Dutchess County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is the city of

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organized in 1713. It is located in the Mid-Hudson Region of the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

, north of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Dutchess County is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown 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

Before Anglo-

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

settlement, what is today Dutchess County was a leading center for the indigenous

Wappinger The Wappinger () were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutches ...

peoples. They had their council-fire at what is now

Fishkill Hook East Fishkill is a town on the southern border of Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 29,707 at the 2020 census. The town was once the eastern portion of the town of Fishkill. Hudson Valley Research Park is located in t ...

, and had settlements throughout the area. On November 1, 1683, the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

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; ' is an archaic spelling of the word ''

duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

''.

The Province of New York and the Connecticut Colony negotiated an agreement on November 28, 1683, establishing their border as east of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, north to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The east of the

Byram River The Byram River is a river approximately in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in southeast New York and southwestern Connecticut in the United State ...

making up the

Connecticut Panhandle The Connecticut panhandle is the southwestern appendage of Connecticut, where it abuts New York State. It is contained entirely in Fairfield County and includes all of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien, as well as parts of Norwalk ...

were granted to Connecticut, in recognition of the wishes of the residents. In exchange, Rye was granted to New York, along with a 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 Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

. 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)

Fourteen royal

land patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

s 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

shoreline in the original county, with three -

Rombouts Rombouts is a surname of Flemish-Dutch origin, meaning "son of Rombout". People with this name include * Adriaen Rombouts (c. 1640 – in or after 1670), Flemish genre painter active in Brussels * Cataryna Rombouts Brett (1687–1764), New York ...

, the Great Nine Partners, and

Philipse Patent The Philipse Patent was a British royal patent for a large tract of land on the east bank of the Hudson River about 50 miles north of New York City. It was purchased in 1697 by Adolphus Philipse, a wealthy landowner of Dutch descent in the Provi ...

s - 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. # 1685 Rombout (Beacon/Fishkill Area) # 1686 Minnisinck (Sanders & Harmense) # 1686 Kip # 1688

Schuyler Schuyler may refer to: Places United States * Schuyler County, Illinois * Schuyler County, Missouri * Schuyler, Nebraska, a city * Schuyler County, New York * Schuyler, New York, a town * Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York * Schuyler C ...

(Poughkeepsie) # 1688

(Red Hook) # 1688 Ærtsen-Roosa-Elton # 1696 Pawling-Staats # 1697 Rhinebeck # 1697 (Great) Nine Partners # 1697 Philipse # 1697 Cuyler # 1705 Fauconnier # 1705 Beekman (Back Lots) # 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 Fishkill Creek (also Fish Kill, from the Dutch ''vis kille'', for "fish creek") is a tributary of the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. At U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataT ...

and in the areas that are now

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.

20th century

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

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 The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, New York. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. T ...

, managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. Prior to the 1960s, Dutchess County was primarily agricultural. Since then the southwestern part (from Poughkeepsie southward and from the

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP and known administratively as New York State Route 987G or NY 987G) is a parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows ...

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 United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.6%) is water. Dutchess County is located in southeastern New York State, between the

on its west and the New York–

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

border on its east, about halfway between the cities of Albany and New York City. It contains two cities:

Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

and

. Depending on precise location within the county, road travel distance to New York City ranges between and . The terrain of the county is mostly hilly, especially in the

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York state lying primarily in Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County on its west. They continue somewhat to the south in Westchester County and Rockland Count ...

in the southwestern corner and the

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...

to the northeast. Some areas nearer the river are flatter. Brace Mountain summit cairn

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 point along the state line in Pawling.

Wappinger Creek Wappinger Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 creek which runs from Thompson Pond to the Hudson River at New Hamburg in Dutchess County, New York, ...

, at from its source at

Thompson Pond Thompson Pond in Pine Plains, New York is a 15,000-year-old glacial kettle pond at the foot of Stissing Mountain. It is the source of Wappinger Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River that drains much of Dutchess County. The pond and mountai ...

in Pine Plains to where it drains into the Hudson at New Hamburg, is the longest stream in the county. Its watershed is likewise the largest in the county. To its south is the watershed of Dutchess County's second-longest stream,

, 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 Whaley is a small village in Derbyshire, England, located one mile from Whaley Thorns, 1½ miles from Elmton, 1½ miles from Langwith and 2½ miles from Bolsover. The village has a garage and a former watermill, now a home, of which the lar ...

(), in the town of Pawling;

Sylvan Sylvan or Sylvans (from the Latin ''silva'': "forest, woods") may refer to: Places United States * Sylvan, Illinois, a former settlement * Sylvan, Wisconsin, a town ** Sylvan (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated area in the town * Sylvan ...

() in the town of Beekman and

Beacon Reservoir Beacon Reservoir supplies water to the city of Beacon, in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is located at 1,285 feet (392 m) above sea level in a hollow between Beacon Mountain and Scofield Ridge, in the neighboring Town of Fishkill, ...

, in the town of Fishkill, at 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 A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems ( Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most exte ...

. 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

* Columbia County – north * Berkshire County, Massachusetts – northeast *

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

– east *

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...

– southeast * Putnam County – south *

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

– southwest *

– west

National protected areas

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

, crosses county from Putnam County line in East Fishkill to Connecticut state line near Wingdale; corridor is partly on federally protected land. *

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site was established by the U.S. Congress to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt. Once part of the larger Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York, today the property includes th ...

Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, one of six discontiguous parcels in Dover *

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is a historic house museum in Hyde Park, New York. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1940. It is owned and operated by the National Park Service. The property, historically known as Hyde Park, wa ...

State, county, and town parks

* Bowdoin County Park * Fahnestock State Park (shared with Putnam County) *

Hudson Highlands State Park Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in ...

(shared with Putnam and Westchester counties) * Stratt Town Park * Wilcox County Park * Tymor Forest * Taconic State Park * Beekman Rec * East Fishkill Rec *

James Baird State Park James Baird State Park is a state park in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The park is located in the northern part of the Town of LaGrange, east of City of Poughkeepsie. History The park is named after James Baird (engineer and ...

Poughkeepsie Bridge The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York ...

(Walkway over the Hudson) * Dover Stone Church *

Carnwath Farms Historic Site & Park Carnwath Farms Historic Site & Park is a 99.7 acre estate turned town park in the Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York, United States. The park includes the 1850 Carnwath Manor, an 1873 carriage house, a 1927 cottage, Frances Reese Cultu ...

* Roosevelt Farm Lane * Stony Kill Farm *

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

– Norrie State Park * Staatsburgh State Historic Site * Tivoli Bays Unique Area

Privately protected open space

* Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum * Ferncliff Forest *

Innisfree Garden Innisfree Garden is an American nonprofit public garden influenced by Chinese style in Millbrook, New York. The garden was established between 1930 and 1960 as the private garden of Walter and Marion Beck, inspired by scroll paintings of t ...

Pawling Nature Preserve The Pawling Nature Reserve is located in the northern section of the Town of Pawling, New York, United States. It is a area located along the top of Hammersby Ridge, near Quaker Lake owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Acquired in 1958 ...

* Poets' Walk Park *

and neighboring Stissing Mountain

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 280,150 people, 99,536 households, and 69,177 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 106,103 housing units at an average density of 132 per square mile (51/km²). 22.0% of the population was of Italian, 16.9% Irish, 11.3% German and 6.7% English ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. 88.3% spoke English and 4.8% spoke Spanish. Based on the Census Ancestry tallies, including people who listed more than one ancestry, Italians were the largest group in Dutchess County with 60,645. Irish came in a very close second at 59,991. In third place were the 44,915 Germans who barely exceeded the 44,078 people not in the 105 specifically delineated ancestry groups. There were 99,536 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16. As of Q4 2021, the median home value in Dutchess County was $365,199, an increase of 13.8% from the prior year. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 25.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $53,086, and the median income for a family was $63,254. Males had a median income of $45,576 versus $30,706 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $23,940. About 5.0% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over. The decrease in population between 1810 and 1820 was due to the separation of Putnam County from Dutchess in 1812.

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

Government

Dutchess County has a Charter Government with a County Executive and directly elected legislature of 25 members, each elected from a single member district. The Charter form of Government went in to effect in 1968 given the favorable outcome of a 1967 special election dedicated to the question. From 1713 until 1967, the County Government had been managed by a Board of Supervisors, made up of the locally elected leaders.

Elections

The composition of the County Legislature is 16 Republicans, 8 Democrats and 1 Conservative for the 2021–2023 term. County elections occur in odd-numbered years. Historically, Dutchess County, like most of the lower Hudson, was classic "Yankee

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

" territory. Between 1884 and 2004, the Republican presidential candidate carried Dutchess County in 28 out of 30 elections (1964 and 1996 being exceptions). As a measure of how Republican the county was during this time, Hyde Park resident Franklin D. Roosevelt lost Dutchess County (but won New York) during his four successful bids for president. The Republican edge narrowed significantly in the 1990s, with George H. W. Bush going from 61 percent of the county's vote in 1988 to only 40.5 percent in 1992, although that likely was affected by the presence of Ross Perot on the ballot as a third-party candidate. In 2008,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

became only the third

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to carry the county since 1884, and the first to win a majority since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. It has gone for the Democratic candidate in four consecutive elections (2008, 2012, 2016, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

). Dutchess County is split between two congressional districts. The more populated southern portion is in the 18th district, represented by Democrat

Sean Patrick Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from from 2013 to 2023. The district includes Newburgh, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. A member of the Democratic Party, Malone ...

. The northern portion is in the 19th district, represented by Democrat Pat Ryan. These are considered "swing" districts nationally, with

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

ratings of R+1 and R+2, respectively, as of 2019.

Law enforcement

The Cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie; Towns of Fishkill, Hyde Park, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and East Fishkill; and Villages of Millerton, Wappingers Falls, Millbrook, have their own

Police departments The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

. The remainder of the county is patrolled by the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The Stat ...

. The New York State Police Troop K headquarters is located in Millbrook.

Communities

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

Cities

(county seat)

Towns

* Amenia * Beekman * Clinton * Dover *

East Fishkill East Fishkill is a Town (New York), town on the southern border of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 29,707 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town was once the ...

* Fishkill * Hyde Park * La Grange *

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

* North East * Pawling * Pine Plains * Pleasant Valley *

* Red Hook * Rhinebeck * Stanford * Union Vale *

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Villages

* Fishkill * Millbrook * Millerton * Pawling * Red Hook * Rhinebeck * Tivoli *

Wappingers Falls Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the tow ...

Census-designated places

* Amenia * Arlington *

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

* Barrytown * Brinckerhoff * Chelsea Cove * Crown Heights * Dover Plains * Fairview * Freedom Plains * Haviland * Hillside Lake * Hopewell Junction * Hyde Park * MacDonnell Heights *

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

* Merritt Park * Myers Corner * New Hackensack * New Hamburg * Pine Plains * Pleasant Valley * Red Oaks Mill * Rhinecliff * Salt Point * Shorehaven * Spackenkill * Staatsburg * Titusville * Upper Red Hook *

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

* Wassaic * Wingdale

Hamlets

* Annandale-on-Hudson * Arthursburg * Attlebury * Bangall * Barnegat *

Castle Point Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, east of central London. The borough comprises the towns and villages of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley. The borough council is situated ...

* De Witt Mills * Fishkill Plains * Glenham * Gretna *

Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Uni ...

* Hopewell Junction * Hortontown * Hughsonville * Johnsontown * Knapps Corner * Lithgow * Lomala * Mabbettsville * McIntyre * Millbrook * Norrie Heights * Pecksville * Pleasant Plains * Poughquag * Quaker Hill * Rudco * Shenandoah *

Shekomeko Shekomeko (41°55'41"N 73°35'58"W) was a historic hamlet in the southwestern part of the town of North East, New York, United States) in present-day Dutchess County. It was a village of the Mahican people. They lived by a stream which Anglo-Ame ...

* Staatsburg * Stanfordville * Stissing * Stormville * Swartwoutville * Van Keurens * Verbank *

Wiccopee East Fishkill is a town on the southern border of Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 29,707 at the 2020 census. The town was once the eastern portion of the town of Fishkill. Hudson Valley Research Park is located in ...

* Willow Brook

Education

Public school districts

* Arlington Central School District * Beacon City School District * Dover Union Free School District *

Hyde Park Central School District Hyde or Hydes may refer to: People * Hyde (surname) *Hyde (musician), Japanese musician from the bands L'Arc-en-Ciel and VAMPS American statutes *Hyde Amendment, an amendment that places well-defined limitations on Medicare spending on abort ...

* Millbrook Central School District * Pawling Central School District *

Pine Plains Central School District A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

Poughkeepsie City School District Poughkeepsie City School District is located in Dutchess County, New York State. Approximately 75 miles north of New York City, the school district is situated on the banks of the Hudson River in an area known as the Mid Hudson Valley. The di ...

Red Hook Central School District Red Hook Central School District is a school district in New York State. Most of the district is in Dutchess County, where it includes most of the town of Red Hook and portions of the towns of Milan and Rhinebeck. The village of Tivoli is in the ...

* Rhinebeck Central School District *

Spackenkill Union Free School District The Spackenkill Union Free School District, also known as Spackenkill School District, is a New York school district in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. The Spackenkill UFSD has 4 schools and has about 1,500 students district wide. The curre ...

* Wappingers Central School District * Webutuck Central School District * Dutchess County BOCES

Private schools

* Dutchess Day School *

Hawk Meadow Montessori School Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...

* Holy Trinity School *

Millbrook School Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory boarding school located in Stanford, New York, United States. History Millbrook School was founded in 1931 by Edward Pulling. Pulling was a graduate of both Princeton University and Cam ...

Oakwood Friends School Oakwood Friends School is a college preparatory school located at 22 Spackenkill Road in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. With roots going back to Nine Partners Boarding School, founded in 1796, it is the oldest co-educational boarding and d ...

Our Lady of Lourdes High School Our Lady of Lourdes High School is an American private Roman Catholic school, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, in Dutchess County. The school received accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in May 2004. In ...

Poughkeepsie Day School Poughkeepsie Day School is an independent, progressive, coeducational school in the mid-Hudson Valley serving students from a broad region of New York and Connecticut from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. History Founded in 1934, it was origi ...

* Randolph School * St. Denis-St. Columba School * St. Martin de Porres School * St. Mary School - Fishkill *

Trinity-Pawling School Trinity-Pawling School, founded in 1907, is an independent college and preparatory boarding school for boys from 7th grade to 12th grade. The 230 acre campus is situated in Pawling, New York, a small hamlet in southern Dutchess County. It is lo ...

* Tabernacle Christian Academy * Upton Lake Christian School

Higher education

( Annandale-on-Hudson) *

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

main campus ( Hyde Park) *

Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College (SUNY Dutchess, Dutchess, or DCC) is a public community college in Dutchess County, New York. It is one of 30 community colleges within the State University of New York system (SUNY). The main campus covers . DCC also ...

(

) *

(

) *

(

)

Transportation

Roads

* 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 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betwe ...

, the

(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 New York State Route 52 (NY 52) is a state highway in the southeastern part of the state. It generally runs from west to east through five counties, beginning at the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line in the Delawa ...

NY 55 New York State Route 55 (NY 55) is a east-west state highway in southern New York, running from the Pennsylvania state line at the Delaware River in Barryville to the Connecticut state line at Wingdale. It is the only other state ...

, and NY 199 are the other primary east–west roads in the county.

enters the county concurrent with I-84, leaves it at Fishkill but then follows it into Putnam County.

Crossings

Three spans cross the Hudson River, linking Dutchess with

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, 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 The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge is a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. History Proposals for the Mid-Hudson span were made ...

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

The

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

railroad provides a critical link to New York City for Dutchess County's commuting population. The Hudson Line and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

run concurrently along the Hudson River, on the western edge of the county. The Hudson Line has stops at

Breakneck Ridge Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York, straddling the boundary between Dutchess and Putnam counties. Its distinctive rocky cliffs are visible for a long distance when approached from the ...

, and New Hamburg (a hamlet of the town of Poughkeepsie) before the Hudson Line terminates at

. 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 ''Empire Service'' is an Inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service ...

. The

Harlem Line The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Sou ...

, on the eastern side of the county, has station stops in Pawling, along the

, 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

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 New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...

and Beacon to Newburgh. Leprechaun Lines and

Short Line Bus Short Line is a brand name for three different Coach USA companies, Hudson Transit Lines, Hudson Transit Corporation, and Chenango Valley Bus Lines that provide local, commuter and intercity bus service in lower New York State, primarily alon ...

also operate some service through Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, and the southern part of the county.

NY Waterway NY Waterway (or New York Waterway) is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Port ...

operates the

Newburgh–Beacon Ferry The Newburgh–Beacon Ferry is a ferry service crossing the Hudson River that connects Newburgh with Beacon, New York. It carries passengers between the two cities during rush hour, primarily transporting commuters from the west side of the rive ...

, which is located at the Beacon train station.

Air

General aviation facilities are located at

Hudson Valley Regional Airport Hudson Valley Regional Airport , formerly known as Dutchess County Airport, is a county-owned public-use airport located on State Route 376 in the Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York, United States, four miles (6 km) south of the ce ...

(formerly Dutchess County Airport), located in

and Sky Park Airport in

Red Hook, New York Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 9,953 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 11,319 in 2010. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the Huds ...

. General commercial passenger service is provided by

New York Stewart International Airport Stewart International Airport, officially New York Stewart International Airport , is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh (city), New York, Newburgh, south of ...

, which is located across the Hudson River in Newburgh. Mid-Hudson Bridge night NY1

Culture

Fun at the Dutchess County Fair August 21, 2012

Dutchess County holds an annual

county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

. 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 Dutchess County Historical Society, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, was formed in Pleasant Valley, New York May 26, 1914 and received its Charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1918. Its mission is to discover, ...

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) WKIP (1450 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts at 1,000 watts from a two-tower array adjacent to its radio studios in the Arlington section of the Town of Pou ...

of Poughkeepsie.

WRHV WRHV (88.7 FM) is a classical music-formatted radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by WMHT Educational Telecommunications and is a satellite of Schenectady's W ...

is an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

affiliated broadcasting out of Poughkeepsie. The

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format station,

WRWB-FM WRWB-FM (99.3 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Ellenville, New York and serving an area including much of the Hudson Valley and the eastern parts of the Catskills. WRWB-FM is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts with 115 watts effective ...

, broadcasting across the Hudson River, can be reached in much of the county. ''

Poughkeepsie Journal The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York, and owned by Gannett, which bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the ''Journal'' is the oldest paper in New York state, a ...

'' 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.''

Health

The county is home to Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck. MidHudson Regional Hospital (formerly St. Francis) and Vassar Brothers Medical Center are both in Poughkeepsie. The Castle Point

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationa ...

is in Wappinger. On March 11, 2020, the county's first case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

was confirmed. As of June 2021, there had been 29,483 cases and 445 deaths. There are under 100 active cases and 56.8% of residents received at least one vaccine dose.

Sports

The

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

are a minor league baseball team affiliated with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. The team is a member of the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, and play at

Dutchess Stadium Dutchess Stadium is a baseball park in Wappingers Falls, New York. Opened in 1994, it holds 4,500 people. It is located on New York State Route 9D and is located across Interstate 84 from Fishkill Correctional Facility. Construction of the stadi ...

in Fishkill. The Hudson Valley Bears were one of four founding members of the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL). They played their home games at the

Mid-Hudson Civic Center Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center (formerly the Mid-Hudson Civic Center) is a venue located in Poughkeepsie, New York, consisting of Mair Hall (a concert and convention hall) and the McCann Ice Arena (an ice skating venue). It was built in th ...

in Poughkeepsie. The Hudson Valley Hawks was a team in the former National Professional Basketball League. The team's home court was at Beacon High School, in

Notes

References

External links

Dutchess County official webpage

* {{Authority control Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area Counties in the New York metropolitan area 1713 establishments in the Province of New York Populated places established in 1713