Bellvale, New York
| Bellvale, New York | |
|---|---|
| hamlet | |
 Bellvale, New York
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| Coordinates: 41°15′02″N 74°18′39″W / 41.25056°N 74.31083°WCoordinates: 41°15′02″N 74°18′39″W / 41.25056°N 74.31083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Orange |
| Town | Warwick |
| Elevation | 640 ft (200 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 10912 |
| Area code(s) | 845 |
| GNIS feature ID | 942435 |
| Early name | Wawayanda |
Bellvale is a wooded hamlet in the town of Warwick in Orange County, New York, United States. Situated in the morning shadow of Bellvale Mountain along New York State Route 17A, Bellvale was the site of an iron forge destroyed by British Army soldiers in 1750; many of its homes and other structures date from before American independence. While close to New York City, its location in the Warwick Valley has prevented suburban development.
Leni Lenape of the "wolf" clan known as Munsees occupied the Warwick Valley before the first Dutch trappers appeared on the Hudson River. Munsees lived in long houses made of sapling staves and layers of collected bark; they raised crops using the Three Sisters form of companion planting and utilized the tall-growth forests and streams for hunting and fishing. The Munsees of the area lived in a long house by the creek they called Wawayanda.
Part of a land patent granted by Queen Anne in 1703, Bellvale was called Wawayanda (the name of the patent) in colonial times. Settlers were drawn to the area because of the abundant timber, game and water power readily available from Long House Creek, allowing the operation of water wheel-driven mills.Tanneries, sawmills, gristmills and forges have been served by the fast rushing creek since Lawrence Scrauley first built his trip hammer plating and slitting mill in 1745, the only such mill then operating in New York colony. Scrauley hoped Bellvale's remote location would allow him to escape notice of British authorities intent on shutting down the American colonies' nascent iron-working industry. By 1750, the Iron Act was passed in London requiring Governor George Clinton to report on the plating forge. The mill was later wrecked by the British, and its destruction became one of many incidents leading to the American Revolutionary War.
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