USA > New York > Dutchess County > Dutchess county > Part 18
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A winding road extends to the crest of the ridge. From this vantage point, the whole valley may be seen, 6 m. long and 1 m. wide, pocketed cozily be- tween the flanking ridges, which rise to an altitude of 1,000 ft. A panoramic view extending to a distance of 50 miles, spreads away to the NW. with the rugged peaks of the Catskills standing in silhouette against the sky. To the SW. Mt. Beacon and Storm King stand like grim sentinels, guarding the Hudson Highlands, through which the river flows oceanward.
JOHN E. MACK, lawyer and jurist, was born at Arlington, Dutchess County, June 10, 1874. He has attained state-wide prominence as a mem- ber of the bar and has served on the New York Supreme Court bench. He placed Franklin D. Roosevelt in nomination for President before the Demo- cratic National conventions in 1932 and 1936.
The CLOVE VALLEY METHODIST CHURCH, 300 ft. S. of the Mack homestead, was built in 1832, but alterations with the passing years have changed it greatly. It is included in the land of and is maintained by the Mack estate.
At 10.9 m. is the EMIGH HOUSE (R) in a field 200 ft. back from
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the road, and reached by a little-used driveway (open to visitors). Nicholas Emigh, credited with having been the first white settler in Dutchess County (see Beacon), is also credited with having been the first settler in Clove Valley. The date of his coming is not known, but it is known that he first built and occupied a log cabin and in the year 1740 built this commodious house. The date 1740 appears on the south chimney. It is a story-and-a-half stone structure, well preserved and outwardly little changed, though there is a clapboard addition on its south end. The doors and much of the interior trim and hardware are, however, of later date. Lath and plaster walls cover the massive 9 x 12 inch beams, which in Emigh's day were exposed. The fireplaces have been closed with brick and mortar. The floors, trod by early pioneers and primitive Indians, are the original 18-inch oak planks hewn and trimmed from primeval trees and fastened to the beams with hand- wrought nails. Emigh built this house with enduring Dutch thoroughness.
The foundation of the windowless slave quarters, an 8 x 10 ft. building, can still be traced 8 ft. from the main house and opposite the east door. The Coe family, whose descendants now occupy the white frame farm house (R) next beyond the Emigh house and own the farm upon which it stands, was associated with Emigh in building the house and in clearing and developing the land.
Some 600 ft. W. of the old Emigh house, is CLOVE SPRING, discharg- ing several hundred gallons of water a minute. The spring was a factor in influencing the early settlement of Clove Valley.
At 12 m. is the junction with a macadam road.
Right on macadam road is the entrance of the CLOVE VALLEY ROD AND GUN CLUB, .25 m. (private). It is located on the W. side of the valley and controls an area of 5,000 acres of woodland and meadow. In its aviaries 5,000 ducks and 7,000 pheasants are annually reared and liberated. A pond upon this property is restocked each year with 9,000 trout. The club membership is limited to 55.
The CHRISTIE HOMESTEAD, 12.5 m. (R), a stone house built in 1747, is typical of the period. The house has been modernized and shingled ; the hand-hewn ceiling beams and the fireplaces remain unchanged.
At 13.1 m. is junction with a dirt road.
Right on dirt road, the second house, .6 m. (R), is the home of the late JEAN WEBSTER, author. of DADDY LONG LEGS, and the PATTY BOOKS. She was born in Binghamton, N. Y. in 1876, graduated from Vassar College in 1901, and died in 1916, shortly after her marriage. The house, locally known as the Skidmore homestead, is an outstanding example of early 19th century Colonial. It is painted white, and is sur- rounded by spacious lawns and formal flower gardens. A red brick wall separates the lawns and gardens from the highway.
At 14.9 m. is the furnace (R) of the abandoned Sterling Mines, its high stack a monument to past prosperity. In 1831 Elisha Sterling built a char- coal furnace here for the smelting of hematite ore, which he mined in the nearby hills. The furnace prospered for several years, but was finally
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abandoned and only its ruins remain. In 1873, the Clove Valley Iron Com- pany was organized and an anthracite furnace was built. Barges brought black ore from Port Henry on Lake Champlain, through the Champlain Canal, and down the Hudson River. This was transported in ox-drawn wagons to the Clove Valley furnace, and when mixed with the local ore produced an excellent grade of steel. In 1877 the Clove Valley Branch R. R. was extended four miles from Sylvan Lake to the mines. In 1883 the furnace closed, and one year later the railroad was abandoned. Thus ended the last attempt at industrial development in Clove Valley.
From this point, the route returns to the village of Verbank, State 82, and turns L. to junction of State 82 and 55.
TOUR 4
Poughkeepsie-East Park-Pleasant Plains-Wurtemburg-Schultzville-Clinton Hol- low-Salt Point-Poughkeepsie. State 9 F and county roads.
Poughkeepsie to Poughkeepsie, 38.2 m.
Country roads ; no R. R's. bus connections, or hotels.
This route through a sparsely settled region over town roads should be taken only in summer. The reward is an intimate view of the mid-Hudson countryside. The character of the area changes under the influence of the variety of soils, which ranges from a rich productive loam to sand and gravel. Miles of stone walls paralleling the highway in the beginning of the route suggest the arduous labor expended in clearing the land.
The comparative isolation and the numerous lakes make the region ideal for camping. Several camps have already been established, and there are indications that the recreational possibilities of the region will soon be more widely enjoyed.
The route starts at the Courthouse, Main and Market Sts.
E. on Main St. to North Hamilton St., L. on North Hamilton St. R. on Parker Ave. across bridge over N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. tracks on Vilet Ave. (State 9F).
At 1.7 m. (R) is entrance to Bowne Memorial Hospital. Route bears L. At 2.9 m. (L) and (R), are the entrances to the Hudson River State Hospital (see Tour No. 1.)
CHAPEL CORNERS, 3.5 m., is a small but growing community of modest homes occupied by the Hudson River State Hospital employees.
North of this point and for the next mile the Catskill Mts. are outlined against the horizon (L).
VAL KIL HANDICRAFT CENTER, 4.8 m. (R), a small modern building adjacent to a clump of pine trees, contains equipment for the pro- duction of hand-woven cloth from homespun and machine-spun yarn; the former is in greater demand. The center was established by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt as one of the Val Kil projects to encourage handcrafts and provide employment for the townspeople. It is under the direction of Mrs. Nellie Johanneson, who has utilized family patterns brought from Sweden.
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At 4.9 m. (R) is the entrance to the first VAL KIL FURNITURE AND CRAFT CENTER, established in 1927 by Mrs. Roosevelt for the reproduction of antique furniture, metal work, and other handcrafts. Re- productions of many fine museum pieces, constructed in the furniture de- partment under the direction of Mr. Otto Berge, are on display at the Metro- politan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York City. The metal crafts department, under Mr. Arnold Berge, specializes in repro- ductions of pewter pieces of Colonial days. In May, 1936, the enterprise was turned over to the department managers, who continue to work along the established lines. Mr. Arnold Berge continues the metal and forge work at the original Val Kil shops, and Mrs. Johanneson the weaving in the hand- craft center nearby. The furniture and cabinet department was moved to the rear of Otto Berge's home, the William Stoutenburgh house in East Park. The Berges were trained in their father's shop in Norway.
At 6.6 m. (L) is the WILLIAM STOUTENBURGH HOUSE, the present home of Otto Berge. The original section is a rectangular stone building overshadowed by a frame wing of later date. At the right of the front door the figures "1750" are marked in the stone, and at the left "1765." It is not certain which is the date of erection. William Stouten- burgh was the son of Jacobus Stoutenburgh, an early settler.
EAST PARK, 6.7 m. (233 alt., 204 pop.) Junction with a macadam road (R). (See Tour No. 4A.) Main route straight ahead on dirt road.
At 7.3 m. (R), stands a weather-beaten RED BARN. Knowledge of its age, origin, and early history has faded with the past. The miniature six- sided cupola, or belfry, and the half-round window tops similar to the windows in the old Dutch Reformed Church at Fishkill, suggest that it may once have been a church.
Beyond the red barn a brook (L) parallels the road. Lanes leading to farmhouses on the other side cross the brook on picturesque rural bridges of fieldstone and rough timber.
At 8.3 m., and continuing for several thousand feet E. of the brook, ex- tensive outcrops of limestone are visible on either side of the road. The strata are nearly vertical and trend southeastward. These outcrops are mainly in low ridges with a few ranging from 30 to 40 ft. in elevation.
At 9.5 m. is junction with dirt road. Main route L.
Right on this road at 1.4 m., is junction with macadam road, known locally as Quaker Lane. Right on Quaker Lane is the CRUM ELBOW QUAKER MEETING HOUSE (L), at 1.5 m. in a valley of pros- perous farms. This simple, white, two-story building, erected about 1780, has been carefully restored, so that its stark rectangular lines still be- speak the honest simplicity of the early Quaker faith. The cemetery in the rear contains many old graves, some of the mounds unidentified, others marked by rough, moss-grown slabs with crudely lettered, now undecipherable legends.
Elias Hicks, founder of the Hicksite, branch of Friends, frequently preached here. In this church he and the English Friends who opposed him engaged in the controversy which eventually resulted in the division of the Quakers into the Hicksite and Orthodox branches.
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The controversy arose out of a difference of emphasis as between faith and theology on the one hand, and reason and morality on the other. During the 18th century the intuitive faith in the mystical communion with God which characterized the Quaker religion had developed to a high degree of self-righteous anti-intellectualism. By the early 19th cen- tury, however, the currents of rationalism had reached these farmers and appealed to them on behalf of freedom of thought. New philosophies and a nascent industrialism called for a greater emphasis on logic and con- duct and the practical issues of this world. Hicks was a product of these new forces. While his views did not depart radically from those of the orthodox church, they showed the way, and his followers gradually took the side of the intellectuals.
Approaching Pleasant Plains, at 11.9 m. (R) before crossing the bridge, is a lovely waterfall.
PLEASANT PLAINS, 12 m. (300 alt., 600 pop.), was once called Le Roys Corners after John Le Roy, one of the owners of the DeWitt house. Today the name applies not only to the few buildings at the corners, but also to the surrounding area of level, fertile land and scattered farm- houses. General and dairy farming are the principal sources of income.
The DEWITT HOUSE (L), at the four corners, a white, frame dwell- ing, green trimmed, resting upon a high field-stone foundation was built by John DeWitt in 1773. Four years later the construction of an addition relocated the entrance, and in 1855 a later owner added the west wing.
DeWitt served as an officer in the American Army during the Revolution, as sheriff of Dutchess County, and as member of the New York State As- sembly. As delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1788 in Pough- keepsie he voted in favor of the ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
Directly opposite the DeWitt house is an old red GRISTMILL, built by John DeWitt in 1775 and operated by him for 27 years. The three-and- one-half-story building is in an excellent state of preservation. The original hand-forged iron hinges are on all doors. The rigging of the water wheel can still be seen on the south side.
At the corners main route straight ahead.
Road right from the corners up a hill, leads to the PLEASANT PLAINS WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, .9 m. (R), a white frame building with Doric columns along the front. The original build- ing, erected in 1837, was enlarged to its present proportions in 1859. The church was organized on March 28, 1837, by Rev. Alonzo Welton of Poughkeepsie.
At 15.2 m. is the white WURTEMBURG LUTHERAN CHURCH (R), the third oldest church in the township of Rhinebeck. This frame build- ing with gable roof and steeple was built by the Palatines in 1760 and enlarged in 1861. The original windows have been replaced by modern ones. The sides are clapboarded ; the entrances have leaded lights. The site offers a commanding view of the rolling hills of Whitaberger Land (a variable spell- ing of Wurtemburg), the name locally applied to this region.
At 16.2 m. is junction with gravel road. The route turns R. on this road.
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This section of the county is sparsely settled and heavily wooded. At 17.3 m. bear R. at 18 m. bear L.
The topography of this region is of glacial origin; the scattered hills, compased of boulders and gravel, are technically known as morainic hills.
At 19.2 m. is a SLATE QUARRY (R), extending back into the hills. It was once extensively worked. In 1798 it provided the slate that roofed the house of Mrs. Richard Montgomery of Rhinebeck. (See Tour No. 1B.) After 25 years of operation quarrying was discontinued. In 1866 the quarry was reopened and continued in operation until 1896. Since that date it has remained idle.
At 20.2 m. is junction with narrow dirt road. The main route turns R. on road, across a small stream and up a hill.
Road straight ahead to JOHN TELLER HOUSE, bears L. at .4 m. and .9 m. The house I.I m. (R) was built in 1764 by John Teller, great-grandson of William Teller, founder of the Teller family in the Hudson Valley. It is a stuccoed stone house, 11/2 stories high, with a cen- tral hall and two rooms on the first floor. A so-called "witch-beam," with power to keep the witches away, was built against the wall on a stair- way landing in the rear of the hall.
At 20.7 m. is junction with three roads. The route turns L.
This crossroads affords a view (R) of LONG POND, the largest of the three lakes on this tour. It is well stocked with sunfish, pickerel, bass, and perch. CAMP BOIBERIK, a large camp for Jewish people, is on the western shore.
The road winds N. of Long Pond, then turns S. and follows the E. bank of Salt Point Creek.
Left at 21.9 m. over creek.
SCHULTZVILLE, 22.1 m. (375 alt., 46 pop.), is named for the Schultz family, early settlers.
WARREN LODGE No. 32 (formerly No. 157) F. & A. M. (R), is housed in a small, white clapboarded two-story structure with an octagonal tower trimmed in green. The lodge is the oldest in the county and sixth oldest in the state. Warren Lodge No. 157 was instituted in 1807 and named for Gen. Joseph Warren, a general in the Continental Army who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1839 the name was changed to Warren Lodge No. 32 as part of the reorganization after the Morgan and anti- Masonic excitement which this lodge successfully withstood. In 1861 it was removed from Pine Plains to Lafayetteville, where it remained until 1864, its fifty-seventh anniversary. It was then moved to Schultzville, where it has since remained, meeting in a temple erected in 1865.
At the junction at Schultzville, the route turns R. and proceeds straight ahead. The road parallels a winding brook which at intervals cascades over miniature falls. Where it now and then widens into a more pretentious stream, shade trees on little islands provide inviting natural picnic grounds.
Approaching Clinton Hollow, the stream expands into a pond formed by an old mill dam in the center of the village.
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CLINTON HOLLOW, 24.6 m. (300 alt., 311 pop.), lies in a deep valley of Salt Point Creek. The surrounding hills, none of which exceeds 500 ft. in altitude, are densely wooded. The top soil, fertile, slaty loam, supports prosperous dairy farms. Resident families have lived here for many years; 95 percent of the population are native born.
At 24.6 m. is junction with dirt road.
Left on this road, up a steep hill, is the REGINALD GOODE THEATRE, .3 m. (R), a summer theatre in which legitimate plays are presented by Broadway actors. The theatre is an old barn painted white, about 25 by 35 ft. and 2 stories high. The elevation offers a com- manding view of the valley.
At the junction in Clinton Hollow the main route turns L. and then immediately R. on the Clinton Hollow Road. This hilly, winding road, bordered by field-stone walls, passes through a narrow valley with restricted views and the road closely parallels Salt Point Creek, which widens here to 30 ft.
At 27.9 m. is junction with macadam road.
Left on this road is CLINTON CORNERS, 2.5 m. (288 alt., 330 pop.), a small hamlet in which the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. maintains express and freight service.
Little is known of the early history of the village, but it is believed to have been settled in 1760. Clinton Corners early became a Quaker settlement; before the meetinghouse was built services were held regularly in the house of Jonathan Hoag, an early settler and community leader.
THE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, 2.6 m. (L), locally known as the Creek Meeting House, is a two-and-a-half story field-stone building, im- pressive in its solid simplicity. It was begun in 1772, but since construction was discontinued during the Revolutionary War, it was not completed until 1782. Outwardly it has undergone no change other than the laying of an asbestos shingle roof and the addition of a porch in 1874. The interior, however, has been remodeled to meet present needs, and the partition that separated men and women (the two entrances for the two sexes are still there) has been removed. The building is now occupied by Upton Lake Grange No. 802, though the Quakers still hold an annual meeting here.
Adjacent to the meeting house is the BURIAL GROUND, one of the oldest in Dutchess County. The graves of many of the local pioneers are marked by simple slate headstones, the inscriptions almost obliterated.
SALT POINT, 28 m. (240 alt., 250 pop.), is a pleasant country village, with the main street bordering the Salt Point Turnpike. The simple frame houses, set back from the road, are surrounded by aged shade trees. Accord- ing to local tradition, the name came from the early settlers' custom of making salt licks to attract deer.
In the first third of the 19th century, the valley for which Salt Point is today the freight transportation center was one of the most important wheat-growing sections of New York, State. Up to about 1835 more than 1./3 of the grain shipped from New York City was grown in Dutchess County, most of it in this valley. But the competition of western wheat after
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the opening of the Erie Canal and soil exhaustion through lack of crop rotation and fertilization, brought wheat-raising to an end. Today the rolling, sparsely wooded land is used principally for pasturage, and the large dairy farms in the vicinity serve a wide area centering in Poughkeepsie.
At 28 m., in the center of Salt Point, is junction with dirt road, called locally the Washington Hollow road.
Left on Washington Hollow road .7 m. is junction with dirt road (R). R. on dirt road is CAMP NOOTEEMING, (L) .8 m., the Dutchess County Boy Scout camp conducted by the Dutchess County Council. Its 176 acres embrace an artificial lake called Pocket Lake by the scouts. With its facilities for fishing, swimming, boating, and nature study, the camp provides all-round summer camping under adult supervision.
At 28.9 m. is junction with Salt Point Turnpike, a macadam road. The main route turns R. and follows this macadam road past the many country roads that serve the widespread farms.
At 37.5 m. (L) is junction with CREEK ROAD which becomes Smith St. at this point.
R. from Smith St. on Main St .; Tour ends at Court House Square, 38.2 m.
TOUR 4 A
East Park-Netherwood-Spelmann Road. 6.1 m.
From junction with Tour No. 4 in East Park, the route turns R. on ma- cadam road. The road crosses a wide plain dotted with small dairy farms and reaching to low rolling hills in the distance. This unfrequently traveled road makes an ideal short rural tour in the summer.
The GARRIGUE SCHOOL, 1.2 m. (L), organized in 1933, is a mod- ern private farm school for superior children from 4 to 8 years. It is a year- round boarding school with a capacity of 30 pupils. The two-story Colonial house is painted white, with green blinds. Standing on a knoll about .2 m. from the road, it commands a beautiful view of the valley.
At 1.3 m. (L), at the top of a low hill, is a beacon marking the eastern line of the New York-Montreal airline ..
At this point the contour of the land changes abruptly and becomes rugged and hilly.
The dairy and small truck farmers have dammed the little streams to make ponds, from which ice is cut in the winter months for household use and for cooling milk in summer.
At 1.6 m. is junction with a secondary macadam road. The route turns L. on this road.
CAMP WINETKA, 2.3 m. (L), a large camp for Jewish people, com- prises a number of separate yellow cabins on a shaded tract overlooking a small pond. The main building is a mid-19th century white house. A large barn serves as camp theatre.
At 2.8 m. is intersection of two roads. The route proceeds straight ahead, on middle road, over the hill.
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At 3.4 m., at the fork of two roads, is the ISRAEL MARSHALL HOUSE (L), one of the most dignified and imposing buildings in the vicinity. It is a large, two-story Colonial structure painted white. Four Doric columns support the front porch; a large half-round window near the peak of the roof is an added ornament. The figures "IM 1844" are carved in the stone steps leading to the eastern entrance. Israel Marshall erected this building as a tavern in 1844; after serving as such for 12 years, it was remodeled to its present state. It has remained in the Marshall family to the present time.
Opposite the Marshall House at 3.4 m. the route bears R.
The NETHERWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH, 6 m. (L), was founded in 1791 and is "the original home of the Explorers' Club," founded in January 1931, for children of this section. The present structure, a simple white frame building with a square belfry and an octagonal, shuttered window above the door, was erected in 1863 on the old site of the first church, built in 1795. The adjoining cemetery contains many crudely cut field-stones; the oldest decipherable stone bears the date 1789.
At 6.1 m. is junction with Salt Point Turnpike. (See Tour No. 4.)
11.1
4
Abraham Fort Homestead, near Poughkeepsie
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Account Book of a Country Store Keeper in the 18th Century. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Vassar Brothers Institute. 1911.
Account of the Exercises of the One Hundred Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church of Fishkill, 1891, An.
Fishkill, N. Y. Fishkill Weekly Times. 1891.
Alexander, De Alva Stanwood.
Political History of the State of New York, A. New York. Henry Holt and Co. 1906.
American Archives. Fourth and Fifth Series. 9 vols. Washington, D. C. M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force. 1837-53.
Americana, The. Beach, Frederick Converse, Editor-in-Chief. 20 vols.
Supervised by the Scientific American Editorial Dept.
Scientific American Compiling Dept. New York. 1910.
Bacon, Edgar Mayhew. The Hudson River from Ocean to Source.
New York and London. G. P. Putnam's Sons. The Knickerbocker Press. 1903.
Bailey, Henry DuBois. Local Tales and Historical Sketches. Fishkill Landing, N. Y. John W. Spaight. 1874.
Barnum, H. L. The Spy Unmasked or, Memoirs of Enoch Crosby. New York. J. and J. Harper. 1828.
Bayne, Martha Collins.
The Dutchess County Farmer. Vassar College Norrie Fellowship Report, 1935-6. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. The Women's City and County Club and Vassar College. 1936.
Benton, Charles E. Troutbeck, A Dutchess County Homestead. Dutchess County Historical Society. 1916.
, Blanchard, Frank D. History of the Reformed Dutch Church of Rhinebeck Flatts, N. Y. Albany, N. Y. J. B. Lyon Co. 1931.
Books of the Supervisors of Dutchess County. 3 vols. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Vassar Brothers Institute. 1907-II.
Brinkerhoff, Richard. The Family of Joris Dircksen Brinckerhoff, 1638. New York. Published by the author. 1887.
Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N. Y. 2 vols. Albany. Weed, Parsons & Co. 1865-66.
Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution. 2 vols. Albany. Weed, Parsons & Co. 1868.
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