History 
Rockland History: 
Rockland, with 176 square miles, is (with the exception of the City's five boroughs) New York State's smallest county. Once the territory of Monsey Indians, it began life in 1686 as Orangetown, an English provincial township of Orange County. In 1798, as the infant New York State established external borders and internal divisions, it became Rockland County. Although less than a quarter the size of present day Orange. it has a population (265,475 in 1990) almost as large, spread over five towns and seventeen villages. Its county seat is in New City, an unincorporated hamlet with a population as large as many small cities. It is bounded on the north by Orange, on the east by the Hudson River and Westchester, and on the south by New Jersey. Today's border-to-border housing developments and busy villages are a product of the last two generations. Rockland's history tells a tale of an area that, despite its proximity to one of the nation's largest cities, was essentially rural until the 20th century.

When Henry Hudson happened upon the river here, he thought he had found the fabled "Northwest Passage" and laid anchor in the Tappan Zee, off what is now the village of Haverstraw, where family groups of Monseys- the Tappans, Nyacks and Naurashawns - encamped along the river's banks. Although the Dutch who benefited from his explorations were unsuccessful in maintaining west bank settlements early in the 17th century, the place names they chose stuck: Dunderberg, Sparkill and High Tor. A few of their unique red sandstone houses also have stood the test of time. The earliest successful settlements were along the river as early roads were few and the river was the most convenient transportation artery. By the first half of the 18th century, much of the good and accessible land had been cleared for farms, homes had been built, saw and grist mills were springing up along the streams, and general stores did business in Haverstraw and Tappan Slote (Piermont).

Coastal marshes and the Ramapo/Highlands mountain chain that runs south-northeasterly through this area, made many parts difficult to reach. A single inland passage, the Ramapo Pass, was the only break in the mountains. Geography cut citizens off from county services and portended the eventual creation of separate counties. Court sessions in the Tappan Provincial County Courthouse (built in 1691 when Rockland was still part of Orange) were alternated between Tappan and Goshen after 1737, in response to complaints from freeholders who found it almost impossible to get there from parts of Orange.

During the American Revolution Rockland had a proportionately large role for its size because of its proximity to New York City and position along the river at a vital ferrying point linking northern and southern states. Fortifications near King's Ferry at Stony Point, which connected with Dobbs Ferry in Westchester, were essential to both British and American forces and the focus of key battles - the taking of Fort Clinton near Bear Mountain in 1777 by the British, and the American victory at Stony Point by General 'Mad" Anthony Wayne in 1779-- during the conflict. Rockland also played a part in the tragic story of Benedict Arnold's failed plan to surrender West Point. His young coconspirator, Major Andre, was brought to Tappan for his trial and eventual hanging. The DeWint House in Tappan saw the first formal recognition of the United States by the British when Sir Guy Carleton met with George Washington to discuss the terms of a peace treaty to end the war. The damage done by bands of brigands, British troops and escaped Tories left Rockland with much to repair.

The establishment of political divisions offered the opportunity to overcome the physical barriers imposed by Mother Nature. On February 23, 1798 Rockland finally became a county in its own right. There were still connective obstacles to overcome. Until the turnpike era and coming of the railroads in the 19th century, travel and its partner, development, remained limited. It took seventeen years after legislative approval for the Nyack Turnpike to be completed, finally reaching Suffern and linking to the Orange Turnpike, the inland route to Albany.

With an 1820's growth surge in steamboat business at Rockland river parts came the impetus to build a pier and road over the marshes to Tappan Landing. In 1838 the Piermont pier area became the terminus for the Erie Railroad, planned to serve New York's southern tier, starting in Rockland and reaching Lake Erie by 1851.

Although agriculture remained a dominant economic factor into the 20th century, other industries began to grow with improvements in transport: quarries, brick-making, manufacturing of farm implements, tools, nails and cotton goods. New fortunes were being made with communities as the beneficiaries of schools, opera houses, libraries, fire companies and other community institutions. Industry attracted immigrant workers and the county witnessed the development of ethnic communities around houses of worship. By the late 19th century, in neighborhoods near the churches of early Reformed Dutch and Presbyterian Protestants, Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues were constructed to serve newer populations.

By the 1920s Rockland was becoming an artist's colony. Painters Henry Varnum Poor and Edward Hopper; actors Burgess Meredith, Katherine Cornell and Helen Hayes; playwright Maxwell Anderson and composer Kurt Weil all lived here. Improvement in road systems and a W.W.II army troop depot, Camp Shanks, brought millions more newcomers to and through Rockland. Isolation was no longer a problem. Construction of the Palisades Parkway, the thruway and opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1955 have made this county an integral part of the metropolitan area. The 20th century saw the decline of farming; today only a handful of farms exist. Rockland is recognized for such businesses as Avon cosmetics and shopping centers. As manufacturing and service industries have increased in number and variety, farms have been subdivided for housing and commercial development. In recent years homes have been built at a rate of more than a thousand a year for a growing population that now includes commuters interested in a taste of suburban and rural life.

Rockland today is one of the fastest growing, most ethnically diverse counties of New York. The limits to its land area makes its citizens keenly aware of the importance of protecting its historical resources and unique history. The 1998 county bicentennial gave Rockland a well-deserved opportunity to celebrate a wealth of ethnic and historical treasures.

-from Thomas F.X. Casey's Bicentennial History.