Amenia is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Dutchess County, New York 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 orga ...

, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county.

History

Amenia is one of the original towns formed by act of March 7, 1788. It comprises the width of the Oblong Tract, and the east tier of lots in the

Great Nine Partners Patent The Great Nine Partners Patent, also known as the "Lower Nine Partners Patent," was a land grant in Dutchess County, New York, made on May 27, 1697, by New York governor Benjamin Fletcher. The parcel included about along the Hudson River and ...

. Inhabitants prior to European incursion were

Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...

, in a village on the west side of a pond they called Wequagnoch. Along with related Native Americans from

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 cap ...

, they held pow wows on land both before and after the incorporation of the town.Reed, Newton. ''Early History of Amenia'', De Lace & Wiley, Amenia, NY, 1875
/ref> In 1703 Richard Sackett was granted a patent for land along Wassaic Creek. As this land was already included in the previous Great Nine Partners Patent, Sackett's title was invalid. Sackett was also one of the partners in the Little Nine Partners Patent. He settled about one mile south of Wassaic at a site called the "Steel Works", as furnace and foundry were established there during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

to manufacture steel for the use of the army. There was a forge at that location as early as 1770.Smith, Philip H., "History of Amenia, NY", ''General History of Dutchess County'', 1877
/ref> In 1724 Captain Garret Winegar (Winnegar) came to Amenia Union from East Camp in Columbia County, New York. The Winegars were among the

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

families from the Middle Rhine that had settled in 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 Uni ...

in 1710 under the sponsorship of Queen Anne. A second Palatine family, that of Johannes Rouh (Rowe), came to Hitchcock's Corner (Amenia Union) sometime prior to 1731. Samuel Hitchcock, for whom the hamlet was named, arrived in about 1757. Dr. Thomas Young lived at the "Corner" for several years and married a daughter of Captain Winegar. The town was named by Young,Smith, James H. "Town of Amenia", ''History of Dutchess County'', D. Mason & Company, Syracuse, 1882
/ref> derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and meaning "pleasant to the eye". The house of worship known as the "Red Meeting House" was built in 1758, and stood about a mile northeast of the village of Amenia.

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...

preached there in the summer of 1770. The Precinct of Amenia was established by act of the colonial legislature in 1762. In the summer of 1778, a large number of prisoners - mostly Hessians, taken at the

battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

the year before - were marched through the town on their way to

Fishkill Landing Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2020 census placed the city total population at 13,769. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area as we ...

, where they crossed the

Hudson 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), Hudso ...

. It is said that some of the Hessian soldiers solicited the people to aid them in escaping; a few succeeded, and remained in this country. Jacob Bockee, a captain in the company in Col. Willet's Regiment, was a member of the Assembly in 1795 and 1797, where he introduced a bill for the abolition of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in the state. Most of the slaves in the town were

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that ...

in the manner and under the conditions prescribed by law. Owners were not permitted to make free and cast off any slave who was not capable of providing for himself. In 1824, three years before the completed

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

in the state, there were 32 slaves in Amenia. About the year 1812 a company was organized in this town for the manufacture of woolen goods, styled the "Amenia Manufacturing Company". The factory was located on the banks of Webatuck Creek at Leedsville. The Town of Amenia was officially formed in 1788.

Geography

According to the

United States 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 town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.91%, is water. The town is drained by the Ten Mile River, a tributary of the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

. The Ten Mile River is formed in the southern part of the town by the confluence of Wassaic Creek (draining the western part of the town) and Webatuck Creek (draining the eastern part). The eastern town line is the border of

U.S. Route 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, ...

crosses the northern part of the town.

Demographics

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 4,048 people, 1,625 households, and 1,074 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 93.5 people per square mile (36.1/km²). There were 1,814 housing units at an average density of 41.9 per square mile (16.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.40%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 2.94%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.59% Native American, 0.47%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.77% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.83% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.36% of the population. Silo Ridge Country Club

There were 1,625 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $39,231, and the median income for a family was $51,294. Males had a median income of $32,038 versus $28,769 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 town was $22,095. About 3.4% of families and 8.1% 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 2.0% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The Webutuck Central Schools District serves the town of Amenia. The district serves pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Schools include Webutuck Elementary School and Webutuck High School. Two private schools serving the town are Maplebrook School and The Kildonan School. Maplebrook School is a small boarding school serving adolescents and young adults with

learning differences Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

. The Kildonan School is a boarding and day school exclusively for students with

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

and language based learning differences.

Library

The Amenia Free Library serves Amenia. The library was founded in 1938 and has a collection of rare historical books.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The main thoroughfare of Amenia is

New York State Route 22 New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton County near the Canadian border ...

. State Route 22 runs through every town on the east side of Dutchess County.

also passes through Amenia, intersecting Route 22 within the hamlet of Amenia.

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

has two rail commuter rail stations in Amenia, with service to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

via 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 ...

. The Tenmile River station is off Sinpatch Road east of Route 22, and the

Wassaic station Wassaic station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Amenia, New York. It is the northern terminal of the Harlem Line. Trains leave for New York City every two hours, and about every 30 minutes during rush ...

is north of Tenmile River. Trains leave every two hours during midday, evenings and weekends. In rush hour, peak-direction trains leave about every 30 minutes. There is no train service into or out of Amenia after midnight. In 2006, the NYSDOT administered the repaving of Route 22 through the town of Dover, New York. The prime contractor was Callanan Industries, Inc., an Albany, New York based contractor. In 2007, repaving continued north from the town line into Amenia, New York with two other contractors - Peckham Road Corp. for paving in Wassaic and A. Colarusso & Son Inc., a Hudson, New York based contractor for the portion north of Wassaic.

Notable people

* John Barlow (1872–1944), entomologist and college administrator * Joel Benton (1832–1911), poet, resided in Amenia *

Gail Borden Gail Borden Jr. (November 9, 1801 – January 11, 1874) was a native New Yorker who settled in Texas in 1829 (then still Mexico), where he worked as a land surveyor, newspaper publisher, and inventor. He created a process in 1853 to make sweet ...

(1801-1874), inventor of

condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...

, established his first factory in Amenia *

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

and

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned th ...

; the couple built a home in Silo Ridge, located in Amenia. * Michael Cole (born 1966), television broadcaster for World Wrestling Entertainment * Joseph Cummings (1817-1890), president of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

(1857-1875), president of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

(1881-1890) *

Obadiah German Obadiah German (April 22, 1766September 24, 1842) was an American lawyer and politician. He was most notable for his service as a U.S. Senator from New York (1809-1815) and Speaker of the New York State Assembly in 1819. Life He was born on Apri ...

(1766–1842), born in Amenia,

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Erastus Otis Haven Erastus Otis Haven (November 1, 1820 – August 2, 1881) was an American academic administrator, serving as president or chancellor of three universities in succession from 1863-1880. He was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church from 1880 u ...

(1820-1881), bishop of the Methodist Church, formerly principal of Amenia Seminary (1846), president of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1863-1869), president of

(1869-1872), chancellor of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

(1874-1880) * Samuel Herrick (1779–1852), born in Amenia,

United States congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

* John Miller (1774–1862), born in Amenia, physician and congressman from New York *

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...

(1895-1990), historian of science, lived and died in Amenia * Peter C. Rhodes (1909-1965), reporter and writer *

Joel Elias Spingarn Joel Elias Spingarn (May 17, 1875 – July 26, 1939) was an American educator, literary critic, civil rights activist, military intelligence officer, and horticulturalist. Biography Spingarn was born in New York City to an upper middle-cla ...

(1875-1939), educator, literary critic, and civil rights activist, lived in Amenia *

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (born May 12, 1936) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. Stella lives and works in New York City. Biography Frank Stella was born in M ...

(born 1936), painter, resided in Amenia *

Benjamin Swift Benjamin Swift (April 9, 1780 – November 11, 1847) was an American lawyer, banker and politician from Vermont. He served as a United States Representative and United States Senator, and helped found the Whig Party. Early life Swift was ...

(1781-1847), U.S. congressman and U.S. senator *

Smith Thompson Smith Thompson (January 17, 1768 – December 18, 1843) was a US Secretary of the Navy from 1819 to 1823 and a US Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1823 to his death. Early life and the law Born in Amenia, New York, Thompson graduated ...

(1768-1848), justice on the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

Charles Augustus Wheaton Charles Augustus Wheaton (1809–1882) was a businessman and major figure in the central New York state abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad, as well as other progressive causes. He was one of the founders of the First Congregatio ...

, (1809–1882) Abolitionist * Thomas Young (1731–1777), physician, American Revolutionary patriot, participant in the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...

Communities and locations in Amenia

* Amenia – A

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

and

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the northeastern part of the town. *Amenia Union – A hamlet on the eastern town line on the border with Connecticut. *Leedsville – A location in the northeastern part of the town, east of Amenia (CDP). *Sharon Station – A hamlet at the northern town line. *Silo Ridge– An upscale development with a long development history. *Smithfield – A hamlet on the town line in the northwestern part of the town. *South Amenia – A hamlet at the junction of Routes 2 and 3 in the eastern part of the town. * Wassaic – A hamlet in the south-central part of the town. *Wassaic Creek – A stream on the western side of the town, passing through the community of Wassaic.

Buildings in Amenia listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Buildings in Amenia listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

include: * Beth David Synagogue * Indian Rock Schoolhouse *

Lewis Mumford House The Lewis Mumford House is located on Leedsville Road ( Dutchess County Route 2) in the Town of Amenia, New York, United States. It is a white Federal style building dating to the 1830s. Social philosopher, historian and cultural critic Lewis ...

* Hendrik Winegar House * St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Notes

References

External links

Town of Amenia official website

Amenia Free Library

Webutuck Schools

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amenia (Town), New York Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area Towns in Dutchess County, New York Towns in the New York metropolitan area