Flywheel at the Flywheel Park, Piermont, NY

That is the actual‭ ‬flywheel,‭ ‬really a piece of machinery,‭ ‬which helped provide power for the first factory in Piermont more than‭ ‬100‭ ‬years ago.‭ ‬It was installed in‭ ‬1902,‭ ‬as part of a steam-driven generator,‭ ‬for the Piermont Paper Company.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1924,‭ ‬the Robert Gair Company absorbed the older outfit,‭ ‬and was later itself taken over by Continental Can.‭ ‬The flywheel kept chugging along until the mid-‭19‬80s when the factory,‭ ‬then owned by Federal Paper Board/Clevepak,‭ ‬was closed forever.

In the second half of the 19th century, a movement for public libraries began in the U.S. There is some evidence that starting in the 1870’s there were groups interested in creating a library in Piermont. But it wasn’t until 1896 that today’s library became an official entity.

Piermont - Early History

Bowling Alley at Fort Comfort Inn Amusement Park

The history of Piermont began many millions of years ago with geological events that left a break in the solid rock wall of the Palisades dominant along the west shore of the Hudson River above Manhattan. This break, and the creek that ran through it into the Hudson, created a passageway to the interior, making it an ideal place for commerce and trade. Tappan Indians, part of the Delaware Nation, inhabited the region and traded with the predominantly Dutch settlers when they began arriving in the 17th century. From that point on, this developed into an increasingly busy location that was variously called Tappan Slote, Tappan Landing, The Slote, or The Landing – but not Piermont.