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Nyack People & Places

Upper Nyack Celebrates its 150th Anniversary with a Goosetown Block Party

Upper Nyack’s Goosetown Block Party will kick off a celebration of Upper Nyack’s sesquicentennial. The Block Party will feature live music, food trucks, kid’s activities, exotic cars, visits from the Summit School animals, and a history exhibit in the Old Stone Meeting House. North Broadway will be closed to traffic between Castle Heights and Birchwood Avenues for the celebration that runs from 11a to 5p on October 1, rain or shine. 

The Goosetown Bock Party, according to Mayor Karen Tarapata, is an opportunity for people to come together for an afternoon of fun and entertainment, whether new arrivals or life-long residents.

“Building community is the goal of Upper Nyack’s 150th anniversary.” Karen Tarapata

Poster for the Goosetown Block Party. Detailed agenda below.

Upper Nyack is the Oldest of the Nyack Villages

Upper Nyack was the first village to incorporate on September 28, 1872, just 25 days before Nyack. Garret Sarvent became the first village President, as the mayor was then called. Garret was the 4th generation from the original large Sarvent family farm that abutted the southern boundary of the village. The Trustees were Charles Fellows, William Jersey and Peter Voorhis, Isaac V. Smith was Treasurer, William Kipp was Collector and D. M. Clark served as Clerk. 

The same group was reelected on March 19, 1873, at the date of the first village election. The election was held in the store of James P. Vorhis, a store immortalized 75 years later in Edward Hopper’s famous painting, Seven A.M. At the time, Vorhis was the owner of the shipyard at the foot of Van Houten’s Landing. The board approved an increase in taxes almost immediately to the total tax for the village of $1,500 (a relative income worth of $287,000 today). In 1874, only 30 Upper Nyack villagers paid the $1 poll tax to vote.  Sarvent continued as village President until 1889.

Sarvent was followed as President by a retired industrialist, Colonel Richard Vose, a  man who was known to drive his geese from his estate on Highmount Terrace to the Hudson River. Vose is often thought to have been the origin of Upper Nyack being known as “Goosetown.”  The term “Goosetown” is probably a derogatory one given to Upper Nyack villagers because they incorporated first. The senior, elegant military leader marching geese across Broadway must have been an amusing sight. Now “Goosetown” is a name which Upper Nyack villagers are proud.

How Did We End Up with so Many Different Nyacks?

Local incorporation wars began shortly after April 20, 1870, when the New York State Legislature voted in a general act for the incorporation of a village, meaning a village could be incorporated easily and levy taxes. The first vote for incorporation on July 6, 1871, included all of Nyack, Upper Nyack, and South Nyack. Incorporation was soundly defeated with only 75 voting in favor, 292 against.

Local business leaders in downtown Nyack looking for ways to spruce up the village did not give up. During the next year, public meetings were held to discuss the issue. However, there was a hidden agenda. According to Frank Green, author of the History of Rockland County, Garret Sarvent obtained positive proof that the leaders of incorporation planned .

“to use the taxes obtained from outlying sections of the incorporated village in the immediate streets of the town, and to out vote the few taxpayers at a distance by those who were benefited.” Frank Green

Upper Nyack’s Village Hall before WWI when it was a saloon.

Upper Nyack Decides to Go Its Own Way

Villagers in Upper Nyack reacted rapidly and secretly to initiate their own incorporation. Incorporation notices were posted in public on August 13, 1872 as required by law. The list of places where the notices were posted is interesting. Posters went up in Upper Nyack’s few shops;  the shoe store of Abram Pitt on N. Broadway and Van Houten, Peter Williamson’s candy store near the Old Stone Meeting House (Williamson was the last living person born into bondage in Rockland County), and at the store of James Voris. A poster went up at the corner of Hook Road (N. Broadway) and Old Mountain, one on a telegraph pole at the side of Midland Ave., and one at the old school on Old Mountain Road just to the east of Midland Ave. 

Updated Incorporation document signed by Garret Sarvent.

As noted previously, Upper Nyack incorporated on September 28, 1872. Then Nyack incorporated on October 23, 1872.  

But Wait, It’s not Over

hold a referendum on whether Nyack should remain a village. By a vote of “almost four to one” according to the Centennial Booklet-Village of Upper Nyack. Nyack dissolved on February 7, 1878. South Nyack, its grievances similar to Upper Nyack, voted to incorporate on May 25, 1878.  A border dispute, whether the northern boundary should be Depew or Cedar Hill Avenues was resolved by supervisors. Nyack reincorporated on February 27, 1883.Thus we ended up with three different riverfront facing villages, Central Nyack, then known as West Nyack, remaining unincorporated.

While a historical discussion of the incorporation wars is somewhat tedious, we all know how the subject re-emerged in 2022 when South Nyack voted to unincorporate.

Taxes & Roads

1870 photo of the Nyack Turnpike (route 59) toll booth in Central Nyack when it was still a dirt road.

At the time of the various incorporations, an important concern was that village roads were dirt, dusty in summer, rutted and frozen in winter, muddy in between, and dark at night.  Local taxes were needed. Incorporation became a model of political action especially in Upper Nyack. By 1879, the local newspaper noted that 100 families of Upper Nyack were able to grade Broadway from the Orangetown line to Hook Mountain, macadamize it, sink its ditches where it crossed roads with imperishable drain pipes, keep ditches free from grass, and build and repair sidewalks. 

There is now no more perfect drive than the handsome avenues in Upper Nyack …Midland Avenue and Broadway (in Upper Nyack) show how well the money has been spentRockland County Journal June 21, 1879

It took Nyack much longer to macadamize Broadway from Upper Nyack to Hudson Ave. where Broadway then stopped. 

Postcard showing the roads in Upper Nyack after incorporation.

What the Heck Is Macadam?

Macadam was an ingenious method of road construction invented in 1820 by John Macadam, a Scottish engineer. In this method, crushed stone layers of decreasing size were compacted and covered with a layer of stone dust. The relatively level road performed very well without the use of large paving stones. When automobiles appeared, a layer of tar or tarmac was used as a road covering over the macadam.

Note how much of the expense budget for fiscal 1875 is devoted to roads.

Upper Nyack’s 100th

Fast forward 100 years to September 16, 1972.  To celebrate, Upper Nyack held a large parade that featured a live goose riding in a cage on the hood of one of the village’s dump trucks. Youngsters joined the parade on their bicycles. Tom Perry, now a Nyack High School teacher, won first prize for his bicycle decorated with a paper goose. Second prize went to the Biedersman girls who dressed their little sister as a goose.  At noon, Bimbo the clown performed.

Tom Perry gets ready to ride the “goose” bike in 1972
The 100th anniversary bike parade. The “goose” bike is on the left.

Later in the ceremonies, Empire Hook and Ladder was awarded a trophy topped by a golden goose for its 109 years of service to the village. Of special note was a beautiful quilt embroidered by nine Upper Nyack girls among whom were two daughters of Win and Betty Perry. The 100th anniversary quilt, gifted to the village, is on display during the 150th celebration at the Old Stone Meeting House. 

Mayor Richard Jewett led the formal ceremonies. 690 box lunches were sold. A food truck stationed in front of the Upper Nyack Elementary school almost ran out of hot dogs and sandwiches. People picnicked under the beech trees that then grew on the school lawn or on the stone wall in front of what was once the home of J. DuPratt White and now the Summit School.

Exhibits at the 100th Celebration

Among the exhibits in the schoolhouse was a display of historical photos that attracted a lot of attention. Many of these photos are on display during the 150th celebration in the Old Stone Meeting House. Walking tours were held including the Old Stone Meeting House and the old Palmer Burial Ground on Old Mountain Road. 

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These photographs of Crumbie’s Glen and the old Stone Meeting House were on display at the 100th celebration.

During the evening, you guessed it, a block party was held featuring square dancing on N. Broadway in front of Village Hall. 

The Goosetown 150th Block Party

The Goosetown Bock Party opens at 11:00a on October 1. At 11:30, Mayor Tarapata will kick of a formal welcome. NYS Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, and NYS Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski will add their remarks.

Mayor Tarapata at Upper Nyack Village Hall.

Much of the block party is for children. Upper Nyack Elementary School Principal Craig Dreves will present a time capsule created by the school children. The well-known Summit School animals, Eleanor Pigby, and the goats Sawyer and Scout, often seen walking in the village, will make an appearance.  Cornhole games will be held on the school lawn. Strawtown Studio will conduct an art activity called the Colors of the River during the afternoon.

Sawyer and Scout at Nyack Beach.

Displays will line N. Broadway. Non-profits including Edward Hopper House Museum will have exhibits. Torrent Motors will display exotic Porsches and other sports cars. Food will be available from Salonniere and Bongo Fries food trucks and from the neighborhood deli, Hartell’s.

On stage, music by Billie Schloss and his ukulele, the Bus 11 band, and Bobby Deitch and Friends will fill the afternoon. A unique Hot Pursuit fire sculpture will be lit in between bands.

The Old Stone Meeting House will be open during the event. Inside the embroidered quilt from Upper Nyack’s 100th will be on display along with several historic maps and photographs. Visitors will get a chance to use Upper Nyack’s 150thinteractive historical map.

Visit & Have Some Old-fashioned Fun

The Goosetown Bock Party is free and will occur on October 1 rain or shine. We will see if someone beats the record made by Mrs. Florence Quist at the 100th Anniversary celebration. She traveled from Coalinga, CA just for the celebration. Whether from near or far, old or young, new-comer or old-timer, all will enjoy the Goosetown Block Party.

Michael Hays is a 35-year resident of the Nyacks. Hays grew up the son of a professor and nurse in Champaign, Illinois. He enjoyed a long career in educational publishing with Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill. He s currently president of the Historical Society of the Nyacks and vice president of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center. Hays is an avid cyclist, amateur historian and photographer, gardener, and dog walker. He has enjoyed more years than he cares to count with his beautiful companion, Bernie Richey. You can follow him on Instagram as UpperNyackMike.

Nyack People & Places, a weekly series that features photos and profiles of citizens and scenes near Nyack, NY, is brought to you by Sun River Health.


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