Editing Mahopac, New York (section)

==History==
Mahopac was originally inhabited by the [[Wappinger]] people, an [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribe. The hamlet's land was part of a huge tract encompassing all of today's [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam County]] patented in 1697 by [[Adolphus Philipse]],<ref>''Historical and Genealogical Record Dutchess and Putnam Counties New York'', Press of the A. V. Haight Co., Poughkeepsie, New York, 1912; pp. 62-79 [http://genealogytrails.com/ny/dutchess/history/chapter3.html] "Adolph Philipse having thus acquired the title from the original owners, proceeded at once to take the necessary steps for obtaining a patent for his lands, and presented a petition to Benjamin Fletcher, who was then governor of the Province of New York, which was granted June 17, 1697.</ref> son of a wealthy Anglo-Dutch gentryman, known as the [[Philipse Patent]].  During the [[French and Indian War]], Wappingers throughout Putnam County traveled north to [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]] to fight for the British.<ref>''Lake Mahopac, Nature Studies and Historical Sketches'', Rev. Ulysses Grant Warren, 1906, republished by the Lake Mahopac Library Association (1966), Part IV, Section 3, “The Wappingers Natives of Mahopac”, pp. 178-183</ref>

When the [[British Crown]] refused to return their land after the war, most Wappingers abandoned the area,  concentrating in [[Stockbridge, Massachusetts]] before relocating with other displaced Native Americans elsewhere. Farmers and their families migrated to Mahopac from as far away as [[Cape Cod]] and rented land from the Philipse family. Wheelwrights and blacksmiths set up shops to assist the tenant farmers.

Although no battles were fought in Mahopac during the [[American Revolution]], the area was strategically important due to its location. With troop encampments in nearby [[Patterson, New York|Patterson]], [[Yorktown, New York|Yorktown]], [[West Point]], and [[Danbury, Connecticut]], it was a cross-roads between key Colonial garrisons. Soldiers were stationed in Mahopac Falls to guard the Red Mills, an important center for grinding grain and storing flour for the American troops.

Upon Colonial victory in the Revolution, the [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tory]]-sympathizing Philipse family lost its claim to the land,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westchesterarchives.com/ht/muni/wca/forfeitSumm.html|title=Commissioners of Forfeiture Summary|website=westchesterarchives.com}}</ref> which was then resold to farmers and speculators by New York State. After the incorporation of Putnam County in 1812 the Mahopac area grew steadily. By the middle-19th century the hamlet had become a summer resort community. The [[New York and Harlem Railroad]] brought vacationers north from New York City to [[Croton Falls, New York|Croton Falls]].  Hotels would often have competing races of decorated horse-drawn coaches bringing passengers from the train to Lake Mahopac. After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] a direct rail spur was laid, creating boom times for the village.

The locale remained primarily a summer resort until after [[World War II]], when nearby highways such as the [[Taconic State Parkway|Taconic State]] and [[Saw Mill River Parkway|Saw Mill River]] parkways began to make travel by automobile convenient.  With the passing of the [[New York and Putnam Railroad#End of service|New York Central Putnam Division's]] last passenger service to Mahopac in 1959, the hamlet evolved into a year-round community, many of its residents making the commute to New York City.