Mileage between sites is bracketed, in bold and given in miles and tenths of miles, e.g. (2.6) for two and six tenths, or (0.1) for one tenth of a mile. The exception to this rule is the mileage for the full extent of SIDE TRIPS, which is neither bracketed nor bolded.

Municipalities are listed by letters in the guide and on markers; sites and historic areas are identified by numbers.

Sites visible from the Routes are in caps within the text.

Side Trips and other Off Route attractions are suggested at points marked by an asterisk (*) and italics. Directions to these sites are at the end of each tour. Because basic tours take several hours each, we suggest return visits to explore these additional sites. Dutchess County Farm Produce Maps and winery brochures are available at Tourism Information Centers county-wide.

Telephone numbers in Dutchess County are primarily in the 845 area code, with the exception of Millerton and Pine Plains, where some numbers are in the 518 area. Check the telephone directory for assistance.

Where the map indicates "Start" set your trip meter at "0" and begin. (Note that individual trip meters may vary slightly from mileage indicated.)

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1 NEW HACKENSACK REFORMED CHURCH BURIAL GROUND (L). Formed in 1765, members built their first house of worship in 1766 on land given by Joris Brinckerhoff. The WORONOCK HOUSE RESTAURANT (R) is a former inn dating to the mid-1700s. Successive renovations mask earlier vernacular architecture.

Drive 0.4 mile on Rt. 376. Turn right on CR 104, New Hackensack Rd., at light. Route sign visible after turn. Drive 2.9 miles on CR 104 to Rt. 9.

2 DUTCHESS COUNTY AIRPORT AND TERMINAL (R). The “New Hackensack Airport,” opened in 1932 as an emergency landing strip and served as a training field for the United States Military Academy at West Point during WWII. Used for local private plane flights. General aviation services available: flight school, fuel, regional transport, executive helicopters and charters.

The landscape now sprouts apartments, houses and businesses, but remnants of walls and gateposts survive.

Turn left on Rt. 9. Drive 0.1 mile and turn right on East Main St.

3 JOSEPH W. MCDONALD MEMORIAL PARK (L) marks the entry to the Village of Wappingers Falls on East Main St. Joseph W. McDonald, son of a former village treasurer, is MIA from the Vietnam War. The park honors all who sacrificed in the conflict.

Drive 0.2 mile on East Main St. Turn right on Mesier Ave. Drive 0.1 mile, then turn left on Park St.

4 MESIER PARK (NR) (L). The only real village green in Dutchess County has been a public park since ca. 1891 when Henry Mesier sold it to the village for $5000. Annual events focus around the band stand and benches along shaded paths. The BREWER-MESIER HOMESTEAD (L) (NR) was built by Nicholas Brewer ca. 1740 and later purchased by Peter Mesier. Victorian details disguise the 18th c. fieldstone core. Once the site of a riotous 3-day revolutionary era “Tea Party” over taxes.

Drive 0.1 mile. Turn left at end of block on Spring St. Drive 0.1 mile to East Main St.

5 GRINNELL LIBRARY (R), 6th oldest public library in the state, was formed 1867. Its Stick style Victorian home was constructed 1887, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irving Grinnell.
Turn left on East Main St., Rt. 9D. Caution.

6 ZION EPISCOPAL CHURCH (I). The first in the village ca. 1833, this late Gothic Revival was constructed of brownstone from Benjamin Clapp’s local quarry.

Continue 1 block. Turn right at light on Rt. 9D, South Ave.

7 FORMER US POST OFFICE (NR) (L) and Village Architecture on Rt. 9D. A WPA Colonial Revival post office modeled after the 18th c. Brewer-Mesier house. Henry Billings’ lobby murals depict scenes from town history. Rt. 9D south of the village, once called Mesier Lane, conveys 19th c. architectural history through varied styles.

Drive 1.3 miles south on Rt. 9D to CR 28.

8 HUGHSONVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (L) was built as a mission ca. 1843. Hughsonville is a 19th c. commercial/transportation hamlet settled by the Wm. Hughson family ca. 1795. Fields frame Federal houses and shops that cling to the roadside. The Albany Post Rd. and trail to New Hamburg crossed here, linking river landings to inland markets. The tiny business district formerly housed a tannery, tinsmith and carpenter.

Turn right on CR 28. Drive 0.4 mile to Wheeler Hill Rd.

9 OBERCREEK (R) (both sides of road), composed of parts of the VAIL AND WILLIS ESTATES (PVT), ca. 1855, is maintained as farm and open space by preservationist owners. Hughsonville to Wheeler Hill is a quick trip back in time past Federal era residences into farm and estate lands.

Bear left at the curve on Wheeler Hill Rd. Drive 0.6 mile to Old Troy Rd. Bear left at (I) Old Troy Rd. on Wheeler Hill Rd. Drive 0.4 mile to entrance to Carnwath Farms.

This lane was part of a network of trails leading to Farmers Landing, a commercial dock near the Wappingers Creek, begun by William Verplanck ca. 1740. Wheeler Hill Rd. curves left.

10 CARNWATH FARMS (R), the former Willis/Rives Estate, ca. 1850. The villa is set in an AJ Downing inspired landscape, enclosed by formal stone walls. Caution. Limited sight distance ahead.

Continue on Wheeler Hill Rd. for 0.6 mile to stop sign. Keep right.

The road rises sharply to the top of the Van Wyck Ridge where there are scenic vistas east and south.

Turn right at the bottom of Wheeler Hill on unmarked Old State Rd. Turn right on North River Rd., 200 feet farther. Drive 1.6 miles on North River Rd. to Bank St.

11 SCENIC RIVER VISTAS (R) near Chelsea open along the road that was part of the early network linking farms to river. The Aqueduct from the Catskills to NYC, a public works project completed ca. 1937, passes through here.

12 THE CHELSEA YACHT CLUB (R), founded 1870 by the Collyer family of yachtsmen and sloop captains, reflects the popularity of water and ice yachting. 19th c. river families lived in homes similar to the bracketed Victorian houses (L). Chelsea hamlet, named for the short-lived Chelsea Paper Mill, was first known as Carthage Landing or Low Point. Its history connects river commerce, recreation and the railroad that came through in 1850.

At the stop sign at Bank St., continue 0.2 mile straight ahead. Turn left at the 2nd Market St. sign. Drive 0.1 mile. Turn left on Liberty St. to view two NR buildings. Drive 0.1 mile to stop signs on Broadway Ave.

13 ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH (L), ca. 1866, exemplifies Upjohn inspired parish churches built from Gothic Revival pattern books. The brick CHELSEA FIRE DISTRICT and POST OFFICE (L) next-door were constructed in 1875 as a schoolhouse.

Turn right at stop sign on Broadway. Drive 1.3 miles to Rt. 9D.

The road from Chelsea passes through farmland. Northeast at the light is the Baxtertown area, where families of black freedmen lived.

Turn right at light on Rt. 9D. Drive 2.6 miles to Hudson View Park entrance.

Public lands line the road. On the (L) are scenic vistas of the Fishkill Range and Mt. Beacon, where folktales claim that Francis Rombout stood to outline his vast grant.

14 STONY KILL FARM ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER (R) is the former farm/estate of James Delancy Verplanck, descendant of Rombout patentee Gulian Verplanck. The Federal style MANOR HOUSE was built in 1843. Verplanck heirs held the manor intact from 1685 until 1942 when it was transferred to the State as a farm and environmental education center. Call 845/831-8780 for (?). The oldest structure at Stony Kill, WASHINGTON HOUSE (R), a stone Dutch farmhouse, is said to have housed troops during the American Revolution. Castle Point, a point on the river here, was chosen as the name for the Veteran’s Hospital built by the federal government in 1924. Its 479 beds were intended for disabled tubercular veterans from the Hudson Valley Region.

15 DUTCHESS STADIUM (L), is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades baseball team, the Class A minor league club of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Turn right at Hudson View Drive. Turn left 100 feet on Lamplight St., which becomes Sterling St. Continue through apartment complex to turnaround by house.

16 MOUNT GULIAN (R) (NR) (Marker). The Gulian Verplanck family homestead is a 1976 reconstruction of the original Dutch Colonial stone house built ca. 1730, damaged by fire in 1931. It was headquarters of Gen. von Steuben during the American Revolution and the birthplace of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of citizen-soldiers from Washington’s officer corps. Call 845/831-8172 for (?).

Turn around and return to stop sign at entrance of complex. Turn right on Rt. 9D. Drive 1.0 mile to Beekman St. on Rt. 9D.

17 HAMILTON FISH SR. NEWBURGH-BEACON BRIDGE (R) is a through cantilever truss and continuous truss design, 7855 feet in length. Opened as a single span by the NYS Bridge Authority in 1963, it was increased in capacity by a 2nd span in 1980.

18 SOUTHERN DUTCHESS COUNTRY CLUB (R) (I) with Verplanck Ave. The clubhouse has at its center “Stone Cot,” a Dutch farmhouse, built ca. 1740 by the Van Voorhis family. In the 19th c. it was owned by John Peter De Windt, who developed Fishkill Landing as a port. The club was founded 1902.

Continue on Rt. 9D. Turn right on Beekman St. Drive 0.6 mile to Dia: Beacon entrance.

HUDSON VALLEY PACK AND PADDLE, 845/831-1300, www.HvPackAndPaddle.com. Outdoor specialty shop featuring a great selection of kayaks, canoes, hiking & paddling equipment, guide books & maps. Kayak rentals, tours & instruction. Open all year.

19 SITE OF THE NEWBURGH-BEACON FERRY (R). Pre-bridge, upper and lower landings were busy ferrying points connecting New England with the Middle Atlantic states. A ferry charter was granted by King George II to Alexander Colden in 1743. Peter Bogardus’ ferry began in 1765. Seasonal row boats were superseded by 19th c. year-round passenger/freight vessels, capable of breaking ice. From the 18th c. when Mme. Brett’s Frankfort Storehouse opened, the riverbank has been devoted to commerce, and after 1850, railroading. Until the 1960s the area held a mix of industrial buildings, worker housing and 19th c. Victorian residences. Urban renewal replaced much in the ’80s with new housing and a park, the site of year-round Beacon Sloop Club activity at the dock and train station.

Scenic vistas of Newburgh Bay, first called Fishkill Bay, are visible from Spy Hill, a revolutionary lookout point. Breakneck Ridge and Storm King Mt., south, mark the Hudson Highlands.

20 DIA:BEACON (R). The Dia Art Foundation’s renowned collection opened in 2003. This 300,000 sq. ft. facility, an old paper factory, is home to art from the 1960’s to the present. Noted artists include Andy Warhol, Josephy Beuys, On Kawara, Agnes Martin and Richard Serra. Admission. Tours. Call 845/440-0100 for (?).

Continue on Beekman St. Drive 0.1 mile to stop sign. Bear right on Wolcott Ave. and drive 0.6 mile to Teller Ave.

21 MT. BEACON, visible ahead, is the 2nd highest peak in the Highlands. The steepest incline railway in the world, 2364 feet long, was installed there by Otis Elevator in 1901. It rose 1540 feet to a casino/hotel at the top and was a popular vacation area for two generations until fire and safety factors closed the line. The tracks are still visible. Hikers enjoy the trails here.

At Teller Ave. turn left, around traffic triangle. Drive 0.3 mile to Van Nydeck Ave.

The Tellers were prominent Dutch settlers who married into the Brett family in 1790.

Turn right on Van Nydeck Ave. at the sign for Madame Brett Homestead. Drive 0.2 mile to Tioranda Ave.

22 MADAME BRETT HOMESTEAD (NR) (R). The oldest house in the county (1709) is a unique frame Dutch vernacular farmhouse. The home of Catharyna and Roger Brett, pioneers in Southern Dutchess, it reflects family fortunes through 7 generations. Cared for by the Melzingah Chapter of the D.A.R. since 1954, it is operated as a house museum with collections of furnishings, clothing and documents. Tours. Call 845/831-6533 for (?).

Turn left on Tioranda Ave. Park here for Howland Cultural Center. Caution. Stop at (I). Turn (L), top of the hill onto Main St.

23 HOWLAND CULTURAL CENTER (NR) (L), designed in 1872 by Richard Morris Hunt as the Howland Circulating Library, was a community gift of General Joseph Howland. When the library moved to a modern facility on Main St. in 1978, the brick and stone Stick Chalet style structure was adapted as a cultural center. Tours. Call 845/831-4988 for (?).

Main St. shops typify late 19th/early 20th c. American commercial architecture. Techniques using steel framing made it possible to build multi-storied brick buildings. Cast iron decoration around windows and doors meant easy maintenance. An arts renaissance of galleries and antique stores has revitalized the area.

Drive 0.2 mile on Main St. to Teller Ave. Turn right past the firehouse at the light, on Teller Ave, which becomes Fishkill Ave. Fishkill Ave. becomes Rt. 52 at Tallix. Drive 4.4 miles through the Village of Fishkill, past I-84 to Rt 9.

Fishkill Ave., “the old road to Fishkill,” began as a path inland through Matteawan, Indian name for a good hunting and trapping area near the creek mouth. It connected inland farms and mills dependent upon the Fishkill for water power with river ports.

24 TALLIX INC. (R) opened in the former Green Fan plant ca. 1989 casting molds for large sculptural pieces for a world market. Modern statuary graces the front lawn. Known for casting da Vinci’s Il Cavallo, the FDR Memorial, Korean War Memorial, both in Washington, DC. Call 845/838-1111 for (?).

25 GROVEVILLE (R) (NR) is a rare remaining example of 19th c. mill housing near A.T. Stewart’s carpet factory, 1873. After the factory closed, other industry supported the community with small changes to its design.

26 FISHKILL HISTORIC DISTRICT (NR) from Jackson St. to Rapelje Rd. contains residential and commercial vernacular architecture of the 18th, 19th and 20th c. The 18th c. JOHANNES SWART HOUSE AND STORE (L), sold 1808 to Joseph Jackson, is the core of the Mid-Hudson Medical Group. A fire on Dec. 1, 1873 destroyed the central business district, including civic buildings and early records. The red brick, mansard-roofed, 2nd Empire style JORDAN LEIGH BUILDING (R), built 1857 as a bank, until recently was the town hall. Village offices and police department are housed in the renovated, brown-shingled Victorian VAN WYCK VILLAGE HALL (L), built a year before the village was established in 1899. The gift of Henry DuBois Van Wyck, who married an actress, the hall began as a theater.

27 FIRST REFORMED CHURCH, BURIAL GROUND (L) (NR) The church is the earliest house of worship in the county. The congregation, formed 1716, began building in 1725 with help from Catharyna Brett, whose body rests under the pulpit. During the Revolution the NY Provincial Congress met here as it formed a new government. The church became a Tory prison, where Enoch Crosby, the American secret agent who inspired Cooper’s, “The Spy,” was imprisoned. At war’s end ca. 1785, the devastated building was rebuilt and expanded. The steeple, dating from this era, is a village landmark.

Cross Rt. 9 and continue on Rt. 52 east. Drive 1.7 miles to (I) on Rt. 52. Stay in right lane.

28 TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH (R) (NR). The frame, Georgian style “English Church,” was built before the Revolution in 1769 by a congregation formed 1756. Good relations with the Reformed Dutch congregation helped its members through the war years when anything English was unpopular. The church was used briefly for meetings of the NY Provincial Congress in 1776 and for a military hospital during the war.

The “Old Road to Brinckerhoff and Wiccopee”, Rt. 52 led inland to 18th c. settlements on lands sold from the Rombout/Brett holdings. Brinckerhoff hamlet grew around a family store and mill nearby.

29 DERICK BRINCKERHOFF HOUSE (L). Built ca. 1719, the large white, 2nd Empire still owned by the same family, began as a modest cottage. During the Revolution, Lafayette recuperated from pneumonia here and was also headquarters for Gen. McDougall’s 1st New York Regiment.

Bear right on Rt. 52 at light at (I). Drive 2.4 miles to CR 31, Palen Rd.

30 NIMHAM MONUMENT, (center island) (L). Daniel Nimham, last Sachem of the Wappinger, was a friend of Catharyna Brett. He fought heroically in the American Revolution, was injured at the Battle of Cortland Ridge and died with his son in the Battle of Kingsbridge. It is thought they are buried in an unmarked soldiers cemetery near the Van Wyck/Wharton house, south of Fishkill Village.

The route passes over the meandering Fishkill and its tributaries frequently. Fishkill Hook Rd. (R) leads to the hamlet of Wiccopee, visible (R) from Rt. 52. Originally called Johnsville for its 1st Dutch settler, Johannes Swartwout, it was renamed for Indians who lived nearby. During the Revolution this area was “neutral,” unprotected by either side and plagued by raids of “cowboy” bandits.

31 HUDSON VALLEY RESEARCH PARK (R), the former East Fishkill IBM Semiconductor Plant, built 1963, was the world’s largest development and manufacturing plant of its type. Employing thousands, it changed the face of this community.

Turn left at light on CR 31, Palen Rd. Drive 1.5 miles to North Kensington Dr.

This road was named for a prominent local family of farmers and businessmen. Cole Palen founded the famed Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome museum of antique flying machines.

Turn left on North Kensington Dr. Drive 0.2 mile to Brinckerhoff/Pudney/Palen House.

32 BRINCKERHOFF/PUDNEY/PALEN HOUSE (L). This Dutch Colonial, gambrel-roofed house dates from the late 18th c. It is being restored by the East Fishkill Historical Society to reflect periods of its development. The house and a carriage house, donated by IBM from the demolished Van Wyck/Jay House, are used as a community resource.

Turn around at house. Return to Palen Rd. Turn left. Drive 0.9 mile to Rt. 82 and turn left on Rt. 82 over rail line at light (I). Drive 0.9 mile and turn right on CR 28 West, Old Hopewell Rd. Drive 1.2 miles to CR 94, All Angels Hill Rd. Turn right on CR 94, All Angels Hill Rd. Drive 2.5 miles to CR 93, Myers Corners Rd.

33 WHITE’S CORNER (R). The tree lined road to Hopewell leads past developed farmland to White’s Corner, known as Spanks Corners until 1934. The White farm (R) at the corner was originally the property of Peter DuBois, who in 1729 purchased the land from Gulian Verplanck. His early stone house is part of the present structure.

Across the Hudson Valley from All Angels Hill is one of the most breathtaking SCENIC VISTAS (L) of the Catskills in the county.

34 WWII MEMORIAL (L), at Myers Corners, was sculpted by Richard Masloski, cast in Beacon’s Tallix Foundry and dedicated in 1993. Local farmer John Myers gave the 4 corners its name in the 19th c.

Turn right on CR 93, Myers Corners Rd.

Tucked away in the trees along the route are several 19th c. farmhouses.

Drive 1.4 miles to Rt. 376. Turn right on Rt. 376 (sign past the turn).

35 STRINGHAM MILL (L). William Verplanck chose this as the site on the Sprout Creek for a flour mill ca. 1730. The mill, in ruins by 1900, was in Fishkill before town boundary changes placed it in Wappinger.

Fishkill Plains is a 19th c. farm hamlet.

Drive 1.2 miles to (I) with CR 29, bear right on Rt. 376 at the light.

VAN WYCK JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL is on the (L).

36 DOGWOOD KNOLLS GOLF COURSE (L), est. 1937, is a scenic championship 9-hole course, set among low hills. Call 845/226-7317 for (?).

Drive 2.1 miles to Rt. 82. Turn right at light on Rt. 82. Drive 4.3 miles to Rt. 52.

37 HOPEWELL JUNCTION (R). Although settled a c. earlier, Hopewell Junction experienced major growth with the coming of the Central New England & Newburgh and Dutchess & Connecticut Railroads, which made it a major freight junction. The road turns quickly through a series of busy intersections that a generation ago crossed rail lines whose tracks have been removed. Now a commercial center for the surrounding suburbs, it retains architectural traces of its earlier past.

Bear right on Rt. 52. Drive 1.7 miles to Rt. 9. Turn left on Rt. 9. Drive 1.1 miles to Snook Rd. Turn left on Snook Rd. to entrance of Van Wyck Homestead.

HAMPTON INN - FISHKILL, www.hamptoninnfishkill.com, 845/896-4000. Hampton Inn located at Rt. 84 and Rt. 9 North. Providing guests a free hot breakfast, heated indoor pool, high speed Internet access, and friendly personal service.

Ramada INN, www.ramada.com, 845/896-4995. We honor AAA and AARP discounts. Complimentary continental breakfast. In room microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, and hair dryers. Free wireless Internet access.

38 VAN WYCK HOMESTEAD (L). The home of Cornelius Van Wyck, built ca. 1730, was the site of drama during the American Revolution. As the headquarters of Gen. Putnam and the center of a major encampment and supply depot for the north, its walls sheltered Jay, Hamilton, Washington, Von Steuben and Lafayette. It was also the site of the mock trial of Enoch Crosby, immortalized in James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Spy.” Operated by the Fishkill Historical Society. Tours. Call 845/896-9560 for (?).

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