USA > New York > Dutchess County > Dutchess county > Part 7
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One of the oldest houses standing in the city, the Glebe house was built on land of the English Church in 1767. Its first tenant, the Rev. John Beardsley, was exiled 10 years later because of his Royalist leanings. For a few years thereafter it was occupied by Revolutionary officers, and served again as Christ Church rectory from 1787 to 1791. In 1796 Christ Church sold the house, which, under various owners, remained a private residence until 1929, when, by a popular subscription, it was purchased for the city.
Sharp R. from Main St. on Church St., R. on Market St. to Court House.
Additional Points of Interest
38. The OLD LADIES' HOME, Hamilton and Montgomery Sts., occupies the large colonnaded red brick building of the old Dutchess County Academy. It is open to Protestants over 60, in good health, who have lived in Poughkeepsie at least 5 years. The admission fee is $500, and residents must transfer all their property to the Home.
The institution was founded in 1871, chiefly through the efforts of Miss Alice M. Fowler. The building and a permanent endowment fund of $20,000 were donated by Jonathan A. Warner. In 1897 the Home was enlarged and the endowment fund increased by W. W. Smith.
The building was erected in 1836 to house the Dutchess County Academy and was used by the Academy until its close in 1866. From 1866 until 1871 it was rented by the city for use as a public high school. Many of the orig- inal panes of glass, marked by the initials and scribblings of former Academy pupils, remain in the windows.
39. SMITH BROTHERS, INC., 134 North Hamilton St. (visitors welcome), are doubtless the best known cough drop manufacturers in the country. The business was established before 1850 by William Wallace Smith and Andrew Smith, the famous bearded "Trade" and "Mark." The two well-known faces were actual representations from photographs. The cough drops were first made in a basement by hand; now hand labor is eliminated, and they are manufactured by the ton in this modern factory built in 1914.
40. The DIVISIONAL PRODUCE MARKET, Smith St. just south of College Hill, a PWA project, providing a central distribution point for local produce, occupies 2 acres of graded and paved land easily accessible to all nearby State roads and adjacent to the Central New England Railroad. It was completed in the winter of 1936-37 as an adjunct to the considerably larger primary or regional PWA market in Newburgh.
41. The CITY HOME AND INFIRMARY occupies 32 acres of ground at Maple St. and Jewett Ave. North and east of the tree-shaded build- ings in the style of the Civil War period lie 10 acres of cultivated fields bounded by a rocky slope used as pasture land. The group of buildings, of vari- ous dates, constructed to provide a cheerful and comfortable atmosphere, com- prises the largest public institution of the city. The latest addition, com- pleted under the PWA in 1936, is the infirmary, which was carefully planned to equal a modern private hospital in comfort and efficiency. The capacity of the Home, exclusive of the infirmary, is 120.
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The City Home was placed in 1930 under the supervision of the Board- of Public Welfare. From 1854 to 1900 the board which directed this work was known as the "Almshouse Commissioners," and from 1900 to 1930 as the "Board of Charities." In 1901 the old "Almshouse" became the "City Home." The purpose of the institution, little changed during the years, has been to care for people in temporary or chronic need, investigate cases of poverty, place the mentally or physically ill where they may receive care, and attend to transients. Since the enlargement of the infirmary, many cases of non-contagious diseases formerly sent to local hospitals have been adequately attended to in the Home.
42. The DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH, Hooker and Hanscom Aves., was built in 1922. Of native stone, it is in a style known as English Parish Gothic. The square tower appears to have been a tradition in the Dutch church buildings in Poughkeepsie, of which the present church is the fifth.
43. The PRINGLE MEMORIAL HOME, 153 Academy St., a three- story, yellow clapboard frame building with wide, white verandas, was or- ganized in 1899 by Clarence Fenton as a home for "aged, indigent, literary and professional gentlemen." Originally a private house, it has nothing of the appearance of an institution. The name was given in memory of Mr. Fen- ton's aunt and uncle, who had left funds for the establishment of such an asylum. Membership is limited to nine. Applicants are required to be be- tween the ages of 65 and 80 and in good health, and must pay an admis- sion fee of $1,000.
44. HOUSE OF TIMOTHY COLE, 39 Ferris Lane. In this tiny gray stucco house with unusual rolling roof, Timothy Cole, world-renowned wood-engraver, lived from 1917 until his death in 1931. Cole was born in London, England, in 1852, and when 4 years old was brought to America by his parents. He was educated in New York and Chicago, but was a self- taught engraver. Developing his own technique, he became the great master of the white-line engraving. In 1875 he became a member of the staff of the Century Magazine, and was assigned by the publishers to make engravings of the paintings of the great European masters. He is best known for these reproductions, which have been published in book form with comments by the engraver.
The type of art Cole represented was brought to an end by the introduction of process engraving, but in the quality of his work, as in the delicacy and softness of his medium, he remains unsurpassed.
45. The QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, Hooker Ave. and Whittier Pl., is a simple, square red brick structure set in a neat lawn, shaded by a grove of Norway spruces. Designed by Alfred Bisselle of New York, it was erected in 1927. The general style of the 18th century Quaker meeting house has been followed, with its broad, harmonious proportions. The lines of the building, the Flemish bond, white marble trim, and white shutters, with the main architectural effect produced not by decoration but by proportion and tone, all approximate the Georgian type. The buff and white interior is neat and inviting.
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Adjoining the meeting room on the left is a large Sunday school room, separated by an adjustable partition which permits the whole to be con- verted into a single commodious auditorium when occasion requires. The old practice of separating the sexes, usual in the prototypes of this meeting house, has been abandoned, so that the meeting room, with its attractive white pews and pulpit, is similar to the interiors of other churches.
The simple yard has been laid out with the same care apparent in the construction of the building. Well groomed conifers shade the street front. A low brick-and-marble terrace, before which stand two dainty Chinese poplars, bounds the shrub-planted lawn at the entrance.
46. VASSAR BROTHERS HOSPITAL, Reade Pl. and Lincoln Ave., stands in 32 acres of pleasantly cultivated grounds overlooking the Hudson. The red brick buildings are bordered by a limestone wall on the river side. It was founded by Matthew Vassar, Jr., as Vassar Hospital; but, in accordance with the provisions of his will, the name was changed when his brother, John Guy Vassar, added an endowment. The hospital was incor- porated in 1882, and the main building erected in 1884. A library and laboratory building was erected in 1899, and the hospital capacity was nearly doubled by additions in 1907. The hospital maintains 225 beds and the usual services, carried on by a staff of 38 attending surgeons and physi- cians.
47. The LANE BROTHERS HARDWARE COMPANY, near the foot of Prospect St., was the third manufacturer of steam automobiles in America. Following the expensive Stanley and White steamers of 1894-5, the Lane machine, a lighter and cheaper model, appeared in 1900. Auto- mobile manufacturing started here as a result of the delay of the Stanley Company in filling an order of William L. Lane, who, becoming impatient, decided to make his own machine. In 1901 the Lane car was awarded a first class certificate by the Automobile Club of America in the New York- Buffalo endurance contest. With the increase of gasoline powered auto- mobiles, production of the Lane car was discontinued. The company, under another management and under the name Lanebro, continues other manu- facturing in the same plant.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
48. The KIMLIN CIDER MILL, Cedar Ave., 1.3 m. from its inter- section with Hooker Ave. (open 10 a. m .- 8 p. m. except Mondays; admission free), a local show place with "atmosphere," is a favorite rendezvous of Vas- sar College students. It houses the largest miscellaneous exhibit of historical and antiquarian collections .in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie. Many of the mounted birds and animals have been acquired from Vassar Brothers Institute. (see above.) The innumerable antiques crowd the low-ceilinged rooms. Re- freshments are sold, with cider a specialty.
49. The POUGHKEEPSIE RURAL CEMETERY occupies about 150 acres of woodland between the Post Road and the Hudson River, 1.5
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miles south of the Court House. Non-denominational, this is the only large cemetery of Poughkeepsie. It was incorporated in 1853 and is privately owned by a plot-owners' corporation.
Attractive plantings, a charming pond, the partly cleared oak woods, and the magnificent views of river and city from the river bluff, more than com- pensate for the relative lack of historic interest in this cemetery.
In Section L, due west of the entrance gate, is the Vassar Acorn, so called from the sculpture adorning it, where lie the graves of Matthew Vassar, founder of the college, and his wife. The Livingston plot is surrounded by a hedge on the high ground in the northwest corner of the cemetery. The grave of Henry Livingston, an early land owner and a prominent figure in the Colonial history of Poughkeepsie, is surrounded by those of about 70 of his relatives and descendants, among them the eminent jurist, Smith Thomp- son. Nearby is the nursery, where many varieties of ornamental trees, shrubs, and grasses are grown.
A road winds up from the pond to Mine Point, a high bluff overlooking the river and offering an unsurpassed view of the entire long reach of the Hudson, 5 miles north to the bend of Crum Elbow and 6 miles south to the west bank promontory, Danskammer. This splendid expanse is framed on the west by the highlands of Orange and Ulster Counties; on the south and beyond Newburgh Bay, by Mount Beacon and the Storm King; and in the north distance, by the towering Catskills, visible on clear days. From this eminence the entire waterfront of Poughkeepsie is visible in clear per- spective, with the two great bridges spanning the river to the left and the city spread out in wooded undulations eastward. Directly opposite, the high bluff on the west bank is the Juffrouw's Hook mentioned in many early documents.
The white marble mausoleum on the summit of Mine Point, conspicuous from the river and from the southern waterfront of the city, was erected recently as a private memorial. It was designed in a semi-modern style by Presbery Leland of New York. A railed terrace beneath the monument has been designated as the Lovers' Leap of popular tradition. Two young Indian lovers, thwarted by the chiefs of the tribe, are said to have leaped to death from this point.
50. SAMUEL W. BOWNE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, Pendell Rd. just off Violet Ave. (State 9 F), (visitors admitted 3-5 p. m. daily) is a city- owned hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis. The hospital buildings are situated in a commanding position on a high knoll, the grounds including 32 acres of land. The present capacity is 135 beds, 52 of which, housed in the Preventorium, are for children, and 83 for adults. The hospital was opened in 1909 as a camp for those suffering from tuberculosis. In 1911 Mrs. Bowne, widow of Samuel W. Bowne, who had been a partner of Scott & Bowne, makers of Scott's Emulsion, erected the first of the present build- ings in memory of her husband.
The Nettie Bowne Hospital on the same plot of land is a private sani- tarium with 50 beds. Opened in 1928, it specializes in the treatment of chest diseases and cardiac troubles.
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VASSAR COLLEGE
The Vassar College campus is open to visitors, who may inspect the buildings and grounds, including the gardens and arboretum. Upon application to the Message Center in the Main Building, a guide will be provided. The campus of the college is closed to automobiles on Sundays and holidays. This regulation is a tradition of the college in the interest of maintaining an atmosphere of quiet one day a week. Parking space is provided outside the college gate for the convenience of visitors.
Vassar College was founded by Matthew Vassar, a Poughkeepsie brewer, in 1861. The breaking out of the Civil War delayed the opening of the college until the fall of 1865. Though lacking a formal education himself, Mr. Vassar's innate wisdom led him to provide for others the advantages he had never enjoyed. He was influenced in his decision to found a college for women by his niece, Lydia Booth, and by Dr. Milo P. Jewett, head of the Cottage Hill Seminary in Poughkeepsie. Although he had many far-reaching ideas about the education of women which he expressed with complete free- dom, at its first meeting Mr. Vassar transferred to the Board of Trustees all the funds for the college without restrictions or reservations.
One year before the opening of the college, Dr. Jewett resigned from the presidency and from the Board of Trustees; and the Board elected John H. Raymond, then president of the Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn, as his successor. Since the organization of the college, the choice of faculty, and the determination of policy fell on Dr. Raymond, he is often spoken of as the first rather than the second president of Vassar.
The enrollment for the first year was over 300. In the second year four women received the A. B. degree: the two survivors of this class attended their 70th reunion in June 1937.
For three years Mr. Vassar enjoyed close touch with the college and the company of his "daughters." On the day before the commencement of 1868, he died while reading his annual address at a meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Raymond died in 1878. His successor, Dr. Samuel L. Caldwell, served for 7 years. During the 28-year (1886-1914) administration of Dr. James M. Taylor, the enrollment increased so rapidly that it was necessary to limit the student body to 1,000. In 1915, Dr. Henry Noble MacCracken was elected to the presidency, which he still retains.
The distinctive feature of the administration of Vassar College is its liberal democratic organization. The faculty is in control of educational matters. The students have self-government, an uncensored press, and are largely consulted in curriculum content. Through joint and advisory committees much responsibility is delegated to the community as a whole. The Students' Asso- ciation, of which all students are members, charters various clubs, such as the Glee Club, the Art Club, and Le Cercle Francais, as well as the student publications, which include the Miscellany News, a semi-weekly newspaper, the Vassar Review, and others. There are no sororities at Vassar College.
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0
FACULTY DWELLINGS
ROAD
NINE HOLE
GOLF COURSE
MANCHESTER
Casper's
NO 9 GREEN
SQUASH BOWLING ARCHERY
Kill
-
C
TENNIS COURTS
O NO 1 TEE
BALLENTINE ATHLETIC FIELDS
TENNIS~
ICE RINK
POOL
BASKET BALL
RHYTHMS
15
ARBORETUM HEATHERS
FIELD HOUSE
ARBORETUM HAWTHORNS
ARBORETUM PINETUM
SUNSET HILL
ARBORETUM FLOWERING CRABS
19
LILACS
POWER PLANT
Sunset
Lake
21
22)
LAUNDRY
24
To The Glen
9
13
VASSAR FARM - 700 ACRES
26
12
9
41
40
1
ARBORETUM SERVICE
20
BUILDING
UNIT
27
ARBORETUM
RHODODENDRONS
42
4
-
16
Between classes the campus hums with bicycles operated under a system of licenses and traffic regulations administered by the students. There are no student-owned automobiles.
The religious life of the college centers in the Vassar Community Church. In accordance with the intention of Matthew Vassar, the college, while distinctly Christian in government, has no denominational affiliation. Attendance at all chapel services is voluntary. The daily chapel services are led by the faculty and students. For the Sunday services the church brings to the college prominent leaders of religious thought.
During the summer months the Vassar Institute of Euthenics provides six weeks of study, chiefly for college graduates who, as parents, teachers, or social workers, are interested in the problems of rearing children and the conduct of the family. During these six weeks the Wimpfheimer Nursery School holds a summer session, and trained teachers care for the children of mothers who are attending the summer Institute.
Among the 9,021 (1927) living alumnae of Vassar College are included women of distinction in various fields. Poetry has been represented by Adelaide Crapsey and Edna St. Vincent Millay, and literature by Con- stance Rourke. Pioneers and leaders in their chosen fields were Ellen Swallow Richards, Julia Lathrop, and Katherine Bement Davis. Administrative and executive positions are occupied by Josephine Roche, Ruth Taylor, and three college presidents: Katharine Blunt, Constance Warren, and Mildred Mc- Afee.
From the time of Harriet Stanton Blatch, '78, a pioneer, through that of Inez Millholland Boissevain, '09, until suffrage was an accomplished fact, members of the college took an active part in the campaign for the enfran- chisement of women. In addition to their contribution to the general field of education, Vassar students and alumnae have increasingly participated in social and civic affairs.
The Vassar student body is now limited to 1,150. The faculty numbers 180 members, who teach in 31 departments. Vassar draws its students from private and public schools throughout this country and from abroad. The curriculum, several times revised, maintains the principles of distribution and concentration as essentials in liberal education, but leaves the choice of par- ticular subjects and of special fields to individual election. The curriculum is divided into four groups of subjects : the Arts, the Foreign Languages and Literature, the Natural Sciences, and the Social Sciences. Credit is given for applied art and music, for the writing and production of plays in the Ex- perimental Theatre of the English department, and for participation in the Nursery School, used by college students as a laboratory for child study.
The aim of the plan of study is to secure for the student powers of self- direction, and to avoid the cramping effects of regimentation. The scope of the curriculum may establish direct connection with whatever life work the student may choose. If she plans a career in one of the professions, she may lay the foundation for further study. If her next step is to be a job, she may obtain training which will be invaluable when she comes to the problem of
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earning her living. If she looks forward to marriage, she may prepare her- self fully for the responsibilities of a home and family and citizenship.
Tour of Campus
The 950 acres of land owned by the college include, beside the campus proper, a 9-hole golf course, two small lakes, a large farm, two large faculty residences, and 27 other buildings. On the campus are 18 academic buildings, 4 social buildings, and 8 residence halls, as well as gardens and an outdoor theatre seating more than 3,000. The Vassar College buildings, erected over a period of 70 years, are notable for their variety of architectural style.
The triple-arched gateway running through Taylor Hall (L) on Ray- mond Avenue, is the main entrance to the campus. TAYLOR HALL (1) houses the art department. Loan exhibitions are shown throughout the col- lege year. Outstanding in the permanent collections are three bronze por- traits by Jo Davidson; a bronze figure of a woman by Lachaise; several notable Rembrandt prints; water colors by Turner from the personal col- lection of John Ruskin; and a collection of the paintings of the Hudson River School, including some of George Inness. The most important paint- ings in the large gallery are: Taddeo Gaddi's San Taddeo; St. John the Baptist by Bartolomeo Vivarini; two Ulysses panels from the school of Piero di Cosimo; View of the Scuola di San Rocco by Marieschi; Mattia Preti's Erminea and the Shepherds; a Landscape by Salvator Rosa; a portrait by Pourbus; Courbet's Jumping Jack; and a Landscape by Wilson.
The gray, pinnacled THOMPSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY (2) was donated by Mrs. Mary Clark Thompson in memory of her husband, Frederick Ferris Thompson, a late trustee and friend of the college. Warmth of color is added to the gray stone and oak interior by five 17th century Flemish tapestries which tell the Cupid and Psyche story, and by a stained glass window in the west wing which represents the conferring of the doc- torate upon a young Venetian woman by the University of Padua in 1678.
The library contains 200,000 volumes, including several valuable collec- tions: the Justice collection of material relating to the periodical press, the Village Press collection printed by Frederic W. Goudy, of Marlboro, N. Y., and a Browning collection.
VAN INGEN HALL (3), a new wing connecting the Thompson Library and Taylor Hall, provides additional space for the art department and the main library.
The MAIN BUILDING (4) is one of the academic buildings completed before the opening of the college in 1865. James Renwick, Jr., architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, based his design on the famous Tuileries palace. To this old building clings much of the history of the college, and old graduates returning, although delighting in improvements to the interior, feel very much at home at the sight of old Main. Until 1893 practically all the students and many faculty members lived in this building.
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L
1
Blodgett Hall Arch, Vassar College
*
Students' Building, Vassar College
Now it accommodates about 350 students, business and administration of- fices, the post office, the Cooperative Bookshop, the Raymond Reading Room, and several reception rooms.
ROCKEFELLER HALL (5) was designed by York and Sawyer of New York in modified early English Renaissance style. This building con- tains class and lecture rooms and offices for many of the academic depart- ments.
Rockefeller Hall forms the southern end of the dormitory quadrangle with RAYMOND (6) and DAVISON HOUSES (7) on the west, and STRONG (8) and LATHROP (9) on the east, all very similar in architecture. Each houses about 95 students. Since 1933 Raymond has been a cooperative house, the students doing all the housework except the cooking. This plan was started because of the depression, but has proved so satisfactory that it is being continued indefinitely. Since no student may live in Raymond who is not doing satisfactory academic work, to be as- signed to this house is an honor.
The quadrangle enclosed by these buildings is said to be the site of the field in which the daisies were picked for the first daisy chain carried by sophomores on Class Day.
MILO P. JEWETT HOUSE (10), another dormitory, closes the quadrangle on the northern end. It is constructed of red brick with white stone trimmings. The central tower, originally built to support a tank for the college water supply, was not tall enough to provide the necessary water pressure, but its height, compared with that of the other buildings, has brought it much unfavorable criticism. It commands a remarkable view of the surrounding country.
OLIVIA JOSSELYN HOUSE (11), which accommodates 132 students, was given by Mrs. Russell Sage in memory of her granddaughter. This dormitory, a red brick building, was designed by Allen & Collens in a modified Gothic style. Back of Josselyn to the north are tennis courts and a hockey field, shielded from the street by rows of lilac bushes.
The STUDENTS' BUILDING (12) reveals its purpose in its name. Designed by McKim, Mead, & White of New York, its architecture is as simple and dignified as the Colonial town hall from which it was derived. The interior is finished in white paneled wood. The auditorium, seating 1,200, is used for concerts and lectures. It contains a stage fully equipped for the plays given by Philaletheis, and furnishes ample space for the "junior prom" and other important dances. The auditorium is flanked by offices for the various student organizations, and the Council Room, for small student meetings, is on the second floor.
Students' Building faces the CIRCLE (13), a lawn encircled by flower beds, shrubs, and pine trees. In the early days of Vassar a Floral Society cultivated these beds. At a time when athletics as practiced today would not have been considered "ladylike" and yet one hour daily outdoor exercise
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was required, this work in the garden was very popular. Today, under the supervision of the Superintendent of Grounds, the Circle is one of the most beautiful spots on the campus. The lawn which it encircles is used as an ath- letic field for track, baseball, and archery.
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