Sheila A. Conroy, Nancy S. Simpson Woodbury, Orange County

Annotation

Nestled in the ridges and valleys of the lower Hudson Valley, Woodbury was home to Quaker farmers before the Revolutionary War. As the country grew, railroads, and then cars, brought visitors to enjoy the town,s salubrious air, healthful food, and outdoor recreation. Carriage trade hotels, boardinghouses, and farms all hosted year-round vacationers. People as diverse as the first president of Cuba, Tomas Estrada Palma; New York governor Averell Harriman; and burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee all had homes in Woodbury. Once known as the home of the incomparable Leonard and Payne fishing rods, today the town is internationally recognized as the home of the Woodbury Common Outlet Center. In Woodbury, Orange County, early Central Valley, Highland Mills, and the hamlet of Woodbury Falls, which is no more, are seen again in vintage photographs.