Top Painting Company in Sloatsburg, NY

The land that would become the village of Sloatsburg was part of the hunting grounds of the Minsi band of the Leni Lenape Indians, whose people occupied much of the mid-Atlantic area at the time of European encounter. The area was the site of a major Indian path through the Ramapo Mountains. The path was later improved as the New York to Albany road and, in 1800, the Orange Turnpike. It remains an important thoroughfare today as the New York State Thruway, New York State Route 17 and the Norfolk Southern Railway line run along its route.

Wynant Van Gelder, an ethnic Dutch colonist, purchased the area from the Minsi in 1738. In 1747, he gave it to his father-in-law, Isaac Van Deusen. When his daughter Marritge Van Deusen married Stephen Sloat, Isaac gave the couple the land in 1763. They built a stone house on the property and operated a tavern, which was a regular stop on the New York-to-Albany stage route. During the American Revolution, the Sloat House was headquarters for American troops stationed in the Ramapo Pass. The house is a private residence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There he established Sloat’s Tavern, which became a regular stop on the New York to Albany stage route.

Sloatsburg, originally Pothat, was named after the Sloat family. During the American Revolutionary War, the stage route became an important military route and the Ramapo pass an important strategic point, occupied by American troops throughout the war. George Washington traveled through the area several times and stayed in Sloat’s Tavern at least once, on June 6, 1779.