Built originally around 1755 by Stephen Sloat, Harmony Hall functioned simultaneously as a family home and a roadside inn along the New York-to-Albany stage route. Because of its strategic location in the narrow Ramapo Pass, the tavern transformed into a vital military station during the American Revolution.
On the August 2026 episode of the Crossroads of Rockland History podcast Peter Bush of Friends of Harmony Hall returned for a conversation about an exhibition now on view there: “The Seven Taverns Which Saved the Ramapo Pass.”
Harmony Hall’s current exhibition explores the historic taverns that once lined the Clove Road from Suffern to Highland Mills. Stephen Sloat’s Tavern in Sloatsburg, Suffern’s Tavern, Sidman’s in Sloatsburg, Galloway’s in Southfields, June’s at Harriman, Smith’s between Central Valley and Highland Mills, and Earl’s in Highland Mills were far more than road-side places to rest and refresh.
They were centers of news, politics, travel, and community life during a pivotal era in American history. During the Revolutionary War these outposts acted as communication centers, supply points, and intelligence hubs that ultimately protected the Continental Army’s lines of movement through the mountains.
Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the exhibition at the Jacob Sloat House highlights this often-overlooked role of the Ramapo Pass corridor in the fight for independence.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Crossroads of Rockland History, a program of the Historical Society of Rockland County features host Clare Sheridan who explores, celebrates, and learns about local history with differing topics and guest speakers every month.
The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House in New City, New York.
Read more about New York Taverns or the American Revolution in New York.
Harmony Hall provided by Friends of Harmony Hall – Jacob Sloat House.
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