A Brief History of Amenia
As part of the Great Nine Partners Patent granted in 1697, the first German and Dutch settlements in Amenia were located in the hamlets of Wassaic, South Amenia and Amenia Union. The Township of Amenia was organized in 1823, with the main population centers in the hamlets of the Oblong Valley and Smithfield. When the Dutchess turnpike (Route 44) was built and crossed the railroad, the present Victorian village of Amenia (formerly Payne’s Corners) became the town center.
The hamlet of Wassaic was named Washaic, or "land of difficult access," by the Indians. Wassaic grew up around the Gridley Iron Works and along the new Harlem division of the New York Central Railroad in the early 1800’s. In 1861 Gail Borden opened the world's first factory for producing a milk that would not need refrigeration. Known today as Borden’s Eagle Brand Condensed Milk, it was a revolutionary product. Made right here in the "Milky Way" and shipped by train throughout the country, it made possible the growth of the local dairy industry, replacing the sheep and grain farming of earlier times. This area was also a major transportation route. During the Revolutionary War General Washington marched his troops through Wassaic on the way to Connecticut.
In the beginning of this century, enlightened thinkers and philosophers like W.E.B. DuBois and Lewis Mumford gathered at Spingarn estate (now Troutbeck Estate and Resort). The organization we know today as the NAACP was established there.
Amenia has a number of local churches with historic architecture. For example, in Amenia Union is a Gothic Episcopal Church (designed by Richard Upjohn) with Tiffany stained glass windows.
Just before the depression, Amenia became noted for being a resort community centered around Lake Amenia. Although the lake no longer exists, the Silo Ridge Golf Course and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail provide visitors and residents with outstanding recreational opportunities.
A Brief History of Pine Plains
Pine Plains was formed from Northeast, March 26, 1823. Extensive plains covered with pines, where the village of that name now stands, suggested the name of the town. The surface is a hilly upland, the ridges being separated by broad valleys. Stissing mountain, so named after an Indian chief who lived in the "Notch," a short distance below its northern extremity, is in the west part of the town, and is 400 to 500 feet above the valleys. Its declivities are steep, and it is crowned with a mass of naked rock. Roeliff Jansens Kill crosses the northwest corner, and Shekomeko Creek flows north through near the centre. The principal bodies of water are Thompson, Stissing, Mud and Halcyon Ponds. The soil is generally a productive, gravelly loam. upon draining a small pond one and a half miles southeast of Pine Plains village, a very deep bed of marl, covering six or eight acres, was found. Marl is also found in Halcyon Pond. The first settlements were probably made about 1740.
A Brief History of Dover Plains
History first recorded that the hills and valleys of early Dover were areas of open forests, thick swamps and sparkling waters, inhabited by several groups of Indians. Those Native Americans were the Schaghticoke and remnants of the Pequots who lived in the rugged hills surrounding the narrow valley of the Ten Mile River.
Richard Sackett, "of Dover," was granted a patent for land in 1704. He became the earliest settler in eastern Dutchess County, but his claim fell to the Patents of Henry Beekman, (1697 and 1703). Settlement was sparse until 1731, when the Equivalent Lands agreement with nearby Connecticut added almost two miles along the New York border. The patent became known as the Oblong; its meandering river, the Ten Mile, became known as Oblong River. Shortly thereafter, while Quakers purchased and farmed the Oblong Lots, squatters and brigands settled in the hills, while legend claimed Martin Preston became the first white man to settle on East Mountain. Farming was the primary occupation. Dover was located on a direct route to New York City; rest stops like the Old Drover's Inn prospered as the roads swarmed with cattle and sheep, herded by drovers on their way to market. In addition, iron ore was mined as early as the 1750s. Area growth continued at a rapid pace up to the American Revolution, when local ore was used to manufacture weapons and munitions for the revolutionary arsenal.
During the Revolution, Washington's Army marched the Upper Road, from Hartford to Fishkill, which ran beside the Ten Mile River; they camped west of present day Wingdale. Near Church Hill, the Morehouse Tavern hosted General George Washington, and other leaders and dignitaries of the American Revolution, such as Generals Gates, Putnam, Arnold, Heath, Parsons, Lafayette. After the Revolution, new civil divisions in 1788, created Pawing Township from the Beekman Patent; Dover was then a part of Pawling.
The area continued to grow and local leaders gathered to discuss separation of Dover from Pawling. On February 20, 1807, the New York Legislature separated 26,669 acres from Pawling, creating the Town of Dover. The first designated town meeting took place in the home of John Preston, today's Old Drovers Inn.
Farming and iron continued to play major roles in the economy. As the town grew, small clusters of homes appeared near the mills and on the mountain slopes. Around 1850, the Harlem Railroad Division came to town and led to a decline in the drover's business.
During the Civil War, local men and materials made their impact. The Dutchess County 150th Regiment was organized and commanded by General John Henry Ketcham, who went on to become a seventeen term US Congressman. The radical revolving turret for the ironclad warship Monitor, was actually the brainchild of Theodore Timby, to whom Ericsson paid royalty fees. Iron ore from a mine in Deuel Hollow was used on the Monitor class warships while Benson J. Lossing documented the War of Rebellion. Lossing, a prolific writer and engraver, lived on Chestnut Ridge, where his home can still be seen today. The War's end saw growth in the marble industry as gravestones were hewn from Ketcham's quarries for monuments in cemeteries such as Arlington National Cemetery. By 1875, 50 farms in Dover spread across the valley and clung to the hillsides; their milk and produce quickly shipped to the New York markets by rail.
In the early twentieth century, the area became a haven for painters who captured the scenic beauty of our rivers, fields, farms and country life on canvas. Tourists flocked to enjoy the Dover Stone Church and the charm of our corner of the world, staying in small local inns for tourists, such as the Bend In The Road Inn. Quarrying, lime production, agriculture and milk-processing were the primary industries in the bustling community. Dover's pristine white marble was used extensively for government buildings in New York, Washington, DC and notable monuments, such as the Washington Arch in Greenwich Village, NYC, which boasts both kinds of Dover Marble.
After WWI, the 'Great Depression' was an era of growth in Dover as New York State built two mental health facilities in the area. Farming declined, but the local work force stayed to staff the growing population in the hospitals. In addition, new employees were drawn from the South and upstate New York.
During WWII, the federal government built a defense plant, which produced magnesium from the local limestone. An overhead tramway carried the ore four miles to the plant. After the war, farming continued to decline; the State hospitals became the major employers in the valley.
In the 1960's, a new era of Mental Health care minimized the need for mental health facilities. The Harlem Valley Psychiatric Hospital population shrank until it eventually closed in the 1980's. As the local economy slowed, New York State located a detention facility, run by the Division For Youth, on the hospital grounds; it was phased out in 2004. The main facility remained vacant for years.
Rapid developments in transportation and railroad industries allowed people to travel longer distances in a shorter time. A population shift began as new residents arrived from Westchester County, lured by beautiful scenery, small town appeal, inexpensive land and low cost residential development. Today, the Town of Dover is contemplating ideas to keep our unique environment with its scenic views, open space and rural character, while encouraging growth and working to rehab the crumbling State Hospital property into a vital economic force.
By Donna P. Hearn, Town Historian (Printed on the Dover Town Website)