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Ramapo is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It was originally formed as New Hampstead, in 1791, and became Ramapo in 1828. It shares its name with the Ramapo River. As of the 2020 census, Ramapo had a total population of 148,919, making it the most populous town in New York outside of Long Island. If Ramapo were incorporated as a city, it would be the sixth-largest city in the state of New York. The city's name, recorded variously as Ramopuck, Ramapock, or Ramapough, is of Lenape origin, meaning either "sweet water" or "slanting rocks". Early maps referred to Ramapo as Ramepog (1695), Ramepogh (1711), and Ramapog (1775). The town is located south of Haverstraw and west of Clarkstown and Orangetown. [edit] History
The present-day town was originally inhabited by the 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 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.[1] The first railroad line across Rockland County was built in 1841 and ran from 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 State Route 17 at the base of Terse Mountain, was a producer of first cut nails made in American, 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 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 State Route 59, which reached from Nyack to Spring Valley in 1915, was extended to Suffern and Hillburn. Ramapo was one of the first cities to use Adequate Public Facilities acts to tier growth and infrastructure together. 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 fees. In 2006 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. [edit] Research Tips
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