Photo of the Day: Tappan Slote, Piermont NY

Over the past several years, while driving through the Rockland County village of Piermont, I have seen, out of the corner of my eye, the surging waters of a creek. Last week, on a bitterly cold afternoon, I got out of my car, took this picture, and learned a bit more about what I had been seeing, as well as the larger Rockland Road Bridge Historic District of which this forms part.

The formal name of this body of water is the Tappan Slote (derived from the Dutch sloot, or “trench” or “ditch”). But it is also called the Sparkill Cut (with “kill” coming again from the Dutch, for “creek”). The names are a remnant of the first European settlers in this section of New York State.

The industry that arose in this area depended on water, starting with this creek, the only water passage north of New York City which allowed sloops to get on the western side of the Palisades ridge. Across the street from this spot arose a textile mill where, during World War II, ripcords for parachutes and ribbons for good conduct medals were manufactured.