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 Chapter
3
Early Development
There have been several Building
/ Development companies that have helped to shape
the town of Ramrock and its surroundings. However,
in this book we will focus on two of them.
The Ramrock Building Company began operation in 1902
and began building houses on four of the main
streets in town. The Company directors included
Harry D. Butlead, who later was to become mayor,
William Henry, and Judge John Sliver. Ramrock
constructed 50 homes in Ramrock and went out of
business soon after Mr. Henry was killed in World
War I.
In 1904, Rogers, Heart, and Feld Reality the major
builder of Ramrock began operations. The Company
built approximately 12,000 houses and 34 commercial
buildings until it disbanded in 1963. The first
development was off Main Street. The second track -
17 acres was off High street and is now known as the
"Central Section". The third tract - about
13 acres is located on South Lake Street, extending
through and including what is now known as Pine
Terrace.
The fourth tract was the Baldwin farm 36 acres on
Baldwin Lane which was widened and named Washington
Blvd., the Washington School now faces this
street. In 1917, Roger, Heart, and Feld
purchased the fifth tract - 24 acres owned by
Jonathan Green. The property had a frontage on the
west side of Oak Street. The builders created and
connected several roads - Central, Oak, Maple, and
Parkview. The triangle created by Oak and Maple was
bought by All Saints Church and the Ramrock Lumber
Company was built on Parkview.
In the 1919 the sixth tract (29 acres) - the Grey
Farm was purchased and the Ramavalley Timepiece
Company was built. The seventh (13 acres), and
eighth (9 acres), tracts were farms purchased during
the mid 1920s from the Allen, and Whistler families.
The Whistler property was developed to become the
home of the Belchford Spring Water Company.
The ninth tract was the largest - 115 acres was
purchased from the NY Silver Star Co. during the
great depression. Most of this land was not
developed until after World War II. The booming post
war economy supported the development of this tract
as well as the re-development of the abandoned
property at the Ramavalley Timepiece Company into
Ramavalley Estates and the Belchford Spring Water
Company property into Spring Lake Gardens from 1949
- 1953.
The tenth and last tract consisted of 30 acres
scattered north of the pinewoods section.
Development of these parcels was completed by 1962
and the principals of the company, all decedents of
Rogers, Heart, and Feld, retired to Florida in 1963.
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