Editing Ramapo, New York (section)

== History ==
{{See also|History of Rockland County, New York (1798–1900)}}
The present-day town was originally inhabited by the [[Munsee people|Munsee]], a band of the [[Lenape]] nation. Their descendants now live on Stag Hill in [[Mahwah, New Jersey]], where they form the New Jersey-recognized Ramapo Lenape Nation.

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[Commander-in-Chief]] [[George Washington]] is said to have climbed the Ramapo Torne (near Sloatsburg) with a telescope to watch the July 24, 1777, sailing of the British fleet off [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]] in [[New Jersey]]. General Washington and his troops set up an encampment in Suffern, in the west of Ramapo, due to its strategic location near a local mountain pass. In this encampment were two French soldiers, [[Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau]] and [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette]]. The encampment was on the path to Yorktown, Virginia, where the final battle of the American Revolution took place.

The Town of New Hampstead was formed from part of the Town of Haverstraw in 1791, eight years after the end of the Revolution; the name was changed to Hempstead in 1797, and to Ramapo in 1828.<ref name="EncyclopediaNYS"/>

The first [[railroad]] line across Rockland County was built in 1841 and ran from [[Piermont, New York|Piermont]] to Ramapo.  By 1851, the line was extended to [[Lake Erie]], and was considered an engineering marvel.

Ramapo Iron Works, located near present-day [[New York State Route 17|State Route 17]] at the base of Terse Mountain, was a producer of first cut nails made in America, wood screws, cotton cloth, and spring steel in the first half of the 19th century. Its founder, [[Jeremiah H. Pierson]], was influential in building the [[Nyack Turnpike]] and the [[Erie Railroad|New York & Erie Railroad]] across the county. A cotton mill is still standing on the east side of the road.

In 1916, what would become [[New York State Route 59|State Route 59]], which reached from [[Nyack, New York|Nyack]] to [[Spring Valley, New York|Spring Valley]] in 1915, was extended to [[Suffern, New York|Suffern]] and Hillburn.

Ramapo was one of the first cities to use [[Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance|Adequate Public Facilities]] acts to tier growth and infrastructure together.<ref>{{cite book|title=From Sprawl to Sustainability: Smart Growth, New Urbanism, Green Development|author1=Robert H. Freilich |author2=Robert J. Sitkowski |author3=Seth D. Mennillo |page=123}}</ref> The 1971 court case ''[[Golden v. Planning Board of Ramapo]]'' is the basis for the subsequent expansion of [[growth management]] practices, including the use of development [[impact fee]]s.

In 2006 ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine ranked Ramapo as the 49th best place in the United States and the best place in New York State to live. Arts and leisure, business, housing, low crime rates and open spaces/parkland determined the town's ranking. In the category of park space, percentage of land set aside for gardens and parks, the town finished first. Ramapo received the highest rating and one of the best in the country for its open spaces and parkland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Money Best Places to Retire |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2006/snapshots/CS3660510.html |access-date=May 30, 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=2006}}</ref>