Editing Suffern, New York (section)

==History==
[[Image:suffern NY.jpg|thumb|The village of Suffern viewed from the top of Nordkop Mountain]]

"The Point of the Mountains" or "Sidman's Clove" were names used before the [[American Revolution]] to designate the present village of Suffern. The area originally was inhabited by the [[Ramapough Mountain Indians|Ramapough]], a tribe of [[Munsee]], who were a division of the [[Lenape]] tribe. Upon Sidman's death, this land passed into the hands of his son-in-law, John Smith, who sold it to John Suffern.

The village of Suffern was founded in 1796. John Suffern, first Rockland County judge, 1798–1806, settled near the base of the [[Ramapo Mountains]] in 1773, and called the place '''New Antrim''', after his home in [[County Antrim]], [[Northern Ireland|Ireland]]. His French [[Huguenot]] ancestors had settled there after fleeing religious persecution in France. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] because it was at an important crossroads near Ramapo Pass. General [[George Washington]] and other important military leaders used John Suffern's home as headquarters when they were in the area.

This history has been recognized in the town. Suffern is a stop on the [[Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route]] National Historic Trail, under the auspices of the [[National Park Service]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/waro/index.htm |title=Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2017|talk=Suffern along NHT}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.w3r-us.org/ |title=Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route |publisher=W3R-US |access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2017}}  This trail commemorates the route followed by General Washington and the French [[Comte de Rochambeau]] as they traveled to the siege of [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown, Virginia]], which led to victory for the United States in gaining independence.
<!--Off the topic of Suffern: In 1780, King [[Louis XVI of France]] had sent the count and approximately 5,000 troops to aid the Americans in their struggle for independence from British rule. Rochambeau landed in [[Newport, Rhode Island]], on July 10, 1780. A year later, he led his troops across New England, making encampment with thousands of French and Revolutionary soldiers in Suffern on the night of August 25, 1781 (as denoted on a marker in Suffern; other dates around this time are listed for this encampment). In Yorktown, the troops led by General Washington and the count joined forces with 3,000 Virginia militia led by the Marquis de Lafayette. They fought British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his forces at the Siege of Yorktown, forcing surrender on October 19, 1781. This victory ultimately led to the end to America’s War of Independence.-->

Rochambeau made encampment with his 5,000 soldiers in Suffern on August 25, 1781, on his way to Yorktown, and again on September 13, 1782, as he retraced his steps to New York.<ref name=":0" />  A historical marker on the Washington Avenue side of the Lafayette Theatre identifies this site of "Rochambeau's Encampment 1781–1782". The National Park Service has installed a wayside panel near the gazebo in Suffern to commemorate Rochambeau's encampment in Suffern.  At the time of the encampment, this site was directly across the road from village founder John Suffern's home and tavern where the Count de Rochambeau stayed.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.w3r-us.org/history/library/suffern.pdf|title=John Suffern, of Suffern, NY|last=Suffern|first=Carolyn|date=September 23, 2010|publisher=The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association, Inc.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915054732/http://w3r-us.org/history/library/suffern.pdf|archive-date=September 15, 2012|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> Based on an 1860 painting of John Suffern's home that showed the well in the side yard, his home would have been in at the area of Licata Insurance.  The well is in the basement of the furniture store.

During the war, General General Washington and his regiment made camp in the village several times. Lafayette Avenue, the main street of Suffern, is named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, better known as the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]].

Other guests who took advantage of Suffern's hospitality included [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Aaron Burr]], who later became the third Vice President of the United States; General [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]], who became the first (and longest-serving) elected [[Governor of New York]], as well as the fourth Vice President of the United States (under both [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]]); and [[Alexander Hamilton]], first [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] under President Washington.

From Suffern to [[Monroe (town), New York|Monroe]] was a main route of travel through the western [[Hudson Highlands]]. The main road was the [[Albany Post Road]], one of the oldest roads in the state, which served as the [[stagecoach]] line between [[Albany, New York|Albany]] and New York City . Once the [[Hudson River]] froze in winter, the Post Road was heavily traveled as an alternate. The {{convert|20|mi|km}} of road through Ramapo Pass was later developed as the [[Orange Turnpike]] (now known as [[New York State Route 17|Route 17]]). Tolls were collected from 1800 until 1886 to maintain and improve the road. The [[New York State Thruway]] now runs through the pass. The south entrance to the town was garrisoned during the Revolution, with General Washington ordering as many as 400 soldiers to be stationed there at all times.
[[File:New York, Lake Erie & Western locomotive 171 at Suffern, NY.jpg|left|200px|thumb|New York, Lake Erie & Western locomotive 171 at Suffern, NY]]
[[File:Historic Marker Suffern NY Rail Station.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Historic Marker Suffern NY Rail Station]]

The first railroad line across Rockland County, the [[Erie Railroad]], 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. The tracks are now owned by the [[Norfolk Southern]] line. In consideration for the right-of-way given it by Judge Edward Suffern, son of founder John, to lay track across his {{convert|6|mi|0}} of land, the Erie Railroad named their depot "Suffern's Station." The village became known as Suffern, not New Antrim, as it had been called by John Suffern.

In 1897, [[Avon Products]], known then as California Perfume Company, built a {{convert|3000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} laboratory in Suffern. By 1971 the lab had been expanded into the {{convert|323000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Avon Suffern Research and Development facility. In late 2005, construction was finished on a state-of-the art, {{convert|225000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility that would become Avon's global hub for research and development. The new building was constructed on the same site as their previous R&D facility, which was demolished for site parking.

In 2023, Avon was sold to [[Regeneron Pharmaceuticals]] to be used for research and development laboratories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rocklandreport.com/regeneron-pharmaceuticals-purchases-avon-in-suffern-for-38-875-million-to-be-used-for-research-development-laboratories/|title=Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Purchases Avon in Suffern For $38.875 Million, To be Used For Research & Development Laboratories - Rockland Report|first=Rockland Report|last=Editor|date=January 1, 2024}}</ref>

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

In 1924, the [[Lafayette Theatre (Suffern)|Lafayette Theatre]], named for the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette, opened its doors.

In 1972, the [[Salvation Army]]'s College for Officer Training was moved to a {{convert|30|acre|m2|adj=on}} site in Suffern. This took over the former School of the Holy Child, a Catholic school for girls.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/larc/id/1444 | title=School of the Holy Child, Suffern, New York }}</ref>