In the late 19th century, the Ramapo Valley was developed for large estates by many wealthy families. Theodore Havemeyer and his family arrived in the area in the 1870s. Havemeyer, a founder of the American Sugar Company, purchased and renovated a home on the road that would become Route 202 and developed more than 1,000 acres surrounding the mansion into a farm. In 1889 he had a second mansion built on the property for one of his daughters. That mansion and about 700 acres of the original 1,000 were later purchased by Stephen Birch, president of the Kennecott Copper Company.