Piermont Paper

Early Exploration Henry Hudson sailed up the river that would bear his name in 1609. Although there is no record of his crew setting foot here, the Sparkill provides the first natural break in the Palisades and would have invited exploration. This break, and the creek that ran through it, provides a passageway to the interior, making it an ideal pl... ace for commerce and trade. The first commercial settlement grew up along the creek, which was then called Tappan Slote . The area around the present day Rockland Road Bridge was the first settlement of a few buildings, including a gristmill. A dam had been built at this location to provide power for the millwheels, and the millpond exists to this day. Revolutionary Era The Onderdonk House, at the corner of Ritie Street and Piermont Avenue, was the home of declared patriots and was a target fired upon by British ships. In 1783, at the end of the war, George Washington met with Sir Guy Carleton, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in America. General Washington dined aboard Carletons ship, the HMS Perseverance, anchored in the river off the Onderdonk House. Upon boarding the ship, Washington was greeted with a 17-gun salute, the first recognition of our new sovereign nation. Industry Piermont, as we know it, was developed in the 1830s when the Erie Railroad began the project of creating rail service from New York City to Lake Erie. The railroad created a long pier extending almost a mile out to the deep water channel of the Hudson to access barges to NYC. In 1839, Eleazar Lord, owner of the Erie Railroad, decided that Tappan Slote should be renamed Piermont, combining a reference to the Erie pier and the mountain above on which he was building his country estate. The glory days of the railroad were short lived. As soon as interstate regulations were changed a year later allowing railroads to cross state lines, the Erie moved their main terminus to Jersey City. The population declined by close to half, and the railroad shops were closed by 1869 left abandoned and ...Read More