Native American
stone relics and
oyster middens found along the Hudson River shoreline indicate that present-day Nyack was a popular pre-Colonial
fishing location. The first Europeans settled there in 1675, calling the general area "Tappan". Harman Douwenszen is believed to be the first white settler. He came to America as a
toddler and grew up in
Bergen, New Jersey, which became New Jersey after the British assumed control and divided New Netherland in 1664. A letter from 1687 is on file in the State Archives in
Albany petitioning
Governor Dongan to buy a strip of land in the west hills of Tappan (today Nyack), where he had lived for 12 years. His petition was granted, and he bought the land from the Native Americans. He called his farm New Orania (
Oranje in Dutch). This section of Nyack became known as Orangetown in 1683. The Tappan Register of 1707 claimed it was pronounced Nay-ack. Nyack became part of
Rockland County in 1798. Harman's younger brother Theius changed the family name from Douwse (
Frisian for first son) to Talma (
Dutch for first son). His children became Talman and eventually Tallmans. The New Orania farm became the Tallman
homestead, at the northeast corner of what is now Broadway and Tallman Place. The building was demolished in 1914. Letter dated 31 August 1687 on file at
New York State Archives at Albany: The humble Peticon of Harman Dowse of Tappan Neare Ye River Side, Alias New Orania farm ... your peticonr is a farmer that hath nothing wot comes by his hard labour but by God's Blessing out ye Produce and ye ground, and hath a family to provide for. A
plaque installed in 1938 on the north wall of the Key Bank building at South Broadway and Burd Street in Nyack reads: The
Tappan Indians, from time immemorial, occupied these lands fronting the river shore. Here, in summer they lived upon fish and oysters. In
Algonkian dialect spoken by them they called this location NAY-ACK which means the fishing place. The first settlement of
white people within the limits of the present Rockland County, New York, took place in 1675 when Harmen Dowesen (Tallman), a young
Dutchman of
Bergen, New Jersey relocated here. The Tallmans erected a
mill on a stream still known as Mill Brook. Abraham Lydecker purchased land from the Tallmans when there were only seven homes in Nyack in 1813. Nyack became an
incorporated village in 1872, according to the same plaque on the Midland Trust Building. Three major industries once thrived in Nyack:
sandstone quarrying for
New York City buildings (–1840); boat building—
sloops,
steamboats, then
pleasure craft and
World War I and
World War II submarine chasers (ca. 1915–1948); and
shoe manufacturing (ca. 1828–1900). Following the extension of the
Northern Branch into the community in the mid-19th century, rapid growth ensued. As town government was no longer seen as an effective way to deal with the community's needs, village incorporation was discussed. Fearing higher
taxes, those in what would have become the northern part of Nyack village formed their own
municipal corporation first, named Upper Nyack. Nyack village was incorporated, although without this northern portion. Residents in the southern part of Nyack village, however, soon became dissatisfied with the notion of paying taxes that more heavily benefited the rest of the village. After succeeding in dissolving Nyack's corporation, the southern portion of the former village incorporated as the village of South Nyack. The area between Upper Nyack and South Nyack was reincorporated thereafter, again as Nyack. The
Nyack Rocklands were a
minor league baseball team based in Nyack, New York. Unofficially nicknamed the "Rockies", the Rocklands played as members of the
Class D level
North Atlantic League from 1946 to 1948 and were an affiliate of the
Philadelphia Athletics in 1947. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nyack was known for its
shipbuilding and was the commercial center of Rockland County. In the 19th century, a number of factories manufactured shoes. The
Erie Railroad connected with
Jersey City, New Jersey, where
ferries took passengers to
Chambers Street, New York City, until service was discontinued in 1966. With the completion of the
Tappan Zee Bridge in December 1955, connecting South Nyack with
Tarrytown in
Westchester County, the population increased and Nyack's commercial sector expanded. In the 1980s, the village underwent a major
urban revitalization project to commercialize the
downtown area and to expand its economy. The
Helen Hayes Theatre was built, and the downtown area became home to many new business establishments. In 1991, the landmark court case
Stambovsky v. Ackley ruled that a house at 1 LaVeta Place on the Hudson River was a
legally haunted and that the owner (but not the
real estate agent) was required to disclose that to prospective buyers. The owner, Helen Ackley, had earlier organized
haunted house tours and was party to an article about it in ''
Reader's Digest''. After Ackley sold the house to another buyer, there were no subsequent reports of hauntings. On August 10, 2010, Highland Hose Company No. 5, a two-story brick
firehouse located at 288 Main Street, celebrated 100 years at the firehouse, which was built in 1910 – fifteen years after Highland Hose was founded. The company's 1949
Ahrens-Fox fire engine was polished to bright, gleaming red and is still in use after more than 50 years.
Frederick Douglass at Nyack On August 3, 1865,
Frederick Douglass delivered a lecture on
Abraham and
Emancipation. Douglass advocated for black suffrage and equality, emphasizing the role of
slavery in causing the
Civil War. Frederick Douglass addressed the people of Nyack on September 23, 1872 at Smithsonian Hall, which opened on April 2, 1872. ==Geography==