ABOUT
Suffern (pronounced SUF-fern) is a village incorporated in 1896 in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.
History
The village of Suffern was founded in 1796. John Suffern, first Rockland County judge, 1798–1806, settled near the base of the Ramapo Mountains in 1773, and called the place New Antrim, after his home in County Antrim, Ireland, where his Huguenot ancestors had settled. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the Revolutionary War due to its location at an important crossroads near Ramapo Pass. GeneralGeorge Washington and other important military leaders used John Suffern's home as headquarters when they were in the area. The first railroad line across Rockland County, the Erie Railroad, was built in 1841 and ran from Piermont to Ramapo. By 1851, the line was extended to Lake Erie, and was considered an engineering marvel. The tracks are now owned by the Norfolk Southern line. In consideration for the right-of-way given it by Judge Edward Suffern, son of founder John, to lay track across his 6 miles (10 km) of land, the Erie Railroad named their depot "Suffern's Station", and the village became known as Suffern, not New Antrim as it had been called by John Suffern.