Week of June 26
June 26, 1876 – 150 YEARS AGO
Rockland County Journal
EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOL
Two of the lady teachers in our public school, Misses Fuller and Hargrave, were made to appear before Justice Stephens this week to answer to the charge of administering immoderate punishment to one of the scholars last Friday. A hearing was had on Wednesday, and Thursday, 9 o’clock, was set down for the trial. On Thursday, the complainant and defendants appeared, the latter having counsel for their defense. --The evidence of the witnesses in the case was taken, the girl who had been so severely whipped giving her testimony in a manner so clear and concise as to impress all present with her intelligence and quickness of thought. After the summing up and pleading of the counsel for the defense, the Court found the teachers guilty of assault and battery and bound them over in the sum of $200 each to keep the peace for one year, and ordered that the costs, $9.50, be paid jointly by them.
ROCKLAND COUNTY’S BEAUTY
A writer in the New York Times of last Sunday describes Rockland county as a delightful place for summer board, and gives an interesting account of some of the most beautiful spots in the county, and says that for excursions and board no more delightful place could be found. He is right, as anyone will say who has ever been through the Ramapo Pass as far as Sloatsburg will acknowledge.
June 25, 1926 – 100 YEARS AGO
Nanuet Life
BOY FROM HOME FOUND IN STREETS
A little boy was picked up in Pearl River Wednesday night at about 11 o’clock. He was questioned and it was found that he came from Letchworth Village. The little fellow was barefooted and hungry. While authorities were waiting for someone from the home to come for him, Mr. Theise of Central Avenue asked permission to take the boy for something to eat.
Permission was granted and he was soon enjoying ham and eggs, two cups of coffee and a glass of milk at Reilly’s Restaurant. Although the weather was cold, he insisted on a large ice cream cone and after he was satisfied Mrs. Reilly gave him a nice woolen sweater and cap. If time had permitted, he would have been given a pair of shoes, but he was called for too quickly.
June 23, 1976 – 50 YEARS AGO
Our Town
MORRIS VAN HOUTEN DIES
[Image: Lantern Slide of the Cuyper-Van Houten House in Nauraushaun, ca. 1910. The core of this house was built around 1731 by Tunis Cuyper. Permanent collection of the HSRC.]
Morris Van Houten, eighth generation of a farming family in Orangetown, died this week at the age of 82. Born in Pearl River May 8, 1894, he was a charter member of the Rockland County Farm Bureau and a member of the Rockland County Historical Society.
Van Houten farmed the family’s 50 acres of cultivated land in Nauraushaun, with the help of his son, James Van Houten. For 35 years, he also represented the Armour Fertilizer Co., travelling from the Canadian border southward to Maryland to visit farmers.
During the second World War, the Van Houtens reduced their farming operations, but started up again after James returned from military service.
Described in a magazine article as a “spunky cross between poet Carl Sandburg and actor James Cagney,” Morris Van Houten spent his spare time lovingly and painstakingly restoring the family’s 1731 vintage sandstone farmhouse, “a job that requires constant attention,” he told an interviewer. Twenty-three years ago, he learned how to cut split shingles for the farmhouse roof. He selected a white pine tree and had it shipped from Kingston to Nauraushaun. Over that winter, he cut and shaved the thick-butted shingles with antique hand tools. Then he used them to lay a new roof on his 245-year-old home.
To cut down on television and smoking, he learned to hook rugs, and completed more than three dozen, which cover the floors of the old Van Houten homestead.
Surviving are three children, a sister, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
This Week in Rockland (#FBF Flashback Friday) is prepared by Clare Sheridan for the Historical Society of Rockland County. © 2026 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.
