Harmony+Hall

Jacob Sloat was born on September 13, 1792. He was the son of Isaac Sloat. He was lucky to live in the one, the only, “Village of Sloatsburg.” Jacob Sloat’s business was running a cotton cloth mill. He was known for his mechanical abilities and was given the 3rd patent in the United States for inventing a way for dressing cotton twine! Jacob Sloat was a fine man and very smart. Having a patent in the 1800’s was rare, good for Jacob Sloat! In1848, Jacob Sloat decided to build a wonderful home for his family in the village he loved, Sloatsburg. It was built on a large area of land in the town. The large beautiful home was a great place for Jacob to raise his family. Building this house was the beginning of a special part of Sloatsburg’s history. ** Business ** After Jacob Sloat’s death his house became the Henry Inn. The Inn served as a boarding house and restaurant. After the Henry Inn the Jacob Sloat house became the Ramapo Inn. The Ramapo Inn was the same type of business as The Henry Inn. The next business to go into the Sloat House was the Martin House. The Martin house was owned by Mrs. Anna Martin. The Sloat House was now a home for the Martin Family who took care of mentally ill women in the house. In 1960, my very own great aunt and great uncle owned the Jacob Sloat House! Lou Martin and Mag Martin bought the house and business from Lou’s mom, Anna Martin. It was called the Martin Care Home. They helped take care of mentally ill people. Mag Martin loved to help people and this was a great way to do it. In 1983, after 23 years of helping people the Martins decided to sell it to Dr. Alimron because the Martins were ready to retire and move on. The house continued to take care of mentally ill women. ** A Place **** for History ** In the early 2000’s, the Town of Ramapo bought the property to save and preserve it as a part of Sloatsburg history. Today, it is being preserved by Mr. Bush and a committee. It is very important to preserve this place because that house has been there for a long time with so much history in it. Now Geoff Welch lives there to help preserve and take care of the house and the property. The Jacob Sloat House, now known as Harmony Hall needs a lot of work. It has a new roof but the outside and inside of the house needs to be fixed up. Harmony Hall is a place where people can go to learn about the history of Sloatsburg.
 * Jacob Sloat **