Exploring Rockland: Haverstraw Bay Park

By Idy Perl

Most Rockland County residents stick around even during the summer months, because unlike the city, Rockland County come alive in the summer months.

There are beautiful parks for the kids to play in, hiking trails, waterfronts, and so much more. Throughout the summer months Rockland Daily will be exploring the neighborhood, bringing you hidden spots and delving into some of the local favorites. 

Haverstraw Bay Park is a popular destination since it has fun playgrounds for kids, a gorgeous waterfront, picnic areas, walking trails, and large fields to run around and play. 

The 27 acres that the park is located on is actually steeped with history and played a prominent role in in the industrialization of Rockland County. Back in 1771 the property was used by Jacob Van Dyke, a man from Holland, who made bricks by hand for fireplaces and chimneys. 

In 1815 an Englishman, James Wood, established a brickyard in Haverstraw, and later came up with a revolutionary way to make bricks that cut the production time in half. Many brickyards were established in Haverstraw and the surrounding areas, and in 1883 Haverstraw had 41 operational brickyards and earned the title “Brickmaking Capitol of the World” with an estimated 302,647,000 bricks produced that year. 

In 1906 a series of landslides destroyed parts of Haverstraw and devastated the flourishing businesses, and over the next few decades the brickyard industry in Haverstraw slowly declined as cheaper bricks from Europe made their way over to New York. In 1941 the last Haverstraw brickyard closed down. 

In the 50s the property was used as the staging area for the construction of NYC’s Pier 57 and the Tappan Zee bridge. Rockland County acquired the vacant property in 1999 and opened the park in 2003.