DoodleTown - Ghost Towns on Waymarking.com

Doodletown was a pioneer hamlet through which the British army marched to attack Fort Clinton in 1777.

From Wikipedia:

Doodletown was an isolated village located in northern Rockland County, New York, United States. Abandoned during the 1960s, it is now part of Bear Mountain State Park. It is a popular destination for hikers, birdwatchers, botanists, and local historians. The former village is now a ghost town.

The town was first settled in 1762 as a small settlement north of Stony Point. The name is said to derive from the Dutch for "dead valley", with the "town" suffix added later by English settlers. Most settlers worked as loggers and miners, and the remains of the mines are still visible today. There were also small farms and businesses. The town was a crossroads for soldiers during the Revolutionary War during the fighting at Bear Mountain, Stony Point, and other locations along the Hudson River.

In the 1890s, Thomas Edison bought property in Doodletown to prospect for iron ore. Bear Mountain began to be developed as a park in the early 20th century

By the 1920s the town had a school, a church, several small businesses, 2 cemeteries and approximately 70 homes. Many families had lived there for generations, but the mines had been emptied and the town was beginning its decline. During that time, Bear Mountain State Park began to expand by purchasing property from the landowners in Doodletown. By the 1950s, most of the residents had moved away, many to nearby Stony Point or into southern Orange County. Those who refused to sell lost their land through eminent domain, and most of the remaining structures were demolished in the late 1960s. The debris was buried, the roads were closed, and the surrounding woods were allowed to grow over the properties. In the early 1970s, a dam was built on the Timp Brook, and part of the town was submerged. The last remaining building, the stone school house, was kept as a shelter for hikers until vandalism caused the park commission to tear it down in 1980.

Reason for Abandonment: Economic Date Abandoned: 01/01/1960 Related Web Page: Not listed

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