On August 25, 1781, during the six hundred-mile march to the Revolutionary War’s decisive Battle of Yorktown, Gen. Rochambeau’s army was forced to ford this river because the bridge here was in poor condition. In the rural countryside, the Ramapo Foundry opened here in 1901 and manufactured railroad brake shoes. It grew into a conglomerate with more than 500 workers at its largest facility in Mahwah. At this complex of labs, foundries, offices, and worker housing, it made railroad and automotive products, hydraulics, castings, and friction material. During WWII, the foundry fulfilled defense contracts. From 1902 to 1943 it was called the American Brake Shoe and Foundry, and from 1943 to 1966 the American Brake Shoe Company. It closed in 1983 as part of Abex, IC Industries.