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In 1609 Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch East India Company, sailed his ship, the Half Moon, up the river that would bear his name in a vain search for the legendary Northwest passage. He sailed as far as what is now Albany and on the return trip the Half Moon anchored in what is now Haverstraw Bay, the widest point in the river. The ship had scarcely anchored when "the people of the mountains" flocked aboard. Most were friendly but one was shot and killed by a sailor for stealing some items from the ship. This incident created difficulties for future settlers but Hudson's journey claimed the whole hudson Valley for the Dutch. The name of Haverstraw is one of the oldest in the geography of North America. The word is Dutch and it first appeared on a map in 1616. It was originally written "Haverstroo" and means oat straw, descriptive of the waving straw of the river meadows. In 1666 the local native Americans who were part of the Delawares, who in turn were a component of the Lenni Lenape confederation of the Algonquins, sold a large tract of land along the river to Balthazar de Harte, a New York merchant. In 1671 he received a patent or land grant from the english government, which had taken over the territory from the Dutch in 1666. The precinct of Haverstraw was created in 1719 when it was separated from Orangetown. Haverstraw then included the present day towns of Clarkstown. Ramapo and Stony Point. Haverstraw became a town in 1788. Clarkstown and Ramapo became separate towns in 1791 and Stony Point became a town in 1865. The location of Haverstraw was important to the defense of the colonies in the Revolutionary War because of its place on the banks of the Hudson, the main artery of trade between New York City and Albany and the dividing line between New England and other colonies. The Shore guard was organized in Haverstraw to repel british or Tory landings along the Hudson. The Shore Guard lit signal fires on top of High Tor to warn neighboring communities of danger. |
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Haverstraw Town Hall, One Rosman Road, Garnerville, NY 10923
845-429-2200