Nearby stood the Thomas Ellison house, used as headquarters by General George Washington at various times during the years of 1779-1781. Alexander Hamilton was also quartered here, and the attack on Stony Point was planned here with Gen. Anthony Wayne. To the south was the location of the first colonial settlement in Orange County in 1683. Just to the north was the village of New Windsor, with docks of commercial and military importance. Further north stood the house and farm of Gen. George Clinton, who became the first governor of New York State and later a Vice-President of the United States.
