Week of August 15
August 14, 1875 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal
AROUND HOME
[Image: Detail from the combination atlas map of Rockland County, New York, compiled, drawn and published from personal examinations and surveys, Davis, F.A., 1876. Image appeared in the HSRC publication “A Short History of Rockland County NY,” 1976.]
☞ Five shots, one of which must have taken effect, from the groans that were heard, were fired at burglars who were trying to enter a house near St. John’s Church, Piermont, on Monday morning last.
☞ Shore Road Conundrums. — Who were the two young ladies who disguised themselves and peddled apples at the Tappan Zee House? — How much was the bet, and who lost it? — Rockland County.
☞ The Clarksville Hotel, under the management of Capt. Abram Knapp and wife, is a model house, and we know of but few places that can equal it for solid comfort to the transient or permanent guest.
☞ The press of other matters in our columns precludes the possibility of publishing this week the special meeting of the Board of Supervisors, and the Resolutions of Condolence to the memory of the late Abram Dickey.
☞ John R. L. Sniffin’s celebrated Holstein cow, Frieda, gave birth, on Saturday last, to twin calves, one heifer and one bull. The mother is doing well; the calves are large and handsome, and friend S, is proud of them.
☞ We are indebted to Mr. Jacob Sickles for a copy of the San Francisco Morning Call which contains an account of the wrecking of the propeller Eastport, on Point Arenas, on board of which his son, J. H. Sickles, was pursег.
☞ The Golden Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. David Perry came off at their residence on Friday evening last. Some seventy-five persons were present; valuable presents were received by the old couple, and a merry time was enjoyed by all.
August 13, 1925 – 100 YEARS AGO
Pearl River News
FROG CAT BORN IN PEARL RIVER
Some four weeks ago a frog-cat was born in Pearl River. The body and head of the animal is that of a cat while its legs are those of a frog.
Usually such a freak of nature does not live but this one is living and promises to go on doing so for some time.
It is said that the mother of the frog-cat frequented the brook a great deal and was often seen carrying home a frog in its mouth.
The frog-cat when four weeks old traveled to the brook, jumped in, and swam around much as a frog would swim. This strange animal hops with much the same motion of a frog and similarly delights in catching flies.
The “News” has definite word that this freak of nature will be placed on exhibition in the near future.
August 11, 1975 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Journal News
YOUTH GROUP GETS GRANT FOR GRASSY POINT MARSH
A North Rockland conservation group has received a $3,000 grant from Cornell University to conduct a campaign to save the Grassy Point Marsh.
The county Cooperative Extension Office obtained the grant through its 4H program for Project LOST (Laboratory of Scientific Testing), a group of 25 high school and college students who are trying to get the marsh preserved as a natural wetlands by the federal government.
The money will go toward the salaries of four Project LOST student officers, each of whom will be paid $500 for the summer, and the final $1,000 to Administrative Director Thomas Corette.
Jordan Most, director of air analysis for the group, outlined what they intend to do.
“In order for people to get acquainted with the Grassy Point Marsh, we will take individuals or groups on tours through the marsh. These will not be run-of-the-mill sightseeing tours, but a tour where the individual will actually become a part of the marsh.”
The group will also arrange tours through the Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., plant at Bowline Point, describing the various monitoring systems the building uses to check its environmental impact on the area.
On Aug. 8, 9 and 10, Project LOST presented an ecological exhibit at the Rockland County Youth Fair at Clarkstown Junior High School in West Nyack, and on [Aug.] 18, 19 and 20, the Hudson River Sloop “Clearwater” which is part of the river’s restoration program, will dock at Grassy Point for an environment-oriented festival.
Project LOST is officially located in a Cooperative Extension trailer in the Haverstraw landfill. Most said they will soon have ready a multi-media presentation available at the office for public viewing.
The dangers that the group confronts in preserving the marsh lie in the fear that chemical discharge from either the U.S. Gypsum plant to the east, or the Kay-Fries plant to the west would disrupt the ecological balance of the marsh, or that the site may be eventually be built on or used as a landfill site by Haverstraw or Stony Point.
Project LOST members have been unsuccessful thus far in trying to obtain other grants from various federal and state agencies. In addition to appealing to the federal government to get the 90-acre marsh declared a natural wetlands area, the group has also asked the state to purchase the land.
Either measure would preclude the possibility of the property being used as a landfill or industrial construction site.
This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2025 by The Historical Society of Rockland County. #FBF Flashback Friday may be reprinted only with written permission from the HSRC. To learn about the HSRC’s mission, upcoming events or programs, visit www.RocklandHistory.org or call (845) 634-9629.
