Haverstraw's Hudson story runs through brick and betrayal

Haverstraw has one of those Hudson River stories where the name, the shore, and the work all pull together. Henry Hudson anchored in Haverstraw Bay in 1609, and the town history calls the name one of the oldest in North American geography. It first appeared on a map in 1616 as Haverstroo, meaning oat straw.

Then the bricks take over. Between 1771 and 1941, Haverstraw became a major brickmaking place, with clay along the Hudson, river shipping, and kilns that helped send building material toward New York City.

The story is not just industry in the abstract. It is river mud, fire, barges, workers, and whole neighborhoods shaped by the brick trade. In 1883, the local industry had 42 brickyards and 148 brands of brick.

The Revolutionary War layer adds a darker porch-story turn. Haverstraw history points to the Treason House, tied to the Benedict Arnold and Major John Andre plot around West Point.

Those pieces make Haverstraw easier to remember: oat-straw name, Hudson clay, brick yards, river shipping, and a treason story sitting in the background. It is Rockland County with the river doing a lot of the talking.