Philipstown is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in the western part of Putnam County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 9,831 at the 2020 census.

History

In 1697 Adolphus Philipse, a wealthy

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

landowner and merchant, purchased a tract from Dutch traders which received British Royal sanction as the ''Highland Patent''. Comprising roughly 250 square miles, it extended approximately 13 miles along the eastern shore of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, from Annsville Creek to 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 dat ...

, and eastward some 20 or so miles to the border of the

Colony of Connecticut The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers ...

.Smith, Philip Henry, ''General History of Putnam County: From 1609 to 1876, inclusive'', published by the author, Pawling, NY, 1877, p. 44 Philipstown was first settled in the westernmost of this parcel ''circa'' 1715. In 1754 the Highland Patent, subsequently known as the

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 Pro ...

, was divided among Philipse heirs into nine parcels.French's Gazetteer of the State of New York (1860): “The Philipses Patent… divided among the remaining three hildren Philip… Susannah married to Beverley Robinson, and Mary married to Col. Roger Morris. On February 7, 1754, the patent was divided into 9 lots: 3, each 4 mi. square, bordering upon the Hudson and denominated ‘water lots;’ 3, each 4 mi. wide by 12 long, extending N. and S. across the patent, and denominated ‘long lots;’ 3, each 4 mi. square, upon the E. border denominated ‘back lots.’ Philip, Susannah and Mary Philipse each owned one of each kind of lots. In 1788, Philipstown was established out of the three river lots and part of a fourth inland to the north, becoming one of the three original towns in what is now Putnam County. In 1806 a very small portion north of the

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York (state), New York state lying primarily in Putnam County, New York, Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County, New York, Orange County on its west. They conti ...

by the mouth of

was split off from Philipstown and given to the Town of Fishkill. Philipstown's main population centers are the village of Cold Spring, the hamlet of

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, and the village of Nelsonville. In 1806, part of the town was used to form the town of Fishkill. Putnam Valley was part of Philipstown until 1839, and a small portion of the town north of Putnam Valley was transferred to

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 1877.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.39%, is water. The western border of Philipstown is the

, with the Orange County towns of

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, as well as a small sliver of Stony Point in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

, on the opposite shore. The northern town line borders the

Dutchess County 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 org ...

towns of Fishkill and East Fishkill, with the southern town boundary bordering the

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

town of Cortlandt.

and Putnam Valley border the town on its eastern side.

Media

Philipstown has two weekly newspapers: The ''Highlands Current'', founded in 2010 and published on Friday, and the ''Putnam County News & Recorder'', founded in 1868 and published on Wednesday.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 9,662 people, 3,685 households, and 2,591 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,164 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.9% of the population. There were 3,685 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 20, 3.8% from 20 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. As of 2016, the median income for a household in the town was $102,097, and the median income for a family was $127,034. Males had a median income of $84,313 versus $64,348 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $52,755. About 5.3% 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 ...

, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3 of those age 65 or over.

Government and emergency services

Philipstown is governed by a town board. The

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

is located at 238 Main Street ( New York State Route 301) in

Cold Spring, New York Cold Spring is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Philipstown, New York, Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Ne ...

. Primary law enforcement services in Philipstown are provided by the

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members. The New York State Police are re ...

and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department. The village of Cold Spring has its own police department. Fire and medical emergency services are provided by the Continental Village Fire Department, the Garrison Fire Department, the North Highlands Fire Department, and the Village of Cold Spring Fire Department.

Communities and locations in Philipstown

Sugarloaf Hill Hudson Highlands from Bear Mountain Bridge

* Cold Spring – the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Cold Spring is by the Hudson River. *

Constitution Island Constitution Island is in the northeastern United States, located in New York on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. It is directly opposite the U.S. Military Academy Reservation at West Point and is connected ...

– location by the Hudson River. *Continental Village –

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

in the southeastern part of the town. * Clarence Fahnestock State Park – state park in the northeastern section of the town. *Fahnestock Corners – locale *Forsonville – hamlet in the southern part of the town, southeast of Garrison. *

– hamlet by the Hudson River. *Garrison Four Corners – location southeast of Garrison. *Glenclyffe – hamlet near the Hudson River. *Graymoor – hamlet in the southeastern part of the town. *

Hudson Highlands State Park Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill, New York, Peekskill in Westchester County, New York, Westchest ...

– state park in the southwestern part of the town. *Manitou – hamlet in the southwestern corner of the town, by the Hudson River. *Mekeel Corners – locale * Nelsonville – village northeast of Cold Spring. * North Highlands – hamlet northeast of Nelsonville. *South Highland – hamlet by the eastern town line. *Travis Corners – a locale east of South Highland.

References

External links

Town of Philipstown official website
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1715 Towns in Putnam County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1715 establishments in the Province of New York