and many place names in the county reveal their Dutch origin.

[1] The natural barrier of the Ramapo Mountains and the size of the county made carrying out governmental activities difficult.

At one point, two governments were active, one on each side of the Ramapo Mountains, so Rockland split off from Orange in 1798 to form its own county.

During the American Revolution, when control of the Hudson River was viewed by the British as strategic to dominating the American territories, Rockland had skirmishes at Haverstraw, Nyack, and Piermont, and significant military engagements at the Battle of Stony Point, where General "Mad" Anthony Wayne earned his nickname.

Still another important chapter in the story of the Revolution was written on May 5, 1783, when General Washington received Sir Guy Carleton at the DeWint House, where they discussed terms of a peace treaty.

Many unsuccessful efforts were made to turn much of the Hudson Highlands on the northern tip of the county into a forest preserve.

Union Pacific Railroad president E. H. Harriman, though, donated land and large sums of money for the purchase of properties in the area of Bear Mountain.

[3][4][5] Rockland remained semirural until the 1950s, when the Palisades Interstate Parkway, Tappan Zee Bridge, and other major arteries were built.

Two important battles took place in Rockland County during the American Revolutionary War – the capture by the British of Fort Clinton at Bear Mountain in October 1777 and the victorious attack by General "Mad Anthony" Wayne's army on the British fort at Stony Point in July 1779.

On May 5, 1783, General George Washington received the British Commander, Sir Guy Carleton, at the 1700 DeWint House to discuss the terms of the peace treaty.

Former President Herbert Hoover became the first honorary chairman of Tolstoy Foundation in Valley Cottage, New York, in 1939 and served in this capacity until his death in 1964.

Thurgood Marshall – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Jane (Naut) Kannif, the widow of a Scotch physician, lived in a small house on Germonds Road in West Nyack.

During its heyday, the Pierson nail factory was a powerful economic stimulus to the region because of its links to existing agricultural and commercial trade.

West Haverstraw, once known as Samsondale, was where a large rolling mill was started in 1830; Ramapo built its early reputation in the iron industry.

Because of the proximity of iron mines, numerous metal products were made – plows, hoes, railings, nails, machinery, even cannonballs.

In 1838 Calvin Tomkins and his brother Daniel purchased approximately 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land, located in a cove north of the Stony Point promontory, limestone was found in usable quantities suitable for burning along the river shore for the purpose of making lime.

Rockland factories made shoes, straw hats, silk and cotton cloth, sulfur matches, smoking pipes and pianos.

Brick-making was so popular due to the clay formed by the Hudson River's water and the rich soil that lined Haverstraw's waterfront, that it was nicknamed the "Brickmaking Capital of the World".

It was not until twenty years later that a boat was used that could be depended on to make a round trip in one day attracting competition from steamboats later built at Haverstraw and Tappan.

To facilitate steamboat traffic from Tappan Landing, a road was built over the marshes to the end of a 500-foot pier, which within a few years became the terminus of the New York & Erie Railroad.

It caused the building of Piermont with its lone pier which made possible the founding of a half dozen villages and opened the way to the utilization of the mineral and agricultural resources of Rockland.

Hudson River Day liners included PS Alexander Hamilton, PS Chauncey Vibbard, PS Washington Irving Prominent Hudson River steamboats included Chancellor Livingston (1816), James Kent (1823), DeWitt Clinton (1828), Robert L. Stevens (1835), Rip Van Winkle (1845), Isaac Newton (1846), Daniel Drew (1860), Thomas Cornell (1863), Chauncey Vibbard (1864), Dean Richmond(1864), Charles W. Morse (1904), Hendrick Hudson (1906), Robert Fulton (1909) constructed or engines built by Allaire Iron Works, Cornelius H. DeLamater, Harlan and Hollingsworth, Jonh Stevens, W. & A. Fletcher Company, West Point Foundry.

Back in the 19th century railroads, freight and passenger lines, were instrumental for the development, growth and prosperity of Rockland County.

The first part of the ride would have taken the cars up two inclined planes to the summit 900 feet (270 m) above the Hudson River, where visitors could disembark to enjoy the scenery.

Allan King Sloan, the great-great-grandson of the company's founder, provided some of the information that is on the historical marker nearby and attended the dedication ceremony on August 7, 2009.