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Want to find a hideaway, something that's off the main roads? Try these lovely, historic neighborhoods ...
Tappan, Palisades, and the tiny Sneden's Landing enclave figured prominently in the early history of our nation. They are at the very southernmost tip of the county, and George Washington did, indeed, sleep here ... probably in more than one home, but most definitely in the DeWindt house in Tappan, which was his headquarters at the close of the revolution. Major John Andre, British accomplice to Benedict Arnold, was tried and hanged in Tappan, and his jail is now The 1776 House restaurant.
Tappan was the first official Dutch settlement in the area that would become Rockland County. Nearby Palisades is a little slice of a New England village, with peaceful-looking old houses. Next to the Hudson is Sneden's Landing, once the site of Molly Sneden's ferry service (she reportedly ferried Martha Washington and her entourage) and now home to a number of well-known people in the arts. This is a neighborhood graced with impressively beautiful homes, quiet winding lanes, and lovely views.
Sparkill is "inland" from Piermont, and has a tiny center, with an old post office, an imposing old bank building, and just a few little stores and restaurants. After passenger rail service was dropped on the West Shore, Sparkill was frozen in time, and today it's a time-traveler's delight.
In the northern part of New City, close to exit 12 on the Palisades parkway, there is a rural area on and around South Mountain Road, a winding, woodsy surprise in the midst of suburbia. In the early 20th century, it became home to a number of artists, writers and performers, and a number of their unique homes remain today. Alan Jay Lerner wrote Brigadoon while living in these woods. Playwright Maxwell Anderson penned Hi Tor here, a successful play that put an end to plans to mine the back of Hi Tor Mountain.
Further upriver, in the far reaches of North Rockland, the little communities of Tomkins Cove and Grassy Point are at the north eastern corner of Rockland County. They're near the Hudson in the historic Township of Stony Point, and both offer charming older homes for privacy-seekers. Prices are a bit lower here than they are in southern Rockland.
These are just some of the highlights of the many and varied neighborhoods in Rockland County. We'd love to show you all of them!
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