USA > New York > Dutchess County > Dutchess county > Part 17
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TOUR 3 B
Junction of State 9D and Chelsea Rd .- Chelsea Rd. 1.9 m.
The route turns R. from State 9D on Chelsea Rd.
At .4 m. is intersection with another dirt road. The route turns R. and continues toward the river.
At .9 m., on a high bluff with a magnificent view of the Hudson and the distant Catskills, stands the DERICK BRINCKERHOFF HOUSE (R), a white frame structure one and one-half stories high, consisting of a main unit and a west wing. The design in lead over the door is of the style of the 1820's. In the east gable are two quarter-circle windows, a design common in houses of this period. A north-south hall with a center arch divides the main portion of the house with two rooms on each side. One of the two rooms in the wing has a built-in oven at the side of the fireplace.
In Colonial times the site was the farm of Jacobus Ter Bosch. The house was erected before 1810, and in 1820 was sold to Derick Brinckerhoff of New York City, who made the place a summer home; the title remained in the family until 1873.
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Pasture Lands near Dover Furnace
De La Vergne Hill near Amenia
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Old Mill and Falls Dover Furnace
The road descends nearly to the river shore, and turns aburptly L.
CHELSEA, 1.9 m. (10 alt., 150 pop.), served by the New York Central R. R., is a quiet hamlet shielded on the E. by the hilly bulk of the Van Wyck Ridge rising nearly 400 ft., and still retains the riverside atmosphere of its former shipping days. Picturesque frame houses stand close together in narrow streets which border the shore. Small river craft, sail and motor- powered, line the waterfront.
The broad promontory upon which the village lies was by the shore-dwell- ing Indians called Low Point to distinguish it from the higher promontory at New Hamburg, up the river. Taking its name finally from the Chelsea Paper Mill, a short-lived enterprise, the settlement had earlier been known as Castle Point, Carthage, and Carthage Landing.
Chelsea has always been a riverman's village. Several captains well known in river history have made it their last anchorage, among them Capt. Moses W. Collyer, a one-time sailing master and co-author with Wm. E. Ver- planck of Sloops of the Hudson. Chelsea was really a seaport, avers the captain, recalling the halcyon days when nine captains and their ships, besides fishermen with their smaller craft, sailed from here. The Chelsea Yacht Club, instituted by Captain Collyer about 1870, was originally an ice- yacht club. Many of the fastest of winter craft skimmed over the frozen river out of Low Point.
A shipyard was formerly operated here by a man named Carman, who is locally claimed to have been the inventor of the center-board. The sloop Matteawan, built by him, was the first boat in which his invention was in- stalled. He also originated other devices, and even constructed a steamboat in the face of sailing masters' skepticism.
Other industries came and went, among them Knox's stream flour mill, the Chelsea Paper Mill, and a Portland cement experiment. It is said that the first Portland cement in America was produced here.
Route continues straight ahead through the village making sharp right turn toward the river, and parallels the waterfront.
At 12.7 m. (L) behind a lilac hedge, stands the four-columned yellow LE FEVRE HOUSE, overlooking the river.
TOUR 3 C
Beacon to Dutchess-Putnam County Line. State 9D. 6.7 m.
From Bank Square, Beacon, S. on State 9D. L. at .6 m. on Wolcott Ave. R. at 1.8 m. on Howland Ave.
9D enters the SW. corner of Dutchess County, bounded by mountains on the E. and the Hudson River on the W. The present Dutchess-Putnam County Line was fixed in 1812.
As the highway leaves Beacon it runs along a high bench at the base of Breakneck Ridge (L), known as GRAND VIEW. This elevation offers one of the most attractive motor road vistas along the course of the river. To the R., in the area of the 9-hole golf course of Craig House, a promon- tory vaguely known as Little Plum Point is seen about due E. of the tip
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of Dennings Point. Plum Point, another larger promontory, is almost op- posite across the river.
JOHANNES VAN WORMER VAN VLIET HOUSE, 3.1 m. (R), is a typical 18th century stone dwelling, now falling to ruin. It was located on the old Phillipse patent and was at one time owned by Judith Crom- well, a widow, who sold the farm to J. V. W. Van Vliet.
CAMP NITGEDAIGET, 3.4 m. (R), a workers' camp on the river- facing slope of Breakneck Ridge, is operated by the Beacon Camp Corpora- tion as a rest and recreation resort. Accommodations are provided in cabins, tents, and a year-round hotel. The camp draws its patronage chiefly from New York City and from a social group known as "The Workers' In- stitution."
At 3.7 m. the highway crosses MELZINGAH RAVINE, a place of sylvan beauty where a small stream falls precipitiously from its sources in springs among rocky ledges high in Breakneck Ridge. A disastrous flood occurred here in 1897, after an unprecedented rainfall. Two dams gave way, flooding a brickyard settlement on the river bank. Seven lives were lost, and much property was damaged.
An old LEGEND of MELZINGAH tells of the spirit of the glen held in sacred reverence by the Indian hunter who cast food into the water as a sacrifice to gain the good will of the spirits and be blessed with success in the chase.
At 4.4 m. the highway begins the descent of the long Breakneck grade toward the river. This is one of the most scenic stretches of the whole Hud- son valley highway system. Close to the road, at 4.8 m., stands a deserted vine-clad STONE HOUSE (R) of the 18th century, picturesque in its dilapidation.
At this point POLOPEL'S ISLAND (BANNERMAN'S ISLAND) (R) can be seen just off the shore. Solitary and rocky, it rises from the river surmounted by an imitation medieval castle. The island is generally known as Bannerman's, named for the man who owned it, erected the buildings, and stored here a strange collection of arms and war material discarded and sold by the Federal Government after the Civil and Spanish American wars. Some of this material was utilized by the U. S. Army during the World War. The group of massive buildings, constructed chiefly of "Belgian" stone paving blocks from New York City, is intended to represent the fort- ressed retreat of a medieval baron, with moats and locked harbor, towers and lookouts. "Legend hangs thick about this rock," says Wilstach, "and on its adjacent shores are supposed to dwell the goblins which ride the storms in the Highlands. In sailing days it was the custom of the older sailors to toss apprentices overboard here, ostensibly in the belief that the ducking made them immune from the sorcery of storm goblins."
During the Revolution, in 1779, the Americans under the supervision of Gen. George Clinton obstructed the river at this point in an attempt to prevent the passage of British ships. They stretched a line of iron-pointed pikes and cribs in the form of chevaux de frise from Polopel's Island to a
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point near Murderer's Creek opposite. The isle was used also as a military prison during that war. Before the advent of Bannerman's arsenal, the island was the solitary home of a fisherman and the kingdom of his erratic wife, who imagined herself Queen of England and her husband the Prince Con- sort.
Not far above river level the highway approaches the rugged bulk of BREAKNECK MOUNTAIN (1,220 ft.) (L), the north portal of the Highlands. Here the road parallels the Storm King Highway across the river, and yields nothing to its better-known rival in scenic splendor. The view at 6. m. of the natural gateway through the mountains extends nearly to West Point. This opening through which the Hudson enters the straits as through a tunnel, was once known as the Wey Gat or Wind Gate. Two peaks guard the passage, Breakneck on one side and Storm King on the other. In the early days of white settlement the former was known as Broken Neck Hill from its jagged cliffs; the Dutch called the other peak Beutter or Bailiff, which was translated into English as "Butter Hill." It was re-christened Storm King by N. P. Willis, the poet, though to the older generation it still remains "Butter Hill." Here the Fisher's Reach begins and Vorsen Reach ends its hazardous course through the Highlands.
At 6.7 m. the highway enters the 600 ft. TUNNEL, bored in 1932, which pierces Breakneck Mountain and passes from one county to the other. The excavation of about 20,000 cu. yds. of rock-solid gneiss and gray granite- was completed in 27 working days, a world's record.
Through the tip of Breakneck Point, just W. of the highway and at the riverside, run two railroad tunnels. One, which has existed since the rail- road was built, has been enlarged and lined with concrete to accommodate the two west bound tracks; the other was bored in 1928 for the two east bound tracks.
The New York Aqueduct, bringing water from Ashokan, passes under all three tunnels, highway, and railroad, at a depth of from 250 to 280 ft. below these bores. This mammoth engineering and construction feat was completed in 1917. From the north slope of Storm King, at Cornwall across the river, a syphon leads under the river at a depth of 1,100 ft. below sea level at its deepest point, off Storm King Mountain. On the east side of the river, the aqueduct climbs the north slope of Breakneck, then continues by tunnels through the mountains southward.
TOUR 3D
Fishkill to Dutchess-Putnam County line US 9. 3.7 m. R. on US 9 from State 52.
Just outside Fishkill, at .3 m., the highway crosses FISHKILL CREEK, called by the Dutch Vis Kil.
West of the creek stretches several miles of tranquil plain, the scene of military activity during the Revolution. Of late years the West Point cadets have camped on this ground during their summer tour. Columbia University has experimented in agriculture on this fertile soil, where horses of the Continental Army were once corralled.
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At .5 m., beside the creek, surrounded by spacious grounds is the BLOD- GETT MANSION (L), built by Richard Rapalje about 1800. It has two full stories and gambrel roof. The house contains several mantels and an arch, evidently imported, although the rest of the trim is of local origin. The exterior is marked by a double Dutch entrance doorway. A cornice with a dentil course, panels displaying rope design, brass mantels, doorways, stair- ways, and arched recesses in the dining room, decorated in plaster and typical of the Adam period : all give distinction to the house.
The CORNELIUS C. VAN WYCK HOUSE .9 m. (L), was built about 1790. Lumber salvaged from the Revolutionary barracks, tradition says, was used in its construction. The house is a story and a half high; the 18th century simplicity of the kitchen wing is unspoiled. A broad hall runs through the center of the house. An open staircase and a dado in raised bevelled panels around the hall belong to the post-Revolutionary era. At the rear of the hall a Dutch door, pre-Revolutionary in style, is hung on the original iron-hinged hardware of 18th century pattern.
South on US 9 is the so-called WHARTON HOUSE, 1 m. (L) (open only on application), built by Cornelius Van Wyck about 1735 and the scene of stirring events related in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Spy. Officers in command of troops stationed at the head of the Highland pass during the Revolution used it as their headquarters. It also served as Gen- eral Putnam's headquarters, and records show that John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Washington, LaFayette, and Von Steuben were among its guests. In this house the Committee of Safety conducted the mock trial of Enoch Crosby, the original of Cooper's Harvey Birch.
The clapboard sides, the primitive east wing, and the interior finish of the house show work done before and soon after the Revolution. The mantels, staircase, and leaded light over the front door are typical of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Close to the highway, 1,000 ft. S. of the Wharton House, is the SITE (R) of Revolutionary army barracks, workshops, magazines, and stockade within which Tories were imprisoned. This was the chief depot and winter quarters of the American forces. On the open plain and in the woods at the foot of the mountain there were at least 10 large barracks; after the war, many a house and barn was built in the neighborhood from wood "salvaged" from these barracks.
At 1.3 m., near the base of the mountain, a gray granite marker by the roadside (L) commemorates a SOLDIERS' BURIAL GROUND. Many of the unrecorded dead were State militiamen. Few cemeteries in the State have as many graves of Revolutionary soldiers as are found in this long unnoticed spot. The Indian heroes, Daniel Ninham, chief sachem of the Wappinger tribe in 1740, and his son, David, a Christian tribesman, who fought in the Colonial cause and was injured in battle with the British at Cortlandt Ridge, are said to be buried here.
An old-time POST ROAD MILESTONE, 1.4 m. (R), of red sand-
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stone and well-preserved, reads: "66 Miles to N. York." Directly opposite is junction with dirt road.
Left on this road, the Van Wyck Lake road, along the N. slope of the mountains, is the country estate of WILLOWLAKE, 6 m. (R), the home of MARGARET SANGER (Mrs. J. Noah H. Slee), leader of the birth control movement. The residence stands on the brink of a mountain lake 7 acres in area. It is built of native field stone, variegated and laid in line, with a steep Gothic type of roof, heavily slated. In the terraced gardens are valuable horticultural specimens-a rare yew, and a hedge unusual in this country. The elevation commands a wide view of the Hudson valley and the distant Shawangunk and Catskill ranges.
The Post Road enters WICCOPEE PASS at 3.1 m. This is a region of exceptional interest historically, topographically, and geologically. The pass was named for the Wiccopee Indians, a branch of the Waranoaks, who dwelt in these Highlands. On the heights overlooking this pass, Harvey Birch, hero of Cooper's The Spy, had his mysterious interview with Wash- ington after his escape from threatened execution at Fishkill.
The highway makes its tortuous way along Clove Creek, through groups of rounded hillocks, 50 to 100 ft. high, which close in at the south portal of the pass. In the background, the towering, heavily wooded mountains dwarf these valley "knobs," which appear like over-sized haystacks in com- parison. These mound formations in the bottom of the mountain defile, some barren, some green with scattered cedars, are mainly made up of glacial till, a deposit of gravel and small boulders.
Countless years ago this region was the legendary home of a giant race, hunters of great water rats, fierce fighters that dwelt in the lake covering all the country north of the Highlands. To exterminate these racial enemies, the giants drained the valley until only the stream and the little conical hills, playhouses of the baby rats, remained. The bodies of the giants, their bathing place vanished, began to harden, and where they finally fell, springs of water bubbled forth. The high Fishkill range (R), the "long house" of the watery tribe, gradually solidified through the ages into the hardest of rock.
At 3.3 m. is the southern defile of WICCOPEE PASS, a strategic point vigilantly guarded by three batteries from 1776 to 1783 to prevent the British from seizing the military stores at Fishkill. On the hills (R) rae the REDOUBTS, marked at the roadside by a tablet affixed to a large field stone . The lines of the earthworks, located several hundred feet apart in the form of a triangle, are still traceable on the hilltops. A substantial American force was stationed in this neighborhood during the campaign of 1777. Stockades and fortifications, erected on commanding posi- tions to guard the approach, were regularly manned by detachments from the main camp. Two cannon were mounted in each fort to cover the im- portant military road (Post Road) laid out by Lord Louden about 1755, during the French and Indian War. Toward the SW. may be seen a LOOKOUT POINT, used in relaying messages from Washington's headquarters at Newburgh. There were skirmishes in the vicinity of the
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redoubts but no pitched battle. Thirteen interments were made in a ceme- tery on the N. side of the main hill.
Directly under the N. slope is the much remodeled FORT HILL FARM, now an inn, once home of Stephen, son of Capt. John Haight, the Revolu- tionary officer who directed the building of the forts which he commanded. The Captain's old homestead still stands (R) about 1 m. S. on the Post Road, at the border of the "Neutral Ground," the "No Man's Land" of the Revo- lution.
TOUR 3 E
At 3.7 m. is the Dutchess-Putnam county line.
Brinckerhoff-Wiccopee-Dutchess-Putnam County line. State 52 and county roads. 6.1 m.
Right from junction of State 52 and 82, on State 52.
At .2 m. the highway crosses a bridge over Fishkill Creek and bears L. over the foothills of Honness Mountain.
At 1.1 m. is junction with gravel road. The main route turns R. on gravel road.
Left on this road is the JOHNSVILLE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, .2 m., erected in 1825. A little white church with a graceful conical spire, it stands solitary, with old locust trees and a small bury- ing ground beside it. It has exceptionally large windows, four on each side and two in front. The entire interior is of paneled woodwork in a simple design.
Straight ahead on State 52 is the JOHN JAY HOUSE, .7 m. (R). Built in 1740, it is a large Colonial residence situated 300 yds. from the highway. This house was used by John Jay as a refuge when the British advance into Westchester County forced him to flee from his home. In a tavern nearby he presided over a local court. Jay (1745-1829) was one of the leaders of the Revolutionary period in state and nation: member of the First and econd Continental Congresses, President of the Provincial Congress, Chief Justice of the tate, Minister to Spain, Sec- retary of Foreign Aairs, and first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
During the unsettled war times, bands of outlaws, the "cowboys" from the neighboring mountains, frequently invaded the settlements, and a party of them robbed the Jay family of a large amount of silver. John Jay's mother died here in 1777, and he frequently came here to rest from his many duties.
The house is on the original Theodorus Van Wyck farm, purchased from Madam Brett in 1736. The Wappinger (or Wiccopee) Indians cultivated a part of this land until shortly before the Revolution. Van Wyck, son of the first settler of that name, first physician in the vicinity and member of the Committee of Safety, built the house.
About one-half mile to the rear of the Jay House once stood a grist- mill. The mill and the homestead near it (still standing) were built about 1760 by William Van Wyck.
Right on gravel road is WICCOPEE, 1.4 m. (220 alt., 100 pop.). The Indian name Wiccopee, attached to settlement, stream, and region, was bor- rowed from the sub-tribe that occupied a site in the Hook. (See following.)
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At one time the hamlet was called Johnsville, after the first Dutch settler, Johannes (or John) Swartwout, who leased a farm from Madam Brett for "three fat fowls a year." The original name has been revived in recent years.
The first mechanic in Wiccopee was William Cushman, a blacksmith who bought 6 acres in 1783 and built his house and shop of timbers from the barracks of the Revolutionary army camp near Fishkill. When first settled, Wiccopee was in the midst of dense forest, streams, and marsh pools. Settlers were obliged to keep their stock penned at night as a protec- tion from wolves and panthers which infested the nearby mountains. Near Wiccopee there once stood a large pine tree on which, during the Revolu- tion, "cow boys" banditti of the "neutral ground," were hanged without benefit of judge or jury. The site of Connor's Tavern of Revolutionary fame is said to have been on the Brinckerhoff Road (State 52) near the high- way bridge. John Jay, first Chief Justice, is reputed to have held im- portant sessions there. Meetings for arranging election matters took place in it, and tradition says that the inn was at the time known as The Dog's Nest, from the fact that each visitor when on public business was accompanied by one or more dogs to act as bodyguard to their masters.
In the center of Wiccopee at 1.4 m. is junction with dirt road. The route turns R. on the road. (Caution, sharp curves).
FISHKILL DAIRY FARMS, 2.3 m. (R), is part of the Morgenthau estate, operated on a lease.
At this point (2.7 m.) is a forked intersection. The main route takes the L. fork.
The right fork leads into the FISHKILL HOOK, 2 m., as this region is called. "The Hook" retains many memories of the pioneers and Indians who lingered here later than elsewhere in eastern New York. A few of the apple trees planted by the Indians remained standing on the Waldo Farm until recent years.
FORT HILL. a ridge north of the Hook, is the site of an Indian fort of Sachem Ninham's tribe, a powerful tribe which as late as 1700 numbered more than 1,000 warriors. Their village was located in a pocket on the hillside.
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Storm-Adriance-Brinckerhoff House, Old Hopewell
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On the L. fork is The ESTATE OF HENRY MORGENTHAU, Jr., 3 m. (R), Secretary of the U. S. Treasury (1934 .... ). The senior Morgenthau, once Ambassador to Turkey, came to Dutchess County when Henry Morgenthau, Jr., was a boy. They then occupied the Hupfel place near Hopewell.
The home is a large two-and-one-half-story Colonial structure. The north side was the original front, but alterations have placed wings to the front and rear, with the main entrance on the west side. French dormer windows and leaded-light doorway enhance the beauty of the house.
Beyond the estate is SEKUNA HILLS, 6.1 m., a 1,000-acre bungalow re- sort colony.
Just beyond Sekuna Hills is the Dutchess-Putnam County line.
TOUR 3 F
Junction State 55 and 82-Moores Mills-Verbank-Clove Valley. State 82 and Clove Valley Road. 13.3 m.
From the junction of State 55 and 82 the route follows State 82.
MOORES MILLS, 2.5 m. (460 alt., 99 pop.), was named for a mill operated by Alfred Moore on a tributary of Sprout Creek.
At the crossroad, the center of the village, is the ROBERT WAT- CHORN HOMESTEAD (R), situated on a picturesque knoll. A small creek flows through the landscaped grounds. Little falls are spanned by bridges, and summer houses and benches stand under the fine shade trees. Robert Watchorn was commissioner of immigration during the adminis- tration of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Adjacent to the Watchorn homestead is a gravel road.
Right on gravel road is OSWEGO, I m., a small hamlet settled in 1761, by Quakers who established a meetinghouse of the Society of Friends. The original structure gave way in 1828 to the meetinghouse now standing. This simple frame building of usual Quaker meetinghouse design stands high on a hillside and overlooks the cemetery in which headstones date from 1766. At present the hamlet consists of scattered farm homes. Many of the original settlers established themselves in Moores Mills. Some of the dwellings, built by the first settlers, still stand near the present meetinghouse.
North of the homestead the road ascends gradually for a distance of 4 m.
VERBANK, 5.3 m. (560 alt., 147 pop.), was settled by the Dutch in the latter part of the 17th century. The settlement is said to have derived its name from the verdant hillsides. The surrounding hills are well wooded with ash and hemlock. For years the village was the center of a tanning and charcoal industry. Hemlock trees were felled and stripped of their bark for the tanyard, while in the" pits the logs were burned into charcoal. These pits still remain with traces of charcoal.
Directly north of the pits is an area thickly strewn with chips of flint stone, from which arrowheads were made by the Indians. A great number
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of arrowheads have been found here. The site is locally known as the "Indian Workshop."
A mill pond in the eastern end of the village affords good trout fishing in season.
At 5.5 m. (R) is the junction with a gravel road. (M. E. Church at corners). The route turns R. and leads through CLOVE VALLEY, a picturesque farming country.
At 10.1 m. is the junction with an improved macadam road. The route turns R. on this road.
Clove Valley, extending N. and S., derives its name from the cleft or clove in the mountains at its northern end. It is a pastoral valley, long and narrow, hemmed in on both sides by low-lying ridges.
At 10.8 m. is the driveway entrance (L) to the FLORAL GARDENS and 1,100-acre estate of the Hon. John E. Mack (visitors welcome on week- days during June). These gardens, occupying the western slope of Chest- nut Ridge (L), rise on a series of long terraces from the base to the summit, and contain 1,500 varieties of flowers, shrubs, and trees, including many rare and unusual specimens introduced from Europe and the Orient and from the Southern States. During June 400,000 peonies of rare colorings and varieties are in bloom. Here, too, are 32,000 rhododendrons in three varie- ties. Long rows of decorative shrubs and junipers, including the lacy Irish juniper, first acclimated by Mr. Mack, set off the flower gardens. In un- cultured areas, mountain laurel, trailing arbutus, and a great variety of native wild flowers bloom in profusion. Upon the summit of the ridge a reforested tract of 300,000 white and red pine trees provide cover for wild deer, and wheat and other forage is grown for, them. Since hunting upon the estate is prohibited, deer are numerous. Pheasants are raised on the property and released each year.
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