South Mountain Road

South Mountain Road is a winding, two-lane historic road in New City, New York, a hamlet in Rockland County. Historic High Tor State Park is an attraction on South Mountain Road.

Although the post office and some individuals abbreviate it as S. Mountain Rd., the south in the name is not a directional. There is no North Mountain Road. It gets its name from being the road south of the mountain.

In the early 20th Century, the road attracted a host of artistic people who made up an informal artists colony. Members of the group included Maxwell Anderson, the playwright (in later years, actor Barry Bostwick lived in Anderson's house, selling it in 2005); composer Kurt Weill and his wife, singer/actress Lotte Lenya; actor/director/producer John Houseman, and architect/potter/painter Henry Varnum Poor.

Other residents included Norman Lloyd and a teen aged Rene Auberjonois who occasionally baby sat for some of the residents.

Maxwell Anderson's daughter, Hesper Anderson, wrote a book titled "South Mountain Road: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery" (Simon & Schuster, 2000) about her family life and this circle of artists.

It has also served as the inspiration for musical artist's, James G. Barry, song "South Mountain Road" [track 8] on his debut album "Wake Up Singing". As a teenager living in New City, NY, driving along south mountain road was an escape, an adventure, an exploration (of mind and spirit). "South Mountain Road" also features Robert A Johnson as lead guitarist and Kathena Bryant, a member of the band The Hippy Nuts, on back-up vocals. It was produced by Tim Champion also a member of The Hippy Nuts.

The song can be found on itunes and the lyrics can be found in the book "Wake Up Singing - A Decade of Expression" on [www.amazon.com]. Punkyrmb (talk) 20:49, 7 January 2009 (UTC)