Settlement of the area that would later be known as Orange County and afterwards Rockland County by Europeans and individuals of African descent in the 1680’s. Pioneers from Manhattan and
By Jamila Brathwaite The St. Charles African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church today stands on Valentine Road in Sparkill, New York. In 1897, the church was rebuilt in its present location;
By Dr. Travis Jackson The discovery of the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan in 1991 stimulated an interest in slavery, as it had existed in New York City during
By Jamila Brathwaite During World War II, Rockland County became home to the largest U.S. Army embarkation camp in the United States. Camp Shanks was located “in and around Orangeburg