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. [Read more…] about The Seven Taverns Which Saved the Ramapo Pass
Ramapo Mountains
New York’s Ramapo Iron Villages During the American Revoltuion
In the decades leading to the American Revolution, colonist began trying to exploit rich deposits of iron ore in the Ramapo Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey (Bergen and Passaic counties) and southeastern New York (Rockland and Orange counties). [Read more…] about New York’s Ramapo Iron Villages During the American Revoltuion
240 Acres Preserved in Rockland County
The Open Space Institute (OSI) and Rockland County are celebrating the conservation of the “Eagle Valley Assemblage,” nearly 240 acres that is hoped will safeguard an important clean water source, strengthen a corridor of undeveloped land between Sterling Forest and Harriman State Parks, and enhance regional recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about 240 Acres Preserved in Rockland County
A Revolutionary War Terrorist in New York
During the American Revolution the Ramapo Valley in southern New York was a hotbed of controversy as tensions rose between the Enlightenment inspired Patriots fighting for freedom from English rule and those conservatives who remained loyal to the Crown.
Although acts of violence were committed by both sides, one person clearly stands out – Claudius Smith (1736-1779), the notorious Loyalist guerilla leader. [Read more…] about A Revolutionary War Terrorist in New York
Hercules Schureman: A Black Patriot Denied His Due
A longitudinal study of early census data tracking Black families in the towns and villages that would eventually make up Putnam County, New York, has led me to many questions and curiosities. But none bigger than Hercules.
In the 1800 Federal Census, Hercules Schureman was listed as the head of a household of three in Philipstown, which was then made up of today’s Philipstown and Putnam Valley in Putnam County. [Read more…] about Hercules Schureman: A Black Patriot Denied His Due