Western Rockland County will be represented for the first time this year in the annual celebration of New York Heritage Weekend on May 19th and 20th – a statewide
initiative that launches the summer tourism season by inviting visitors into the state’s vast network of historic sites. The Friends of Harmony Hall ~ Jacob Sloat House, the Town of Ramapo and the Sloatsburg Historical Society have teamed-up to sponsor a free day of family fun at the historic, 1848 Jacob Sloat House in Sloatsburg on Saturday, May 19 from 10am-3pm. Patch readers are invited to learn more about the historic role that the Ramapo Pass has played in the growth and prosperity of New York State and its neighbor to the south.
The day’s activities will include a historic scavenger hunt for families, who will travel around Sloatsburg to collect information that has been made available to the public on historic markers that range from road signs to cemetery stones. All children who complete the hunt will receive a prize and, hopefully, walk away with a greater appreciation of resources that are available to help them to learn about the past.
Families also are invited to enjoy a range of games on the mansion’s Great Lawn and to tour the Jacob Sloat mansion,
which was listed to the State and National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Harmony Hall, which is a restoration in progress, is considered to be the only
surviving pre-Victorian mansion in Rockland County, providing an interesting glimpse into the architectural transition from a federalist, Greek Revival period to the more romantic styles of the later 19th century.
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In addition to scheduled house tours, local historians will gather to share stories of the critical role that the Ramapo Pass has played as a transportation corridor. From prehistoric times through the American and industrial revolutions, the ancient inland river pass has provided
a vital inland corridor through the Hudson Highlands. Even today, the Ramapo Pass links the communities of
upstate New York to those south of the highlands by way of the New York State Thruway.
For more information on Harmony Hall, or for directions to the mansion, visit www.FriendsOfHarmonyHall.org. The
mansion is located just two miles north of NYS Thruway Exit 15A near the corner of Route 17 and Eagle Valley Road
in Sloatsburg.
