|
Until
1865 the present day Stony Point was a part of the Town of
Haverstraw and was known as North Haverstraw. The most important
event in Stony Point's history was the Battle of Stony Point fought
on the night of July 16, 1779 when the Continental Army defeated the
British thereby gaining control of the rocky mass jutting into the
Hudson River. The victory assured the open passage of the river and
the adjacent Kings Ferry. The area was primarily farmland although
there were industrial pockets at Tompkins Cove with its lime works
and Grassy Point with its brickyards. Upon incorporating as a
separate town various names were used: Flora Falls, Knight's corner,
and finally Stony Point, after the promontory into the Hudson. Stony
Point counts as its most famous citizen James A Farley, State and
National Democratic Party Chairman, Advisor to the President
Franklin D Roosevelt and Postmaster General of the United States
during the Roosevelt era. The acquisition of land in 1908 from the
Harriman and Bear Mountain State parks has provided this town with a
green belt that is the envy of the adjacent communities.
|