Crossroads of Rockland History: Ramapo Mountain Iron

7/20/2026

The July episode of "Crossroads of Rockland History" begins streaming on Monday, July 20, on all major podcast platforms and here on the HSRC website.

Tune in to the next Crossroads of Rockland History when we will turn our attention to the ironmaking villages that existed on Rockland's western border during the American Revolution.

In the decades leading up to the Revolutionary War, rich deposits of iron ore were discovered in the Ramapo Mountains. Early entrepreneurs who sought to capitalize on this resource by mining and smelting the ore into products, however, were thwarted by British laws that prohibited the manufacture of finished goods in the American Colonies.

HSRC Executive Director Susan Deeks will join host Clare Sheridan to discuss the ironmaking villages, the challenges they faced to protect their facilities, operations, and laborers; and their role in helping George Washington prevail over the British in the Hudson Valley.

About the speaker: Susan Deeks is the executive director of the Historical Society of Rockland County and a former director of the Friends of Long Pond Ironworks in West Milford, NJ. She has a master's degree in history, with a concentration in the industrial history of the Lower Hudson Valley and specialization in the historical iron mines, forges, and furnaces that operated in the Ramapo Mountains from 1764 to 1888.

New episodes of "Crossroads of Rockland History," a program of the Historical Society of Rockland County, premier at www.RocklandHistory.org on the third Monday of each month. Join host Clare Sheridan as we explore, celebrate, and learn about our local history, with different topics and guest speakers. Our recorded broadcasts are also available for streaming on all major podcasts platforms.
 
The Historical Society of Rockland County is a nonprofit educational institution and principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. Its headquarters are a four-acre site featuring a history museum and the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House in New City, New York.