USA > New York > Dutchess County > Dutchess county > Part 12
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At 5.2 m. is the entrance (R) to LAKE SEPASCO (open), with an area of 25 acres. CAMP RAMAPO is located on the southern tip of the lake. Large picnic grounds surround the lake, which is ideal for swim- ming and fishing. Boats may be hired at the northern end of the lake.
At ROCK CITY, 6.5 m. is junction with State 199. (See section b.)
The CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH (R), just above the intersection, is a low stone structure, Gothic in style, artistically comparable to St. James' Church at Hyde Park. Built in 1897 with funds donated by the family of John Jacob Astor, it was designed by Stanford White as a miniature of an English cathedral. Episcopal in faith, the church is a center of worship for the owners of estates in the region, and serves as music center for the village.
At 16.9 m. is the junction (L) with a dirt road. (See Tour No. 1B).
At 17 m. is the NORTHERN DUTCHESS HEALTH CENTER (L), a red brick structure of the hospital type, which was built in 1931. Thomas Thompson of Boston, a frequent visitor in Rhinebeck, founded the Center 35 years ago. It is operated by a board of managers under the Thomp- son Trust and maintains clinics and emergency and isolation wards for the northern towns of the county. Miss Helen Morton donated the operating room in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Levi P. Morton.
Opposite the Health Center are the ETHAN COONS GREEN- HOUSES (R). The plant consists of 25 greenhouses which specialize in double English violets. It serves a nation-wide market; flowers are sent by air to points west of the Mississippi. The Princess Mary, a semi-double, dark violet was developed here.
Just beyond the greenhouses, a road runs R. to where the Dutchess County Fair is held during the first week in September. The chief attractions are the agricultural exhibits in which the juvenile grange and 4-H clubs join. Special features of the fair are the horse and automobile races.
At 17.3 m. US 9 enters ASTOR FLATS, a 2-mile straightaway used 20 years ago as a testing ground for automobiles. It is a section of the vast local estate of Vincent Astor; the house and outbuildings lie on the river front. Tenant farmers care for the fruit orchards and guard the wooded game preserve.
At 19.4 m. the road curves around the yellow, somber Evangelical Luth- eran Church of St. Peter the Apostle, known for more than a century as the OLD STONE CHURCH (L). The edifice was built in 1730. In 1729, Lutheran residents in that neighborhood applied to Gilbert Livingston, the husband of Cornelia Beekman, for a lot for a church near "Kirchehoek," and near the Old German Church, then standing. Livingston gave the site upon which the stone church was built and also that of the adjoining cemetery, providing in the deed that the land should forever be used for church purposes only. The oldest stone in the cemetery, dated Jan. 25, 1733, is that of Carl Neher, who was actively employed in the building of the
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early church. In 1824 the church was remodeled and enlarged and its present tower added.
North of the Old Stone Church, US 9 passes through a wide and level area of rich soil devoted to the apple and grape industry. Orchards line the highway at intervals from Rhinebeck north to the county line. This is a favorite drive in the spring when the trees are in bloom. In late summer innumerable roadside stands carry on a brisk trade in vegetables, fruits, and preserves.
RED HOOK, 21.2 m. (200 alt., 996 pop.).
Railroad Station: New York Central at Barrytown, 3 m. W.
Bus Line: Twilight Bus Line.
Accommodations: Red Hook Hotel. Motion Picture House: One.
The first settlers in this region were Dutch, who came to what is now Upper Red Hook, 3 miles N. of the present village, between 1713 and 1727. As the result of a village quarrel, the postmaster moved the office to the site of the present village. The name is said to have been given the region by early Dutch navigators, who saw a hillside covered with red berries near Tivoli and called the place Roode Hoeck. The village is today the center of the northern Dutchess fruit belt.
The RED HOOK COLD STORAGE CO. WAREHOUSE (R), just S. of the railroad tracks, has a capacity of 80,000 barrels. Apples are trucked to New York City and shipped all over the world. The production of cider and vinegar is an important industry.
Opposite the Methodist Church on W. Market St. is a VILLAGE BLACKSMITH SHOP, now a rarity. The low, one-room building is cluttered with discarded horseshoes and iron work. The smith in charge remembers coach-and-four days and will talk of them.
At traffic light, 21.6 m., the route turns R. on State 199. (See Section b.) For continuation of US 9 to county line see Tour No. 1C.
Section b. Red Hook-Junction State 199 and US 44. State 199. 23.5 m.
This section, across northern Dutchess, leads through a hilly region marked by self-contained hamlets, fruit orchards, and summer camps. The social life of the little agricultural communities centers in the grange hall and the church. Several high elevations along the route offer expansive views of the countryside.
From traffic light in Red Hook the route turns R. on State 199.
The RED HOOK COUNTRY CLUB, 3.3 m. (R), is a private club with an excellent 18-hole golf course and boating facilities.
At 4 m. is the junction with State 308 in ROCK CITY (360 alt., 75 pop.), a cross-roads hamlet named for the deep ravine on the edge of the village, through which a brook flows.
At 8.1 m. is the entrance (L) to MARKS MEMORIAL CAMP OF THE TRIBUNE FRESH AIR FUND, sponsored by the New York Herald-Tribune. Throughout the summer, groups of under-privileged New York children enjoy two-week vacation periods here.
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LA FAYETTEVILLE, 8.8 m. (700 alt., 25 pop.), a one-street village with a few houses on each side and a country store, was named in honor of the Marquis de La Fayette. LA FAYETTEVILLE HOUSE (L), so named in 1824, is a weather-beaten clapboard structure with first- and second-story rickety white porches running across the front of the building. This house was a famous relay station and overnight stop for post riders before the railroad era.
At 11.6 m. is the CHRISTIAN CHURCH (R), dedicated in 1859. This white frame building is one of the many churches which sprang up in the boom times of the railroad era following 1850, and remained standing in secluded spots long after the people who worshipped in them had moved to larger villages. The building is now used as a storehouse and garage.
At 14.5 m. is junction with dirt road.
Right, on the road, is STISSING LAKE, 75 m., with Stissing Mt. (1,440 ft.) in the background. The road around the lake, which is bordered by wild flowers and mountain laurel, passes a large summer camp for Jewish people. The lake affords excellent small-mouthed bass and pickerel fishing. There are public beaches and boat liveries.
PINE PLAINS, 15.3 m. (474 alt., 500 pop.).
Busses: Mid-County Bus Line.
Accommodations: Stissing House.
Motion Picture House: One.
Recreation: Small-mouthed bass and pickerel fishing in Mud and Miller lakes nearby.
Pine Plains is a peaceful country village built around a crossroads. Main St. (State 82) runs N. and S., crossing State 199 at traffic light. The homes, surrounded by wide, shady lawns, are set well back from the broad street.
The stone TOWER surmounted by the village clock, on Main St. just R. of intersection, is a memorial to Dr. Henry C. Wilber, a physician who practiced here from 1887 to 1919.
The COLE PHARMACY (L), on Main St., houses the FIRST PUB- LIC LIBRARY in Dutchess County, which has been located in the same building since it was established in 1797.
The ENO LAW OFFICE, Main St. (L), a one-story, yellow clapboard structure, was erected in 1814 by Stephen Eno, celebrated Dutchess County jurist who is said to have worn knee breeches and his hair tied in a queue, after the manner of the 18th century gentleman, until his death in 1854 at the age of ninety.
State 82 (Main St.), known as the Central Dutchess Highway, follows the
E. bank of Wappinger Creek to a junction with US 44. (See Tour No. I D.)
Beyond Pine Plains, State 199 ascends gradually through a narrow, wooded, sparsely settled valley.
At 18.9 m. is a rear view of the Dutchess hills backed by the glimmering Hudson and the bulk of the Catskill Mountains, 35 m. W.
At 23.5 m. is junction with US 44. The main route turns R. on US 44. Left on US 44 is MILLERTON, 1.3 m. (600 alt., 919 pop.).
Railroad Station: New York Central R, R. (Harlem Valley Division), daily passenger and freight trains,
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Accommodations: Brick Block Hotel.
Millerton derived its name from a contractor named Miller, who built the railroad through the village in 1845, and established his headquar- ters here. Millerton has a bustling business section and is a distribution center for a large dairy region, shipping the product by railroad and truck to New York City.
The village lies at the foot of the TACONIC TRI-STATE PARK, a recreation area 20 m. long, on the Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York borders. Most of the New York section lies in Columbia County, immediately North.
North on Maple Ave. is RUDD POND CAMPSITE, 2 m., with foot trails, picnic grounds, and campsites along the shore of Rudd Pond, a 75-acre lake with canoe, boat, and fishing facilities, and hiking trails. Sites and tents may be rented nearby. Hills east of the lake have been planted with young pines; imported sand placed by CCC workers during 1935-36 has transformed the muddy lake shore into an ideal bathing beach.
South on Maple Ave. is INDIAN LAKE, 3 m., most of its 2-m. length in Connecticut ; fishing and picnics.
Section c. Junction State 199 and US 44 Washington Hollow-Pough- keepsie. US 44. 32.2 m.
Unexpected curves and patched macadam on most of route. The New York Central R. R. (Harlem Valley Division) parallels the route to Amenia.
US 44 is a direct route from the Berkshires to the West. The Dutchess Turnpike, predecessor of US 44, was surveyed in 1802, and was completed from Litchfield, Conn., to Poughkeepsie in 1805. Since the days of the stage- coach, traffic over this route has increased in response to changing modes of transportation, until today the road is an important link between the East and the West. It has a gradual descending grade from 900 ft. to tidewater level. The highway at first winds through the beautiful Harlem valley, flanked on both sides by mountain ranges. Small farming communities on the floor of the valley present a contrast to the wild beauty of the wooded slopes.
From junction of State 199 and US 44, the route turns R. on US 44.
AMENIA, 6.8 m. (573 alt., 1,560 pop.).
Railroad Station: New York Central (Harlem Valley Division).
Busses: Harlem Valley Bus Line.
Accommodations: Amenia Inn, De La Vergne Farms Hotel.
Dr. Thomas Young, a local poet, in 1762 named the village from the Latin word "Amoena," meaning "a pleasant place."
The growth and development of the village was largely determined by its location at a focal point for routes south and west. Here taverns and stables sprang up, and dwellings followed. Then came the discovery of iron in the mountains; and, with limestone for flux at hand, the community soon developed industrially. The Amenia Iron Co. mines, now abandoned, on the west bounds of the village, were an important factor in the growth. The present prosperity of Amenia is based on its excellent farm lands. Some of the most prosperous dairy farms of the county are within the township. The
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mountains afford little hunting but the small, rapid streams are well stocked with trout and attract many anglers in the fishing season.
The GRANGE HALL, Main St., is a popular social center.
AMENIA HIGH SCHOOL stands on the site of the Amenia Seminary, a Methodist school established in 1835. The Seminary existed for 53 years; students enrolled from every State in the Union.
At center of village is junction with State 200.
Left on State 200 is TROUTBECK, 75 m., the estate of J. E. Spingarn, nationally known critic, famous as the place where many authors have gathered and written. Here Luther Burbank spent much time and wrote the introduction to Charles Benton's book Troutbeck.
At 3.5 m. is the NEW YORK-CONNECTICUT STATE LINE. Before the boundary was definitely settled (see p. ), the settlers in the doubt- ful territory quarreled. According to local tradition, "The Connecticut settlers were Yankees, and there were witches in Connecticut. They never came over the line into New York."
US 44 bears R. on West Main St.
At 7.7 m. is LAKE AMENIA (L), one-half mile long, with swimming, boating, and fishing facilities and a bungalow colony.
Near the end of the lake the highway begins its S-curve ascent of De La Vergne Hill, 1.3 m. long. From a point at 8.8 m., near the top of the ascent, is a view (L) down the pasturelands of the Harlem valley, with a narrow rock pass far south, through which State 22 makes its way.
At the top of De La Vergne Hill (929 alt.), 9.3 m., is the junction (R) with State 82 A. (See Tour 1D).
For the next 9 m. the road gradually descends to an altitude of 565 ft. at Millbrook. This section is rocky and hilly, with few dwellings.
At 11.2 m. is a dirt road (R), the entrance to MILLBROOK SCHOOL, a private preparatory school for boys, established in 1930.
At 12.6 m. is the MILLBROOK THEATRE (L), one of the dozens of country playhouses developed by the little-theatre movement. Broadway try-outs are held here during July and August from Wednesday to Saturday (no matinees). The one-story building was originally a Quaker meeting house; the pews are still used and seat approximately 250 persons. The windows are of early design, with 6-in. square panes. Charles S. Howard and Edward Massey are directors.
At 15.2 m. is an open-air SWIMMING POOL (L) (admission 35c), equipped with bathhouses and shower facilities.
MABBETTSVILLE, 15.4 m. (692 alt., 40 pop.), a halmet consisting of a store, a garage, and a cluster of houses, was early named Filkentown in honor of one of the Great Nine Partners. The present name was derived from James Mabbett, a commission auctioneer who settled here early in the 19th century.
Between Mabbettsville and Millbrook lies the large private estate DAN- HEIM (R), formerly the property of C. F. Dietrich. Its 2,500 acres are partly improved and partly in the natural wooded state.
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At 16.9 m., opposite main gateway to Danheim (R), US 44 turns sharply L. and enters the village of MILLBROOK.
MILLBROOK, 17.2 m. (565 alt., 1,296 pop.).
Railroad Station: New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. (freight service only). Accommodations: Millbrook Hotel and Millbrook Inn.
Millbrook grew with the building of the railroad and station in 1869. The name was given in compliment to George H. Brown, who was chiefly responsible for the completion of the road and who named his estate Mill- brook Farms. The village, incorporated in 1895, is a landscaped expanse of modern homes with trim lawns and shade trees. The hamlets of Mabbetts- ville, South Millbrook, and Mechanics are suburbs. The surrounding country- side is particularly beautiful with hills, wooded slopes, and wide meadows. Much of this area is included in large estates, and several of the mansions are visible from the highway. A number of stables are maintained; riding and hunting are popular. Writers and artists have been attracted to Mill- brook, and the summer theatre is enthusiastically supported.
Both the Hicksite and Orthodox Quakers have continued active here. The Hicksites meet occasionally in the Brick Meeting House in Mechanic, on State 343, E. of South Millbrook. In 1926 the Orthodox joined with the Dutch Reformed and Methodist congregations to build the Federated Church in Millbrook.
US 44 follows Franklin Ave. to North Ave. and turns L. on North Ave. At 17.8 m. is junction with dirt road.
Right, on this dirt road, is the HART HOMESTEAD, .5 m., built in 1800 by Philip Hart, owner of a fulling mill. It is a Colonial frame house, with hand-carved paneling and elaborately decorated window cornices. A 6-ft. fireplace of simple hand-carved design is in the right wing. Antique furniture completes the picture of a pleasing old home- stead. When the house was built the front was painted white and the rear red, in keeping with the general practice of the period.
At 18.4 m. is the BENNETT SCHOOL and BENNETT SCHOOL JUNIOR COLLEGE (R). The Bennett School was founded by May Friend Bennett at Irvington-on-the-Hudson in 1891. In 1907 Miss Bennett purchased the former Halcyon Hall in Millbrook, a vacant hotel, and moved the school to the site it now occupies. The buildings are on a knoll, surrounded by a wide lawn. The tennis courts and archery range are visible from the highway. Three graduates of the school's drama department, Mil- dred Natwick, Helen Chandler, and Helen Trenholme, have appeared on Broadway. Betty Furness, featured film player, graduated from the high school department. Gail Bolger, another graduate, appeared with Helen Chandler in the 1936 production of Pride and Prejudice. Greek drama was first presented in 1920. In 1922 an outdoor Greek theatre was built, in which Greek Festivals are held each year.
In 1935 the school's department of liberal and applied arts was chartered as a junior college, covering the 4-year general or college preparatory course. It also offers a 2-year course in academic studies, dramatic art, music, fine and applied arts, household arts, and secretarial duties.
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At 18.5 m. is FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT, the junction of State 82, State 243, and US 44. A stone shaft at the center of the intersection gives directions. US 44 turns R.
SOUTH MILLBROOK, 18.5 m., was formerly known as the Four Corners and Washington Four Corners, and became Washington, N. Y., in 1869. The name confused postal clerks, who read the "D. C." (Dutchess County) as District of Columbia ; and the name was therefore again changed to South Millbrook.
Left on State 343 is the entrance (R) to the PHEASANT BREEDERS AND HUNTING ASSOCIATION, .4 m. A varying admission is charged for the privilege of hunting pheasants on the estate.
At .7 m. is the MILLBROOK GOLF CLUB (L). Golfing, swimming, and tennis facilities are provided.
The hamlet of MECHANIC, I m., so named because of the number of skilled workmen employed in the various blacksmith, carpentry, and wagon-making shops in the neighborhood, grew around the BRICK MEETING HOUSE (L), built in 1780 by the Nine Partners Meeting of Society of Friends. The two-story rectangular brick building, 40 by 75 ft., is in such excellent condition that a casual glance might give the impression that it is of recent construction. It is free from ornamentation. The interior was divided into two parts-one for men and one for women. A raised platform was provided for the speakers, and rough benches for the congregation. On both the women's and men's sides cast- iron woodburning stoves are still in position. No alterations have been made since the meeting house was erected. On the lawn in front of the building is a sun dial, donated by Jacob Willetts (see below). A horse block still remains on the driveway (R).
Freed Negro slaves sought the protection of the Quakers a century ago and built a colony of huts near the church. The hovels were destroyed to make way for landscaping SANDANONA (Indian, Sunshine), the ad- jacent estate of John D. Wing.
The site (R) of the NINE PARTNERS SCHOOL lies 500 ft. E. of the meeting house. This school was opened by the Society of Friends in 1796, especially for those of their faith who were in indigent circum- stances. A thorough academic course was offered; attendance reached 100 students. It continued to prosper until the division of the Society of Friends in 1828 into Orthodox and Hicksite groups. (See Tour No. 4.) Upon this division the Hicksites withdrew from the Orthodox Nine Partners school and established a separate and similar school under the principalship of Jacob and Deborah Willets, who had been among the first pupils to attend the original school. Jacob Willetts was the author of popular arithmetic and geography textbooks: to his inspiration we owe the useful lyric beginning "Thirty days hath September." Deborah Rodgers Willetts was a noted grammarian and mathematician. The Nine Partners School continued under the management of the Orthodox branch until 1835. Later it was reopened and continued under other direction until 1864. The building was then removed, and part of it was incor- porated in the construction of John D. Wing's private residence.
THORNDALE, 19.2 m. (R), occupied by Oakleigh Thorne, is the old homestead made famous by the horses and cattle bred under the direction of Edwin and Samuel Thorne. In 1860, Samuel Thorne's herd of 70 short-horn Durhams, valued at $70,000, was regarded by authorities as the best herd
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in the United States. The low stone house built in 1725 by Isaac and Hannah Thorne still stands on the grounds. The extensive flower gardens are open to inspection during the spring.
At 20.8 m. is view (R) across the Dutchess woods to the bulging blue line of the Catskills.
WASHINGTON HOLLOW, 23.8 m. (321 alt., 80 pop.), is today a residential village for Poughkeepsie commuters. The small white frame houses on the one street are shaded by large maples. Settled before the end of the Revolution, it was in 1813 the camp ground for artillery trains bound for Sacketts Harbor. For a number of years it was the site of the Dutchess County Fair. The lonely bandstand, racetrack, and rambling hotel are still intact (R) at the edge of the village, adjoining the N. junction with State 82 (R).
At 23.9 m., about 200 ft. from the road, with the grounds enclosed by a fieldstone wall, is the ZACHEUS NEWCOMB HOUSE (L), one of the earliest examples of the Dutch brick house in Dutchess County, built in 1777 by Sarah Tobias Newcomb, while her husband, Zacheus, was away at war. Mrs. Newcomb not only superintended the construction of the house but also directed the manufacture of the bricks which were used in it. The pond visible from the highway, was formed by flooding the pit from which the brick clay was dug.
The house is Georgian, 2 stories high, with a gambrel roof. The floor plan is that of the usual 18th century house, with a central hall bisecting the structure. The bricks are laid in Flemish bond. The south porch is an exact reproduction of the original, and the front door is the one built with the house, as are the mantels, window seats, corner cupboads, wood trim, and blue tile.
At 24.5 m. is a view (L) of the Hudson Highlands.
At 25.8 m. is junction with dirt road.
Left on this road is the JOHN NEWCOMB HOUSE .7 m. (L). In 1802 John Newcomb, a son of Zacheus Newcomb, built a fulling mill on the stream that crosses this tract. In 1808 he built the two-story frame struc- ture. There is a leaded design over the Dutch door and small panes of glass on either side. The angles of the outside walls are bound with quoins of wood, and a rope design is employed under the eaves. The walls of the hall are plastered to resemble purple and white marble. In the southwest bedroom is a hand-carved mantel. The kitchen wing has a large stone fireplace, wide floor planks, and handhewn ceiling beams. A slave bench was once fastened to the wall beside the fireplace. This was a rough 6-ft. plank, an inch thick and a foot wide. When the slaves misbehaved they were forced to sit on the bench close to a huge dog tied at one end of the bench. The bench is in the possession of Mrs. Floyd Laird of Pleasant Valley. The property was purchased by Mrs. Alson Laird in 1867, and is now occupied by a tenant farmer. A few minor changes have been made, but in the main the house is in its original condition.
PLEASANT VALLEY, 26 m. (200 alt., 300 pop.).
Railroad Station: The New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. (Pine Plains Branch) (freight only).
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Accommodations: Barths Hotel.
Settled in 1740 by Quakers and Presbyterians while still a part of the Crum Elbow Precinct, Pleasant Valley soon became a center for grist and cotton mills operated by the waters of Wappinger Creek. The largest cotton plant was built in 1815, which in 1860 operated 80 looms and employed 75 men, women, and children. Industry died at the end of the 19th century. The village today is a bustling Poughkeepsie suburb, its wide streets shaded by elms.
At 26.7 m., just beyond the village, is the new power station of the NIAGARA HUDSON POWER & LIGHT CORPORATION (R).
East of the plant stands a curious old stone barn, an interesting juxtaposi- tion of the old and the modern. It is of interest primarily because its masonry is typical of the 18th century and because of openings formed in the walls, narrow on the outside, flaring within, similar to the loopholes in early block- houses. Records of its origin are lost, but it is believed to have been erected in the 1750's as a defense post against possible French-Indian raids. There are four other such buildings in the Hudson Valley, at Harmon, New Paltz, Rensselaer, and Kerhonkson, Ulster County.
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