Arts & Entertainment

New Book Chronicles Orangetown History

Text will be released in mid-January

Orangetown history will soon be bound and available for purchase in bookstores and over the Internet.

The town's past is chronicled in a new book with a simple, fitting title—Orangetown. The tome was put together by The Orangetown Historical Museum and Archives, and goes on sale Jan. 16, 2012.

The book traces Orangetown's history from the pre-Revolution days, when Dutch settlers hunkered down south of Hook Mountain in the 1600s. Arcadia Publishing, which is releasing the text, explains where the town went from there.

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"It was here that British and Continental armies marched through; where the infamous Maj. John André, coconspirator of Benedict Arnold, was tried and hanged for treason; and where three times Washington established his headquarters and finalized terms for the end of the American Revolution," a teaser reads.

André was held at New York's oldest tavern, the 76 House in Tappan. The eatery remains open to this day, decked out with a Revolutionary atmosphere. Alexander Hamilton once lived above the tavern.

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"In the 19th century, Orangetown was both a quiet and productive area of farms and mills and at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution," the preview continues. "Its shipyards, steamships, railroads, and factories manufactured and transported passengers, produce, and freight to and from nearby New York City and beyond."

Not longer after, Orangetown began to evolve into what it is today—a home to folks who prefer a quieter life, and a haven and escape from the sprawling city.

The book will conclude with the 1950s construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge. And with , its proof that Orangetown's history is still being created.

For more information on Orangetown, click here.


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