WAPPINGER takes its name from the Wappinger Indians who lived in Dutchess along the Hudson, settled in the 18th c. and established as a town in 1875. It measures 27.05 square miles and includes the Village of Wappingers Falls, New Hackensack, Hughsonville, Chelsea, Myers Corners, and Stringham Mill. The Wappinger and Sprout Creeks, as well as the Hudson River and King’s Highway (Rt. 9), made the area appealing for early industry. Grain and timber mills became commercial and population centers, eventually replaced by larger and more diverse industry. Farms gave way to suburbia and shopping malls along the old King’s Road, today a multi-lane highway.

FISHKILL is named for the creek that drains its area, in Dutch meaning Fish Creek. Established in 1788, it measures 35.36 square miles. Centers: Fishkill Village, Glenham, Brinckerhoff and Dutchess Junction. Waterways: Fishkill and Clove Creeks. European squatters began settling here in the late 17th c. The terrain provided a rallying point for Washington’s forces during the American Revolution. Farming, milling and mining were early industries with textiles taking advantage of the area’s waterpower in the 19th c. Today, industry is technology and research-based.

BEACON is named for its nearby mountain landmark and was created as a city in 1913. The city measures 5.5 square miles with Fishkill Creek its main waterway. The ferry to Newburgh was a key transportation link during the American Revolution. Mt. Beacon, visible for miles around and used for “beacon” fires that warned of troop movements during the Revolution, saw manufacturing growth and developed as an attraction in the 19th and 20th c. Beacon’s leaders recognize its beauty, history and architecture as most important assets.

EAST FISHKILL was divided out of Fishkill in 1849. Measuring 53.10 square miles, its centers are Hopewell Junction, Stormville and Wiccopee. Waterways: Fishkill and Sprout Creeks. Sparsely settled, this was the home of the last Sachem (leader) of the Wappinger, Daniel Nimham, and was on the route of Sybill Luddington’s ride to call out revolutionary forces against the British in 1777. East Fishkill remained a farming community until IBM began to develop its semi conductor manufacturing plant on Rt. 52, in the 1960s.