Palisades, New York
Encyclopedia
Orangetown, New York
Orangetown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located in the southeast part of the county. It is northwest of New York City; north of New Jersey; east of the town of Ramapo; south of the town of Clarkstown; west of the Hudson River. The population was 47,711 at the 2000 census.-...
in Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located north of Rockleigh
Rockleigh, New Jersey
Rockleigh is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 531.Rockleigh was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1923 from portions of Northvale.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked...
and Alpine, New Jersey
Alpine, New Jersey
Alpine is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,849....
; east of Tappan
Tappan, New York
Tappan is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Old Tappan, New Jersey; east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River; south of Blauvelt and west of Palisades and Sparkill...
; south of Sparkill
Sparkill, New York
Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is an affluent, suburban hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudson River...
; and west of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
.
The hamlet has no mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, nor any official legislative bodies. It does, however, have its own library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, and post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
with the zip code 10964. It is almost entirely residential with the exception of a small industrial area
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
section on the Tappan border. The area commonly referred to as Snedens Landing, is located within the eastern portion of Palisades between US Route 9W and the Hudson River.
The hamlet has a registered historic district known as the Closter Road - Oak Tree Road Historic District. The district comprises the area from the north side of Closter Road and south side of Oak Tree Road approximately 1/2 mile west of US Route 9W in Palisades. (List of Registered Historic Places in Rockland County, New York)
The hamlet's significant institutions include an IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
conference center, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
(of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
), and a well-regarded nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
.
It is the southernmost community in Rockland County
Earliest recorded history
In 1685 Dr. George Lockhart purchased 3,410 acres along the west bank of the Hudson River which would become Palisades, NY. In the ensuing 20 years the land would change hands twice. By 1702 there were two houses with 14 people, eight being slaves. During this period the land was claimed by both New York and New Jersey. A king's commission settled the dispute in 1769 by drawing an official border between the two states. It placed Palisades just inside of New York.Palisades during the Revolutionary War
The Palisades vicinity saw considerable activity during the Revolutionary War. Loyalties were split more than normally in such a conflict, because the area marked the dividing line between American and British combatants. This situation is demonstrated within the family of Mollie SnedenMollie Sneden
"Mollie" Sneden , was the operator of a ferry service at Sneden's Landing, New York. She performed this activity before and after the Revolutionary War. During the war she was prohibited from running the ferry because of her British sympathies...
, a legendary resident whose family name was given to Snedens Landing, as Palisades was known at that time. She and most of her sons were Tories, but her son John was a loyalist. He was allowed to keep the family ferry operating across the Hudson River to Dobbs Ferry during the Revolution. An action by Mollie Sneden during this period illustrates the close interaction of British and patriots in this vicinity.
The story goes that a British soldier was pursued down the gully by some patriots; she hid him in her house in a large chest on which she set pans of cream to rise, and when the patriots arrived she misinformed them; they were tired and asked for refreshment, and she offered them all the milk she had, but told them not to disturb the pans of cream which she had just set out. In the evening she is said to have ferried the soldier across the river.The British General Cornwallis crossed the Hudson with 6,000 men in November, 1776 from Dobbs Ferry and forced the evacuation of Fort Lee
Fort Lee
Fort Lee may refer to:* Fort Lee, New Jersey* Battle of Fort Lee was fought on November 19, 1776 between American and British forces.* Fort Lee , a United States Army post...
. His natural disembarcation would have been Snedens Landing, directly across the river; but a force of 500 patriots armed with four cannon and a howitzer at Snedens Landing caused the British to reroute their crossing to Closter, farther south. In 1780 George Washington ordered a blockhouse to be built at Snedens Landing to serve as a guard for the ferry service, an intelligence center and a means of communication. The General is known to have passed through the area and visited the blockhouse a number of times, and the road descending to the site of the ferry is named Washington Springs Road. According to tradition Washington and his troops used a small spring bordering this thoroughfare as source of refreshment. This vicinity is also associated with Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
, who was seen by an American soldier lurking in the woods during the period he was attempting to betray West Point. He is also known to have spent a day at the blockhouse avoiding patrol boats along the Hudson.
Across the river at Dobbs Ferry, General Washington planned with Marshal Rochambeau the campaign which would bring the war to an end at Yorktown
Yorktown
Yorktown may refer to:*Yorktown, Virginia**Siege of Yorktown, a decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War** Siege of Yorktown , a battle that was part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War**Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, U.S...
. After its conclusion, the first official recognition of the infant United States was a 17-gun salute fired from the British warship, H.M.S. Perseverance, which had sailed to Snedens Landing for General Sir Guy Carleton to meet General Washington at neighboring Tappan.
The early 1800s
In 1800 the population of Palisades was 114. Because of the local topography the town was well suited to become a river center. Rising from the west bank of the Hudson River, the Palisades Cliff forms an obstacle to transport seeking access to the river. A break in the terrain occurs at Palisades, still known as Snedens Landing in the early 1800s, where the landscape is rugged but not precipitous. It afforded New Jersey farmers the opportunity to bring their produce down Washington Springs Road to the river, where they could ship it across to the east side of the Hudson and continue down to New York City. Also, at this time the city created a demand for quarried stones for use in paving streets and building houses. According to tradition, the stones cut from the Palisades Cliff paved many New York City streets, including Broadway. Snedens Landing provided these farmers and quarrymen with the first access for a stretch of about 13 miles above Burdetts Landing, or roughly the spot where the George Washington Bridge connects New Jersey and New York today. The town became so busy that a 500 foot pier was constructed. In the first half of the 19th century steamboats began plying the Hudson. The Snedens family, which continued to ferry passengers and goods across to Dobbs Ferry, also communicated with steamboat traffic, which could not dock in the shallow water at the shore, mid-river.The latter 1800s
In the mid-1800s the Erie and Northern railroads arrived and drew off much of the transportation which had earlier depended upon river shipping. In 1855 the town's name officially became Palisades. With its raison d'etre diminished, Palisades languished. Its 500 foot pier was abandoned and disintegrated. The once thriving river port transformed to an agriculture-based economy depending upon orchards, vineyards and farms. By the 1870s railroad travel enabled wealthy New Yorkers to build seasonal homes in Palisades. Not only did these new-comers promote the economy by employing local workers on their estates, they enriched community affairs, establishing a library and the Presbyterian church.Highlights of the 1900s
At the turn of the century the population of Palisades was almost 400. Modern conveniences arrived, such as piped water in 1910 and electricity in 1920. Access by car was facilitated in 1929 by the construction of Route 9W, the George Washington Bridge connecting the east and west sides of the Hudson 1931, and the Palisades Parkway in 1955.Popular culture
Sneden's Landing is mentioned in Alec Wilder'sAlec Wilder
Alec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...
song "Did You Ever Cross Over to Sneden's?", one of Mabel Mercer's
Mabel Mercer
Mabel Mercer was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the...
signature pieces.
Historical markers
- Skunk Hollow (North of entrance to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Route 9W.
- Cliffside (Palisades, New York)Cliffside (Palisades, New York)Cliffside, also known as H. E. Lawrence Estate, is a building in Palisades, New York. It was designed by J. Cleveland Cady and was built in 1876. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990....
(NRHP) - Closter Road-Oak Tree Road Historic DistrictCloster Road-Oak Tree Road Historic DistrictCloster Road-Oak Tree Road Historic District is a national historic district located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. It encompasses 18 contributing buildings and one contributing site. The district consists of 19 properties that reflect the historic core of the hamlet...
(NRHP) - Washington Spring Road-Woods Road Historic DistrictWashington Spring Road-Woods Road Historic DistrictWashington Spring Road-Woods Road Historic District is a national historic district located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. It encompasses 36 contributing buildings located in a narrow valley to the west of the hamlet...
(NRHP)
Places of interest
- Abner Concklin HouseAbner Concklin HouseAbner Concklin House, also known as Old Yellow House, is a historic home located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. It was built around 1859 and is a small two story frame residence, three bays wide, with later rear wings and alterations. It features a hipped roof with a monitor-like cap...
(NRHP) - Big HouseBig House (Palisades, New York)Big House is a historic home located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. The Big House is the oldest dwelling in Palisades and the only building remaining from the hamlet's formative years. It was built about 1735 and is a large stone dwelling in a vernacular ethnic "Dutch" style. It...
(NRHP) - Haring-Eberle HouseHaring-Eberle HouseHaring-Eberle House is a historic home located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. It took its present form about 1865 and is a distinctive example of Gothic Revival style residential design. Also on the property is a carriage house....
(NRHP) - Little HouseLittle House (Palisades, New York)Little House is a historic home located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. It was built in 1824 is a -story, three-bay, side-passage frame residence in the Federal style. Also on the property are two late-19th-century sheds....
(NRHP) - Sneden's Ferry - The Sneden family operated a ferry at Sneden's Landing along with John Dobbs, who operated from the opposite shore Dobbs Ferry, New YorkDobbs Ferry, New YorkDobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh...
. Begun by Dobbs in 1698, the ferry service was one of the oldest in the region and continued until 1944. In 1775, when Martha WashingtonMartha WashingtonMartha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
and her son John Parke CustisJohn Parke CustisJohn Parke Custis was a Virginia planter, the son of Martha Washington and stepson of George Washington.-Childhood:...
, George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's stepson, drove from Mount VernonMount VernonThe name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
to Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
to meet her husband, venerable ferry mistress Mollie SnedenMollie Sneden"Mollie" Sneden , was the operator of a ferry service at Sneden's Landing, New York. She performed this activity before and after the Revolutionary War. During the war she was prohibited from running the ferry because of her British sympathies...
(1709–1810) piloted her across the Hudson River. - NeiderhurstNeiderhurstNeiderhurst is a historic estate located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. The main estate house was built as a summer home between 1872 and 1874 in the High Victorian Gothic style. It is a two story, "L" shaped residence surmounted by steep gable roofs. It was built by Winthrop S....
(NRHP) - Seven Oaks EstateSeven Oaks EstateSeven Oaks Estate, the former Charles F. Park estate, is a historic estate located at Palisades in Rockland County, New York. The main estate house is a large clapboarded structure built in 1862 in the Gothic Revival style. The house features a projecting central bay and full-width verandah...
(NRHP)
Local organizations and services
(non-commercial)- 10964 - The Palisades Newsletter
- Palisades Community Center
- Palisades Library
- USPS Palisades Post Office (10964)
Emergency services
- Town of Orangetown Police Department
- South Orangetown Ambulance Corps
- Sparkill-Palisades Fire Department - John Paulding Engine Co. # 1
Major roadways and highways
- US Route 9W
- Palisades Interstate ParkwayPalisades Interstate ParkwayThe Palisades Interstate Parkway is a long limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New Jersey...
[no exit in Palisades] - NY Route 340New York State Route 340New York State Route 340 is a state highway in southeastern Rockland County, New York, in the United States. Though it is signed as an east–west route, it actually follows a north–south alignment. The southern terminus of the route is at the New Jersey state line in Palisades,...
Notable residents
- Aidan QuinnAidan Quinn-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
, actor - Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, actor - Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
, actor and comedian - BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, singer/songwriter - Hayden PanettiereHayden PanettiereHayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
, actress and singer - Isley Brothers, singers
- Jansen PanettiereJansen PanettiereJansen Panettiere is an American voice and film actor, and the younger brother of actress Hayden Panettiere....
, actor - Jessica LangeJessica LangeJessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
, actress - Trey AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
, musician - Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
, dancer, choreographer and actor - William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
, actor - Gerard, Robert "Sam" (1927 - January 28, 2010) ScientistScientistA scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
, noted oceanographer, marine superintendent, one of the inventors of the thermograd, an instrument used for measuring the flow of heat through the oceans and upper-most layers of the EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. - Mollie SnedenMollie Sneden"Mollie" Sneden , was the operator of a ferry service at Sneden's Landing, New York. She performed this activity before and after the Revolutionary War. During the war she was prohibited from running the ferry because of her British sympathies...
- Ferry Mistress - See Places of Interest above. - Mary LawrenceMary LawrenceMary Lawrence [Tonetti] was an American sculptor. Lawrence was born in New York City into a prominent New York family whose ancestors included John Lawrence, mayor of New York City from 1673–1675 and 1691–1692, and the War of 1812 patriot, Captain James Lawrence who died after uttering the words,...
[Tonetti] (1868–1945) - American sculptor and creative developer of "Snedens Landing Artists' Colony". By 1936, she owned 16 dwelling which were used by several artist including; Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, John HousemanJohn HousemanJohn Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
, Ethel BarrymoreEthel BarrymoreEthel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
. - Eric Gugler (1889–1979), an American architect, sculptor and painter, best known for his long tenure working in the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
under President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, during which he redesigned the Oval OfficeOval OfficeThe Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
into its modern form.
- Katherine Cornell (1893–1974), American actress who rented the Log Cabin in Snedens Landing in the 1930s and 40s. In the 1950s she bought land at the end of Woods Road and built her own house.
- Bob Hauser, musician from the 1930s to the 1950s. Played with the Paul Whiteman Band.