Haverstraw

Haverstraw is a historic village located on the west bank of the Hudson, at the point where the river reaches its greatest width. The village sits at the foot of High Tor, one of the Palisades' peaks, giving it a very distinctive landscape between mountain and vast expanse of water.

Haverstraw's history is closely tied to the brickmaking industry. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, around forty brickyards lined the Hudson's shores and produced hundreds of millions of bricks, notably used in the construction of New York. This industry deeply marked the village before disappearing by the mid-20th century. A major landslide caused by clay extraction also destroyed part of the downtown in 1906.

This industrial activity attracted workers from many backgrounds, and over time Haverstraw became a community particularly diverse culturally and architecturally. The downtown retains many buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Victorian houses, commercial buildings and several religious structures. Today, Main Street and the surrounding streets form a lively urban area, with independent shops, restaurants and small businesses.

The waterfront is another distinctive feature of Haverstraw. The village has more than two miles of publicly accessible shoreline, including parks, a riverside promenade and the ferry terminal to Ossining. The Harbors at Haverstraw area also includes a public walkway along the bay, offering expansive views of the Hudson.

For boaters, Haverstraw lies in an area where the Hudson almost resembles a lake. The bay is vast, the shores recede, and the relief of High Tor and the Palisades frame the landscape. It is this geography that also explains the presence of several anchorage areas around Haverstraw Bay.