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Dutchess County
Walkway over the Hudson with the City of Poughkeepsie in the background and the Hudson River in the foreground.
Walkway over the Hudson with the City of Poughkeepsie in the background and the Hudson River in the foreground.
Flag of Dutchess County
Flag
Official seal of Dutchess County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Dutchess County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  New York
Founded November 1, 1683; 341 years ago (1683-11-01)
Named for Mary of Modena, Duchess of York
Seat Poughkeepsie
Largest city Poughkeepsie
Area
 • Total 825 sq mi (2,140 km2)
 • Land 796 sq mi (2,060 km2)
 • Water 30 sq mi (80 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 295,911
 • Estimate 
(2021)
297,112
 • Density 358.68/sq mi (138.49/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code 845, 518, 838
Congressional districts 17th, 18th

Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organized in 1713. The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.

Dutchess County is part of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which belongs to the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

History

Harlem Valley view from Appalachian Trail, Pawling, NY
View of Harlem Valley from Appalachian Trail in Pawling

Before Anglo-Dutch settlement, what is today Dutchess County was a leading center for the indigenous Wappinger peoples. They had their council-fire at what is now Fishkill Hook, and had settlements throughout the area.

On November 1, 1683, the Province of New York established its first twelve counties, including Dutchess. Its boundaries at that time included the present Putnam County, and a small portion of the present Columbia County (the towns of Clermont and Germantown). The county was named for Mary of Modena, Duchess of York; dutchess is an archaic spelling of the word duchess.

LowsCTmap
A 1799 map of Connecticut which shows The Oblong (Low's Encyclopaedia)

The Province of New York and the Connecticut Colony negotiated an agreement on November 28, 1683, establishing their border as 20 miles (32 km) east of the Hudson River, north to Massachusetts. The 61,660 acres (249.5 km2) east of the Byram River making up the Connecticut Panhandle were granted to Connecticut, in recognition of the wishes of the residents. In exchange, Rye was granted to New York, along with a 1.81-mile (2.91 km) wide strip of land running north from Ridgefield to Massachusetts alongside the New York counties of Westchester, Putnam then Dutchess, known as "The Oblong". The eastern half of the stub of land in northeast Dutchess County containing Rudd Pond and Taconic State Park is the northernmost extension of The Oblong.

Until 1713, Dutchess was administered by Ulster County. On October 23, 1713, Queen Anne gave permission for Dutchess County to elect its own officers from among their own population, including a supervisor, tax collector, tax assessor and treasurer. In 2013, Dutchess County celebrated its 300th anniversary of democracy based upon a legislative resolution sponsored by County Legislator Michael Kelsey from Salt Point. In 1812, Putnam County was detached from Dutchess.

The Patents

Map of Philipse Patent (showing the Oblong and Gore)
Map of Philipse Patent (showing the Oblong and Gore)

Fourteen royal land patents were granted between 1685 and 1706 covering the entirety of the original footprint of Dutchess County (which until 1812 included today's Putnam County).

The first ten, granted between 1685 and 1697, covered almost all of Hudson River shoreline in the original county, with three - Rombouts, the Great Nine Partners, and Philipse Patents - extending significantly inland. The eleventh, and smallest, Cuyler, 1697, was the first to contain solely inland territory, just in from the Hudson. The twelfth, and next smallest, Fauconnier, in 1705, completed the Hudson River shoreline. The last two, Beekman, 1705, and the Little Nine Partners, 1706, laid claim to the remaining interior lands.

  1. 1685 Rombout (Beacon/Fishkill Area)
  2. 1686 Minnisinck (Sanders & Harmense)
  3. 1686 Kip
  4. 1688 Schuyler (Poughkeepsie)
  5. 1688 Schuyler (Red Hook)
  6. 1688 Ærtsen-Roosa-Elton
  7. 1696 Pawling-Staats
  8. 1697 Rhinebeck
  9. 1697 (Great) Nine Partners
  10. 1697 Philipse
  11. 1697 Cuyler
  12. 1705 Fauconnier
  13. 1705 Beekman (Back Lots)
  14. 1706 (Little) Nine Partners

Early settlement

From 1683 to 1715, most of the settlers in Dutchess County were Dutch. Many of these moved in from Albany and Ulster counties. They settled along the Fishkill Creek and in the areas that are now Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck.

From 1715 to 1730, most of the new settlers in Dutchess county were Germans. From 1730 until 1775, New Englanders were the primary new settlers in Dutchess County. Coles Mills was settled by Elisha Cole from Cape Cod in 1747 at the outlet of Barrett Pond into the West Branch of the Croton River.

20th century

Franklin D. Roosevelt lived in his family home in Hyde Park, overlooking the Hudson River. His family's home is now the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service.

Prior to the 1960s, Dutchess County was primarily agricultural. Since then the southwestern part (from Poughkeepsie southward and from the Taconic State Parkway westward) of the county has developed into a largely residential area, suburban in character, with many of its residents commuting to jobs in New York City and Westchester County. The northern and eastern regions of the county remain rural with large farmlands but at the same time developed residences used during the summer and or on weekends by people living in the New York City urban area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 825 square miles (2,140 km2), of which 796 square miles (2,060 km2) is land and 30 square miles (78 km2) (3.6%) is water.

Dutchess County is located in southeastern New York State, between the Hudson River on its west and the New YorkConnecticut border on its east, about halfway between the cities of Albany and New York City. It contains two cities: Beacon and Poughkeepsie. Depending on precise location within the county, road travel distance to New York City ranges between 58 and 110 miles (93 and 177 km).

The terrain of the county is mostly hilly, especially in the Hudson Highlands in the southwestern corner and the Taconic Mountains to the northeast. Some areas nearer the river are flatter.

Brace Mountain summit cairn
Summit of Brace Mountain, the highest point in Dutchess County

The highest point in the county is the summit of Brace Mountain, in the Taconics, at 2,311 feet (704 m) above sea level. The lowest point is sea level, along the Hudson River. The highest point of neighboring Fairfield County, Connecticut, is a 1,290-foot (390 m) point along the state line in Pawling.

Wappinger Creek, at 41.7 mi (67.1 km) from its source at Thompson Pond in Pine Plains to where it drains into the Hudson at New Hamburg, is the longest stream in the county. Its 211-square-mile (550 km2) watershed is likewise the largest in the county. To its south is the 193-square-mile (500 km2) watershed of Dutchess County's second-longest stream, 33.5 mi (53.9 km) Fishkill Creek, part of which spills over into Putnam County. Within that watershed are the county's third-longest stream, Sprout Creek, and its largest, deepest and highest lakes: Whaley (252 acres (102 ha)), in the town of Pawling; Sylvan (143 ft (44 m)) in the town of Beekman and Beacon Reservoir, in the town of Fishkill, at 1,285 ft (392 m) respectively.

Other, smaller tributaries of the Hudson such as the Saw Kill drain the northwestern portion of the county. The southeastern fringe of Dutchess is part of the upper Croton River watershed and thus part of the New York City water supply system. On the east, in the Oblong, streams drain into the Housatonic River in adjacent Connecticut.

A border nearly one-half mile (800 m) long exists with Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in the extreme northern end of the county.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

State, county, and town parks

Privately protected open space

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1790 45,276
1800 47,775 5.5%
1810 51,363 7.5%
1820 46,615 −9.2%
1830 50,926 9.2%
1840 52,398 2.9%
1850 58,992 12.6%
1860 64,941 10.1%
1870 74,041 14.0%
1880 79,184 6.9%
1890 77,879 −1.6%
1900 81,670 4.9%
1910 87,661 7.3%
1920 91,747 4.7%
1930 105,462 14.9%
1940 120,542 14.3%
1950 136,781 13.5%
1960 176,008 28.7%
1970 222,295 26.3%
1980 245,055 10.2%
1990 259,462 5.9%
2000 280,150 8.0%
2010 297,488 6.2%
2020 295,911 −0.5%
2021 (est.) 297,112 −0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2020

2020 census

Dutchess County Racial Composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (NH) 198,495 67.1%
Black or African American (NH) 30,126 10.2%
Native American (NH) 387 0.13%
Asian (NH) 10,635 3.6%
Pacific Islander (NH) 67 0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH) 13,977 4.72%
Hispanic or Latino 42,224 14.7%

Racial demographics

As of 2017, the residents of Dutchess County were reported as the following: American Indian and Alaska Native (0.04%), Asian (4%), Black or African American (8.5%), Hispanic or Latino (12.5%), Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (0.016%), Some Other Race (0.35%), Two or More Races (3%), White (71%).

Dutchess County Racial Demographics Chart
Dutchess County Racial Demographics Chart

Communities

N.B.: Cities, Towns and Villages are official political designations.

Cities

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Hamlets

Education

Public school districts

  • Arlington Central School District
  • Beacon City School District
  • Dover Union Free School District
  • Hyde Park Central School District
  • Millbrook Central School District
  • Pawling Central School District
  • Pine Plains Central School District
  • Poughkeepsie City School District
  • Red Hook Central School District
  • Rhinebeck Central School District
  • Spackenkill Union Free School District
  • Wappingers Central School District
  • Webutuck Central School District
  • Dutchess County BOCES

Private schools

  • Dutchess Day School
  • Hawk Meadow Montessori School
  • Holy Trinity School
  • Millbrook School
  • Oakwood Friends School
  • Our Lady of Lourdes High School
  • Poughkeepsie Day School
  • Randolph School
  • St. Denis-St. Columba School
  • St. Martin de Porres School
  • St. Mary School - Fishkill
  • Trinity-Pawling School
  • Tabernacle Christian Academy
  • Upton Lake Christian School

Higher education

Transportation

Roads

Taconic State Parkway view at Miller Hill Road exit, East Fishkill, NY
The Taconic Parkway in southern Dutchess County
  • Interstate 84 traverses the county in an east–west route cutting through the southwestern quadrant of the county before entering Putnam County. It is the only interstate highway in the county.
  • US 9, the Taconic State Parkway (the only other limited-access road in the county besides I-84, although it still has some at-grade intersections), and NY 22 are the main north–south roads in the county. For much of its length the Taconic is paralleled by NY 82. NY 9G leaves US 9 in Poughkeepsie and parallels it north to the Columbia County line.
  • US 44, NY 52, NY 55, and NY 199 are the other primary east–west roads in the county. NY 52 enters the county concurrent with I-84, leaves it at Fishkill but then follows it into Putnam County.

Crossings

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge 2
Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

Three spans cross the Hudson River, linking Dutchess with Orange, Ulster, and Greene Counties:

  • The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge carries Interstate 84 and NY 52 between Fishkill/Beacon and Newburgh (Orange County). The westbound span opened in 1963 and the eastbound span opened in 1980.
  • The Mid-Hudson Bridge carries US 44 and NY 55 between Poughkeepsie and Highland (Town of Lloyd, Ulster County)
  • The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge carries NY 199 between Rhinebeck and Kingston (Ulster County)

Railroads

Harlem Valley-Wingdale station from grade crossing
Harlem Valley-Wingdale station, along Harlem line

The Metro-North railroad provides a critical link to New York City for Dutchess County's commuting population. The Hudson Line and Amtrak run concurrently along the Hudson River, on the western edge of the county. The Hudson Line has stops at Breakneck Ridge, Beacon, and New Hamburg (a hamlet of the town of Poughkeepsie) before the Hudson Line terminates at Poughkeepsie. The tracks continue north of that point as Amtrak, with Poughkeepsie and Rhinecliff (a small hamlet in the Town of Rhinebeck) being stops along Amtrak's Empire Service.

The Harlem Line, on the eastern side of the county, has station stops in Pawling, along the Appalachian Trail, Wingdale, Dover Plains, and two stops in Wassaic (one along the Tenmile River and the other the namesake terminus of that line).

Buses and ferries

Dutchess LOOP Orion 210
LOOP bus in Poughkeepsie

Public transportation in Dutchess County is handled by Dutchess County Public Transit, commonly called "the LOOP." Outside of the urbanized area of the county, most service is limited. Privately run lines connect Poughkeepsie to New Paltz and Beacon to Newburgh. Leprechaun Lines and Short Line Bus also operate some service through Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, and the southern part of the county.

NY Waterway operates the Newburgh–Beacon Ferry, which is located at the Beacon train station.

Air

General aviation facilities are located at Hudson Valley Regional Airport (formerly Dutchess County Airport), located in Wappinger and Sky Park Airport in Red Hook, New York. General commercial passenger service is provided by New York Stewart International Airport, which is located across the Hudson River in Newburgh.

Mid-Hudson Bridge night NY1
The Mid-Hudson Bridge, a major bridge in Poughkeepsie

Culture

Fun at the Dutchess County Fair August 21, 2012
The Dutchess County Fair is an annual event

Dutchess County holds an annual county fair. The County Chamber of Commerce holds an annual hot air balloon launch typically in the first week of July. The main launch sites are along the Hudson River. As many as 20 balloons participate in the event.

The Dutchess County Historical Society was formed in 1914 and is active in the preservation of a large collection at the 18th century Clinton House. The Society has published a yearbook since 1914 and presents up to four awards of merit in the field of Dutchess County history each year.

Media

Dutchess County has no locally based television stations. Its only news radio format station is WKIP (AM) of Poughkeepsie. WRHV is an NPR affiliated broadcasting out of Poughkeepsie. The country music format station, WRWB-FM, broadcasting across the Hudson River, can be reached in much of the county.

Poughkeepsie Journal is published in that city. Vassar Miscellany News, associated with Vassar College, is published weekly. Also published in the county is the Beacon Free Press/Southern Dutchess News.

Sports

The Hudson Valley Renegades are a minor league baseball team affiliated with the New York Yankees. The team is a member of the High-A East, play at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill and have been located in Dutchess County since 1994.

Previous professional sports teams include the Hudson Valley Bears (2008-2009) which played hockey, and the Hudson Valley Hawks which played in the former National Professional Basketball League.

See also

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