This past Tuesday, March 18th, marked the 234th Anniversary of the formal founding
of the Town of Clarkstown through an act of the New York State Legislature. As such,
Clarkstown is one of the older towns in the state, and is actually older than many states.
It’s an aspect of our town that is often overlooked, but we are blessed with a rich history
that is fairly well-documented for those willing to spend the time looking into it. Recently,
in speaking with a group of students in one of our schools, I was asked how our town
came to be called Clarkstown and I thought I would relay the answer to that question
here to a larger audience.
Our story begins with Daniel DeClark, a native of the Netherlands, who was born
around 1653 and eventually emigrated here. In 1686, Daniel and his family purchased a
large area of land including portions of Clarkstown known as the Kakiat Patent. This
land purchase was massive and covered a large portion of what would later become
Rockland County and the Town of Clarkstown. DeClark left his mark in other ways,
perhaps most recognizably today with the DeWint House in Tappan, which he built in
1702. In 1716, the family acquired additional land in the area encapsulating the
remaining portion of what would eventually become our town.
The first recorded use of the name “Clark’s Town” occurred many years later, when the
heirs of Daniel DeClark sold off a piece of property on July 16, 1764. The deed filed in
the Orange County records stated the property was in “Clark’s Town.” It is not known by
other sources if the area was referred to as “Clark’s Town” prior, but it is assumed that
the term was likely used by people in the region. The Town was recognized as the
“District of Clarkstown” by the New York Provincial Assembly on March 3, 1775, just a
month and a half before the start of the Revolutionary War. Given the unrest and the
length of the war, it is not surprising that the designation as a town would not happen for
another twenty six years. Officially, Clarkstown was designated as a Town on March 18,
1791 by the New York State Legislature.
Today, Clarkstown is the 9th largest town by population (86,784) out of 932 towns in all
of New York State. We are the geographic center and the economic hub of Rockland
County, as nearly sixty percent of the commercial ratables in Rockland are located in
our town. We started off with inauspicious beginnings, yet today we are larger than
many cities in the State. We are justly proud of the place we call home–Clarkstown.
Given the age and history that surrounds the town, we are excited to be launching a
series of events endeavoring to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the American
Revolution. Our first event will be a “Revolutionary Celebration and Colonial Camp Out”
taking place on April 26th-27th at our historic Budke/Traphagen property in West Nyack.
During the day we will have free events open to the general public, including re-
enactors and artisans doing craftwork from the Revolutionary War period. In the evening
and overnight, we will allow camping on the property, where registered guests can
participate in further activities. Our staff is hard at work planning a number of ideas to
celebrate our unique history and connection to the road to American Independence.
Stay tuned for further details on these events. In the meantime, I wish all of our
residents a very Happy 234th Birthday!!
