Name: Perinton & Fairport in the 20th Century
Brand: Perinton Historical Society
SKU: 9780738512020
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Perinton & Fairport in the 20th Century

9780738512020

$24.99

Perinton and Fairport in the 20th Century documents the transformation of this upstate New York community into a suburban center. The change began with the arrival of a high-speed electric train in 1906. After that, the era of building and invention was under way. Pictured are some of the first housing subdivisions and period buildings-which survived most of the twentieth century but were razed for urban renewal-and the people of the time, including inventors Willis Trescott and Robert Douglas, whose patents for apple processing and Certo revolutionized the fruit industry.

Around Honeoye Lake

9780738574677

$24.99

Honeoye Lake is one of the 11 Finger Lakes of western New York. Its shores are bordered by the towns of Richmond and Canadice. At the north end of the lake is the hamlet of Honeoye, the center of commercial business and services for both towns. The area is rich in history with evidence of the Point Peninsula people (c. 1000 bc), the Owascos and the Senecas, residing there before the early white settlers came in the late 1700s. Troops who had served under Gen. John Sullivan, on his march through the area, returned to their New England homes with high praise about the land they had seen. They were among the early settlers to come into the area, to farm, establish businesses, and build homes. Honeoye Lake is no longer the pristine lake surrounded by wooded hillsides that it once was. Today, it hosts year-round recreational activities, and more than 900 homes are located on its shores.

Nunda, Portage, and Genesee Falls

9780738575056

$24.99

Over two centuries ago, surveyors laid out the town of Nunda along the American frontier of western New York State. Named for the Native American village that once stood within its borders, Nunda swelled with settlers seeking to build a better life for their families. The vast township was soon carved into several smaller towns, including Portage and Genesee Falls. Nunda, Portage, and Genesee Falls explores the history of these three towns through historical images and resources from the collections of the author, the Nunda Historical Society, town historians, and area residents. Vintage photographs also tell the stories of the Genesee Valley Canal, the great Portage Bridge, and Letchworth State Park.

North Hempstead

9781467120449

$24.99

Bordering on Queens to the west and the town of Oyster Bay to the east, North Hempstead can be considered the heart of the Gold Coast--once the highest concentration of wealth and power in the country. As the gateway to New York City, the area was enticing to the rich and famous, including William Cullen Bryant, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Philip Sousa, George M. Cohan, Groucho Marx, and the Vanderbilt, Whitney, Phipps, and Guggenheim families, and they flocked to North Hempstead for homes. With early advances in trains, automobiles, parkways, and even seaplanes, the town was transformed from a farming and estate community into a sprawling suburb. North Hempstead shares photographs documenting its growth and evolution into one of the "Best Places to Live in America." More than 200 images, many published for the first time, portray the town's history, people, buildings, and landmarks.

Singer Castle

9780738537641

$24.99

In 1905, the New York Times called it "the Castle of Mysteries," and rightly so. Located on Dark Island, Singer Castle was modeled after the castle described in Sir Walter Scott's Woodstock, complete with dungeons, turrets, labyrinths, and even secret passageways. World-famous architect Ernest Flagg designed it for Singer Sewing Machine Company president Frederick Bourne. Singer Castle provides an unforgettable tour and fascinating history, revealing why this place is truly a castle of mysteries.

Oxford

9780738574189

$24.99

On the Chenango River in central New York, the community of Oxford rose from a forest clearing in 1790 to a thriving farm-based village and town by 1830. The advent of railroads and canals joined Oxford to new markets and resources. Oxford bluestone quarries sent smooth slabs to Trinity Church, Wall Street, and Grant's Tomb in New York City. As the nation grew, Oxford's thousands of wood baskets and finely crafted tool handles were carried and used in the toil. Bicycles, dental devices, and more were also exported. The village remains as Chenango County's favorite "bedroom community" with its idyllic beauty, public safety, and long traditions at Oxford Academy and Central School.

Around Caroline

9781467115797

$24.99

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Caroline is a true community and always has been. In 1795, the first two families came with horses and settled in permanently. The founding mother, Widow Earsley, and her children returned to the cabin that she and her oldest son had built the previous autumn, and Captain Rich and his family began work on their own abode. From these first families to those who followed, pulling together to make circumstances better for everyone has been an important facet of life in Caroline. Residents clustered in several hamlets, including Slaterville Springs, Speedsville, Caroline, and Motts Corners (now Brooktondale), and carved farms out of the wilderness between them. They built houses, churches, and businesses. Recreation included picnics, band concerts, baseball, the Grange, parades, and youth groups.

The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad

9780738556697

$24.99

Return to the fondly remembered glory days of an upstate New York railroad in The Fonda, Johnstown, & Gloversville Railroad: Sacandaga Route to the Adirondacks.

The innovative Fonda, Johnstown, & Gloversville Railroad, a source of great interest for railroad enthusiasts, served its communities for over 100 years, using the finest and newest equipment available. Here is the chance to view it like never before, through the eyes of early photographers in many previously unpublished images.

Included in this collection are the communities through which the railroad traveled along its 130 miles of operation, captured in images from the 1870s to the 1980s. Thanks to early historians with the foresight to preserve such records, we are able to return to the heyday of the railroad, when the FJ&G stopped at splendid Victorian stations and boasted some of the most advanced equipment in the country. The railroad used an extensive steam division as well as an electric division and frequently traveled to the beautiful Sacandaga Park near Northville, New York. A popular destination for thousands of tourists to the southern Adirondacks in the late 1800s, the park is one of the many FJ&G stops included in this impressive collection of images.

Author Randy L. Decker brings his lifelong love of railroads to this unique historical work, as well as his memories of growing up in Gloversville during the 1960s. He has spent many years traveling throughout the communities along the route, collecting vintage images and countless stories from the people who worked on the railroad and the passengers who relied on it for transportation. Discover a true historical gem, a reminder of our nation's past, and a source of pride for the people of upstate New York in this valuable addition to the Images of America series.

The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad

Kingsbury and Hudson Falls

9780738505343

$24.99

Kingsbury lies at the bend of the Hudson where the river turns southward, near Bakers Falls, the largest falls on the entire river. The area did not attract attention until after 1755, when a British officer in the French and Indian War ordered that a road be cut between the Hudson River and Lake George. That road opened the land to speculators and eventually to settlers. Kingsbury and Hudson Falls contains more than two hundred images of the people and places vital to the history of the area. Many of the photographs date from the 1870s and have never before been published. Some of the images show Kingsbury's oldest and most important document, the 1762 deed that sets out the boundaries of the new town; the Glens Falls Feeder Canal, which in 1833 gave the town and village important access to the outside world; and the 1863 four-story Middleworth House, which in its day was considered one of the finest hotels in northeastern New York State.

West Brighton

9780738573847

$24.99

In the late 19th century, West Brighton became known as "Factoryville" after several industries set up shop in the vicinity. One of the largest, Barrett, Nephews, and Company, a dyeing and cleaning establishment, employed hundreds of Staten Islanders. Several prominent historical figures have resided in the region as well, including former first lady Julia Gardiner Tyler, who, in 1862, left the Confederacy (but not her Southern sympathies) to rejoin her family in West Brighton upon the death of former U.S. president John Tyler. The neighborhood is also the home of the famed Staten Island Zoo; the idyllic beauty of Silver Lake, Clove Lakes, and Walker Park lie within walking distance. But the most enduring trait of West Brighton is its people--the generations of families that have put down roots in one of the most scenic communities on Staten Island.

Farmington

9780738573564

$24.99

In March 1790, the first permanent settlers traveled through the wilderness to their new home in Farmington. Two centuries later, the site would become the fastest-growing township in New York State. Farmington developed into a unique transportation and manufacturing community where sawmills, grain mills, asheries, and foundries thrived. The town was serviced by the New York Central and Lehigh Valley Railroads and the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway, which had stops in the vanished hamlets of Mertensia and Hathaway's Corners. Today these railroad tracks have been reclaimed as recreational trails. The collection of photographs in Farmington weaves together the history of the mills, stores, churches, and families that make the township what it is today. Many of the images were captured by early Farmington photographer E. J. Gardner, whose practiced eye and personal connection to his neighborhood resulted in a priceless record of the people of Farmington.

New York City's Harbor Defenses

9780738512334

$24.99

The great seaport of New York, one of the largest and busiest natural harbors in the world, was defended for nearly four centuries by a series of more than sixty coastal fortifications. These fortifications were occupied by the Dutch, then the British, and finally, the Americans, who after winning their independence, needed to protect the country they had established. New York City's Harbor Defenses, with more than two hundred vintage photographs, reveals the unusual history of these coastal and island forts and tells of the men and women who served at them during peacetime and while the country was at war. Most of these fortifications are no longer active, but they can still be visited. Gone are the mighty guns, some of which could fire a twenty-four-hundred-pound shell a distance of twenty-six miles. Many of the buildings constructed during national emergencies have been leveled, and the millions of soldiers who lived, trained, and served their country there are absent. This visual history shows what once were the extensive fortifications that defended New York City's harbor.

Lockport

9780738512228

$24.99

Lockport documents the creation and growth of a fascinating city that has played a vital role in American history. Here, the Erie Canal climbed the Niagara Falls escarpment and opened up the Great Lakes to East Coast commerce, a revolutionary achievement that brought unlimited hydroelectric power to western New York, fueling the early industrialization of Lockport. The city was at the forefront of technological and social innovation: the nation's first commercial telegraph line was laid here; the fire hydrant, the district central heating system, and the honeycomb automobile radiator were invented here; the first New York public school system was developed here; the first automatic voting machines were used here; and the National American Music Festival was created here. Lockport salutes the heroes and characters of Lockport's past and highlights the contribution of unsung generations of migrants-Irish, German, Polish and Italian-who built the Lock City's industries, homes, and reputation. It echoes the hum of thriving Main Street stores, bustling Market Street businesses, grand Locust Street homes, and flourishing fruit belt farms. Most of all, it rings with the ceaseless opening and closing of the famous locks that gave the city its name.

Roosevelt Island

9780738512389

$24.99

Roosevelt Island captures the fascinating and sometimes curious history of an island located halfway between Manhattan and Queens in the East River.

In 1824, the city of New York purchased Blackwell's Island, later Welfare Island, as a site for its lunatic asylum, penitentiary, workhouses, and almshouses. In the years that followed, the island was a temporary home for several of New York City's famous and infamous. William Marcy Tweed, better known as ""Boss Tweed,"" was imprisoned at the penitentiary in the 1870s. Mae West was incarcerated in 1927 at the Workhouse for Women after her appearance in a play called Sex. After many institutions were closed or relocated, Welfare Island was virtually ignored until 1973, when it was reborn as Roosevelt Island, which is now a model planned community and thriving home to almost ten thousand people.

Mount Sinai

9780738512402

$24.99

Tucked alongside a harbor on Long Island's north shore, Mount Sinai has long attracted residents and visitors. It was the site of an early European settlement in 1664 and the embarkation point of the Revolutionary War foray into enemy territory by Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, a member of Gen. George Washington's Setauket spy ring. Mount Sinai was a farming and seafaring community in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. In 1891, it became the site of the "sanitary resort" known as the Crystal Brook Park Association. Later, it drew an early community of artists and photographers who captured the natural beauty of the area. Mount Sinai portrays these and many other events of historical and cultural interest.

Yorktown

9780738512730

$24.99

Yorktown explores the rich history of one of the northernmost towns in Westchester County. With vivid images, the book follows Yorktown from its early establishment as part of the Van Cortlandt Manor, through its key role in the American Revolution, to its development as a thriving residential and business community. Nestled in the Hudson Valley, Yorktown retains its pristine natural surroundings, including Teatown Lake Reservation. It has been a farm community, a hamlet with nurseries and orchards, and a summer colony with a local theater district and artists' colony. It once served as a breadbasket and milk bar for New York City and played a part in providing the city with clean water.

Long Island's North Fork

9780738513126

$24.99

Long Island's North Fork explores the past of the rustic countryside through photographs by professionals and residents of this historic place.

Boasting a verdant landscape and miles of silky white beaches, Long Island's North Fork remains a natural paradise. Loyal residents have preserved the North Fork's rich heritage and tranquil pace of life. Escaping the urbanization that overspread much of Long Island in the early 1900s, the rural villages survived on farming, fishing, shipbuilding, and maritime trading. Thus, agriculture still thrives and boats continue to cruise the crystal-clear waters.Long Island's North Fork explores the past through the eyes of those who lived in the rustic countryside. It is a treasury of photographs, many taken by professionals, others from selected family albums and collections.

Hamburg

9780738512723

$24.99

Hamburg: 1910-1970 highlights the great growth and prosperity of Hamburg as the population expanded, roads and highways improved, and numerous businesses opened throughout the western New York State town. Among the fascinating people who made Hamburg life interesting were Amanda Michael and Lillian Eddy of the Nineteenth Century Club, which helped found the Hamburg Free Library; Broadway playwright George F. Abbott, who brought glamor to Hamburg; and Fred Weiss, the first chief of police of Hamburg Village, who had original ideas about criminal justice. In 1962, Hamburg marked its sesquicentennial with a celebration that is said to have surpassed everyone's wildest expectations.

Canton

9780738538778

$24.99

Canton honors a 200-year-old town nestled snuggly between the St. Lawrence River and the Adirondack foothills. With historical photographs, it illustrates Canton's glorious past, which began with New York State's purchase of the northern regions from the Iroquois, the establishment of the 10 original townships, and the incorporation of the town of Canton in 1805. The history includes notable residents, such as artist Frederic Remington, boatbuilder J. Henry Rushton, and state governor Silas Wright, and lesser-known personalities, such as Eddie Perry and Jimmy Murray.

Port Washington

9780738565125

$24.99

Port Washington is located 17 miles east of Manhattan on Long Island's North Shore. Immigration, technology, economic changes, and geographical forces shaped Port Washington over the years.

Once known as the ""shellfish garden"" of New York City, it is known for its bounteous bays, yachting and boatbuilding, celebrity residents, and pioneering aviation activities. Its burgeoning aviation industry was led by the Guggenheims and Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s, and the literary and musical giants who lived here included John Philip Sousa, William Rose Benet, and Sinclair Lewis. During the war years in the 1940s, Grumman and the United States Navy set up crucial operations in Port Washington. An era of suburbanization and development soon followed, reflecting the prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s.

Roslyn

9780738565057

$24.99

In the 1840s, the first wave of city people came to Roslyn, attracted by the town's picturesque scenery. Later in the 19th century, the Long Island Rail Road made the area appealing to the very wealthy, who turned the rolling north shore of Long Island into the Gold Coast. The great estates employed local residents, and their owners gave the village handsome buildings that survive today. Neighboring villages Roslyn Heights, Roslyn Estates, and East Hills all include land from former farms and estates. By 1960, Long Island's postwar building boom seemed set to obliterate Roslyn's character. In response, residents were galvanized to preserve and beautify the old village, and today's Roslyn is one of the most attractive and historic places on Long Island.

Cold Spring Harbor

9781467122245

$24.99

A bustling industrial community in the 19th century, Cold Spring Harbor was once described as "a sweet bay of beauty." The area briefly served as a whaling port and was a center for shipbuilding, milling, and farming. Located just 35 miles from midtown Manhattan, Cold Spring Harbor was a fashionable summer resort for New York City residents who came to the area during the Gilded Age to enjoy the cool breezes off the shores of the harbor. Today, Cold Spring Harbor is a residential community with excellent schools, active organizations, museums, and the world-renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories. Cold Spring Harbor traces the development of the area from its days as a bustling whaling port to a 20th-century suburbanized community.

Boats and Boating on Cranberry Lake

9780738565200

$24.99

Boats and Boating on Cranberry Lake portrays the evolution of boating life on a lake that was barely known until the late 19th century. Illustrated here are some of the lake's earliest guide boats and canoes, workboats and steamers, and early motor launches that brought visitors from the dock at Wanakena to hotels around the lake. In the summer of 1909, a few men who regularly spent the season on Cranberry Lake organized a motorboat club to promote the sport of power boating, improve boating conditions on the lake, and have some fun. Today the Cranberry Lake Boat Club, with 400 memberships, is thought to be the oldest such continuously active club in the western Adirondacks. The club will celebrate its centennial in 2009 with a summer of activities related to boats and boating on the lake.

Highland and the Town of Lloyd

9780738564517

$24.99

The town of Lloyd was first settled in 1754, when Anthony Yelverton brought equipment for a sawmill across the Hudson River. In addition to his sawmill, he built a brickyard and conducted a store in the lower level of his house. The riverfront became the town of Lloyd's first business district. This area was later called Highland Landing, for the new village of Highland that developed on the higher ground above the landing. In the 19th century, steamboats carried freight and passengers from Highland to New York City, and ferryboats crossed the Hudson River to Poughkeepsie several times every day. With the completion of the West Shore Railroad in 1883, the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge and the Central New England Railway in 1888, and a trolley line going west in 1897, Highland could rightfully claim that it was the "Gateway to Ulster County."

Geneva

9780738555126

$24.99

Like many American towns, Geneva changed dramatically in the mid-20th century. Geneva: 1940-1970 examines events that influenced the city, among them the influx of sailors and workers at the nearby Sampson Naval Training Station during World War II and the construction of the Routes 5 and 20 bypass in the 1950s. Many factories ceased operation during this time, and downtown businesses began feeling pressure from a new shopping plaza and stores on the edge of town. The book also captures the social life of the community and notable people who visited Geneva, such as Bobby Kennedy and Jane Russell, and those who grew up here, such as legendary jazz bassist Scott LaFaro.

Jewish Community of Syracuse

9780738576589

$24.99

While New York City became home for most of the Jewish immigrants who crossed the Atlantic, others journeyed farther, seeking freedom and fortune. The city of Syracuse, easily reached by the Erie Canal, became the next port of call for some. It offered opportunities, open roads, and a small but ever-growing Jewish community. This history traces the development of the Jewish community of the Salt City from its beginnings in the early 18th century, when a handful of peddlers gathered weekly to share a Shabbat meal, to a much larger community that numbered 11,000-12,000 at its peak a century later. The Syracuse Jewish community is a microcosm of the history of Jews in America and is both distinctive and iconic in nature.

The Statue of Liberty (German version)

9781467127547

$24.99

Als Amerikas profundestes Mahnmal zur Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit steht die Statue der Freiheit seit Jahrzehnten im New Yorker Hafen Wache. Ihr standhafter Blick bezeugt das Wachstum des Landes von einem bloßen Beobachter des Weltgeschehens in die mächtigste Nation der Erde. Ihr erhobener Arm hat eine Menge Schiffe salutiert, als sie an ihr vorbeifuhren. Ihre Würde hat Amerikaner, die vom Ausland zurückkamen, begrüßt, und hat Neuankömmlingen, die einen neuen Anfang im Land der Freiheit suchten, Hoffnung gegeben. Die Freiheitsstatue ist eine großartige visuelle Reise, die mit dem fantastischen Vorschlag eines französischen Professors beginnt, den Vereinigten Staaten ein Mahnmal zum ehrenden Gedenken der nabhängigkeitskriegsallianz zwischen den dreizehn Kolonien und Frankreich zu geben. Es dokumentiert die symbolische Annahme der Form der antiken Göttin der Freiheit und ihre Anerkennung als die größte Metallstatue in der Welt. Highlights sind die Baugeschichte der Freiheitsstatue, ihren ändernden Symbolismus im Lauf der Jahre, und ihre Nutzung in Werbung und politischem Aktivismus.

Middletown Revisited

9780738557410

$24.99

Located in the lower Hudson Valley, Middletown was first settled in 1760 and quickly grew into a thriving dairy farming center. With the arrival of the pioneering New York and Erie Rail Road in 1843, Middletown continued to flourish, and by 1888, it became a city. Hundreds of residents found employment in the growing railroad industry as well as at the sprawling Middletown State Hospital, with its advanced facilities at one time boasting over 100 buildings. Middletown Revisited documents the rich history of a city that has continued to grow over generations.

Northwest Bronx

9780738574660

$24.99

Vintage photographs explore the rich history and the wonderful neighborhoods of Northwest Bronx and it's legacy of well-known denizens.

New York City is comprised of five distinct boroughs, and each borough is made of dozens of neighborhoods. Northwest Bronx has a particularly rich history and is home to Wave Hill, Van Cortlandt Park, Woodlawn Cemetery, the New York Botanical Garden, and a variety of colleges and universities. Famous Americans from all walks of life took up roost here-- Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt's family, and Arturo Toscanini once lived at Wave Hill, while John F. Kennedy's boyhood home is only steps away, and George Washington slept at the Van Cortlandt Mansion. Northwest Bronx features an array of vintage photographs of the borough's neighborhoods, from Spuyten Duyvil, Kingsbridge, Riverdale, and Woodlawn to the neighborhoods north of Fordham Road and west of the Bronx River.

Piseco Lake and Arietta

9780738554990

$24.99

Mention the word Piseco to someone who has visited this Adirondack area, and it evokes a view of lush rolling mountains, a whiff of crisp fresh air, a scent of pine trees, and a touch of cool lake water. Piseco Lake and Arietta similarly rewards readers while also introducing them to early sites and time-honored people inherent in the history of Piseco Lake and the town of Arietta.

Middletown

9780738508665

$24.99

Located in the heart of Orange County, the city of Middletown was first settled c. 1760. The hamlet became a village in 1848 and a city in 1888. Long noted for its dairy farming, Middletown gained its reputation as a railroad center beginning in 1843 with the coming of the New York & Erie Rail Road. That reputation remained until 1957, when Middletown's other major railroad, the famed New York, Ontario & Western Railway, was abandoned. With more than two hundred historical images, Middletown celebrates the people, places, and event that over the years helped shape this progressive community. Picture are period street scenes, homes by noted local architect Frank Lindsey, Clemson Park with is famous Japanese garden, and highly ornate buildings that are still in use, such as the Orange County Community College and the Middletown Thrall Library. All of these centered around a thriving business district, strong industries, and up-to-date transportation.

Adirondack Hotels and Inns

9780738557694

$24.99

The Adirondack region evolved over years from vast, impassable wilderness to a land of logging camps, tanneries, sawmills, and small settlements. By the end of the 19th century, the area grew again, becoming a tourist destination famed for its great hotels, quaint inns, cottages, and rustic cabins. The hotels and inns spread throughout the Adirondacks, beginning after the Civil War and continuing during the Gilded Age between World Wars I and II. The region drew the rich and famous, as well as workers and families escaping the polluted cities. This volume contains 200 vintage images of those famed accommodations that catered to years of Adirondack visitors. Most of the buildings seen in this book no longer exist, having been destroyed by fires, the wrecking ball, or simply forgotten over time. Adirondack Hotels and Inns provides a timeless look at the vacation retreats of the past.

Greenport

9780738511849

$24.99

Lying ninety miles east of Manhattan and bordered by both Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay, Greenport has long been known as a boater's paradise. Part of the town of Southold, this Long Island beach town is noted for its lively mix of ethnicities and its contrasts-old-time New England rectitude giving way to a growing artistic community. In stunning photographs, Greenport portrays this place of hearty good spirits, with its legacy of fast boats and rumrunners, hardworking artisans and their grateful descendants, and notable independent figures such as Kofi Annan, and three-time America's Cup winner George Monsell.

Deerpark

9780738511078

$24.99

Bounded by three rivers and a mountain range, the town of Deerpark lies in the southwestern corner of Orange County. Once the frontier of America, the area took its name from what early settlers called their neighbor's fenced tract: McDaniel's Deer Park. The town has seven hamlets-Cahoonzie, Cuddebackville, Godeffroy, Huguenot, Rio, Sparrowbush, and Westbrookville-shaped and identified by their geography.

Deerpark highlights a community that has what is believed to be the oldest one-hundred-mile road in the country, the Old Mine Road. Appearing in this pictorial history are the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which transformed the town, and the railroad, which spawned a thriving resort industry. Also shown are filmmaker D.W. Griffith, who between 1909 and 1911 made silent movies using the mountains and rivers as a backdrop, and many ancestors of present-day residents.

Pearl River

9781467121552

$24.99

Pearl River was part of a royal land patent issued to two New York businessmen, Daniel Honan and Michael Hawdon.

Honan, the accountant general of New Amsterdam, and Hawdon, a friend of the infamous Captain Kidd. Immigrants later settled in areas they called Nauraushaun, Middletown, Pascack, Sickletown, Orangeville, and Muddy Brook. In the 1870s, Julius Braunsdorf permitted the New York & New Jersey Railroad to run an extension through his property, which gave his new sewing machine factory access to markets and materials. The factory would later be enhanced to produce the first newspaper-folding machines. In 1906, Dr. Ernst Lederle, a former New York health commissioner, began a laboratory to produce antitoxins and other medicines. With the success and growth of these inventors and their businesses, Pearl River became a nationally known company town. Since the opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge, it has evolved into a friendly, modern bedroom community of New York City and the second-largest hamlet in New York State.