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As you drive west
along Route 208/287 approaching the
Ramapo
River
, it is hard to imagine that 300 years ago this interstate highway
may have been a quiet tree-lined path in a little valley used by the
Minsi Indians of the Lenni Lenape tribe. The first Dutch
settlers, who were stopped by the
Ramapo
River
at the end of the path that is now
Franklin Avenue
, became so enamored of the area that they bought some 5,500 acres
of it.
On June 5, 1695 Arent Schuyler, representing a group of Dutch
associates, paid the equivalent of 250 New York Pounds in wampum and
goods to the Sachems of the Pompton and Minsi Indians for the land.
The Minsi enjoyed
these fertile valleys, hunted in the woods and fished in the
"Ramapaugh" or "river of many round ponds".
Thus, the Dutch called their settlement "De Panne" or the
"The Ponds".
Settlers did not
come immediately. It was wilderness, a 25-mile trek from
Hackensack
along Indian paths that meant at least a day and a half journey. By
the year 1710 there were at least ten families in the Ponds. The
settlers lived near the Lenni Lenape Indians, called "the tribe
of old women" by the Iroquois, and were conquered by them,
because they were too peaceful.
The Minsi Indians
of Oakland were bound to tradition, cared for their aged and were
generous with their belongings. They lived in "wigwams" of
chestnut saplings covered with bark. Some families were grouped
together, but more often a family lived alone by a spring, brook, or
the
Ramapo
River
. The first roads in
Oakland
were the trails they hacked out of the woods for hunting, fishing
and visiting one another.
Dirt roads meant
mud, flooding, ruts, holes, and in summer, dust. George Washington
and his troops knew this only too well. Muddy roads forced him to
halt his march and stay overnight on July 14, 1777 at
Oakland
's Van Allen house.
In 1870 the town's
name was changed from "The Ponds" to
Oakland
. By the late 1800's Oakland's roads saw the arrival of tourists,
vacationers, hunters, fishermen and hikers to take advantage of its
river, beaches, ponds, woods, hotels, boarding houses and
restaurants. Its roads also carried freight from powder works, a
brush factory, a water-bottling plant, numerous mills and small
businesses.
In 1902
Oakland
was incorporated and elected its first Mayor and Council. In March
of that year,
Oakland
temporarily became the last stop on the railroad as the
Ramapo
River
swelled to 14 1/2 feet above normal and swept away all bridges
between
Pompton
Lakes
and Suffern except for the Pleasureland bridge located near the old
Ponds
Church
.
After World War
II,
Oakland
began its rapid development of permanent residents as commuting time
to work became less and country living became more desirable. In the
1950's,
Oakland
was a non-farm community earning its title as “The Valley of
Homes”.
The first
scheduled bus to
New York City
started service by Short Line in April of 1961. Route 208 was
completed in November of 1962 amid fears of hot dog stands,
billboards and garages lining the road. With the completion of Route
287’s “missing link”
Oakland
has become even more accessible, but more vulnerable to pollution
and noise.
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