DUTCHESS COUNTY 



This county lies in the southeastern part of the state, the state 

 of Connecticut forming the eastern boundary and the Hudson 

 River lying on the west. Its area is 515,840 acres; its extent 

 from north t > south is approximately 40 miles and from east 

 to west 23 miles. The population is shown in the following table: 



Beacon (city) 



Poughkeepsie (city) 



Amenia 



Beekman 



Clinton 



Dover 



East Fislikill 



Fishkill 



Hyde Park 



La (i range 



Milan 



North East 



Pawling 



Population by Cities and Townships 



(Census of 1915) 

 10,165 Pine Plains 



3-2,714 

 2,204 



951 

 1,333 

 1,967 

 2,173 

 3,214 

 3,144 

 1,326 



824 

 2,342 

 2,203 



Pleasant Valley 

 Poughkeepsie . . 



Red Hook 



Jthinebeek 



Stanford 



Union Vale 



Wappinger 



Washington 



Total 



1,387 

 1,332 

 6,048 

 3,808 

 3,485 

 1,582 

 1,149 

 4,155 

 3,538 



91,044 



* Poughkeepsie is the county seat. 



Note. — The present population of Beacon is 10,900; of Poughkeepsie, 

 35,000. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 



Dutchess was one of the original counties organized in 1G83. 

 Dutchess was named for the wife of James II while she was 

 Duchess of York. The old form of spelling with a " t " has 

 been retained. Besides Putnam County it then included Liv- 

 ingston Manor, which later became a part of Columbia. 



Previous to the coming of the whites this section was occupied 

 by the Mohicans or River Indians. The land in Dutchess County 

 was all taken up in large tracts, less than a dozen in number, by 

 men of influence or capital, who undertook " to settle, build up, 

 and cultivate the now country," renting farms at a nominal sum 

 or merely for payment of taxes. 



The first settlements were made by the Dutch at Rhinebeck 

 and Fishkill shortly before 1090. Other settlements were 

 made along the river at about 1700, including the present city of 



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