Pleasant Valley 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 ...

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 ...

, within the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

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 9,799 at the 2020 census. The town is centrally located in the county, northeast of the city of

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

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 Kerhonks ...

passes through the town.

History

Settlers began arriving after 1735. The town was part of 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 wa ...

of 1697. The town was formed in 1821 from part of the town of Clinton.

Notable people

* Blythe Auffarth, actress * Julia Dean (1830-1868), stage actress, originally from Pleasant Valley *Jacob R. Evertson (1734–1807), delegate to the Second

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

1774-1775 and Deputy 1776, and father in law of

John Cotton Smith John Cotton Smith (February 12, 1765 – December 7, 1845) was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Connecticut. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and as ...

, the First

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. Buried in Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Churchyard. * Thomas T. Flagler, US congressman *

Jackson Kemper Jackson Kemper (December 24, 1789 – May 24, 1870) in 1835 became the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Especially known for his work with Native American peoples, he also founded parishes in wh ...

(1789-1870), the first missionary bishop of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

, born in Pleasant Valley * Irene McGee, cast member of '' The Real World: Seattle'' *

Tony Romeo Tony Romeo (December 25, 1938 – June 23, 1995) was an American songwriter.
(obituary), ''The New York Times'', June 26 ...

, songwriter who wrote " Indian Lake" by

The Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill Cowsill, B ...

, and " I Think I Love You" by

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

; lived in Pleasant Valley from 1980 to 1995, when he died at age 56 * Thomas R. Sherwood, Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court *

Melancton Smith Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith attained considerable respect in the State of New ...

, delegate to the ratification of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constituti ...

Jeffrey Wigand Jeffrey Stephen Wigand (; born December 17, 1942) is an American biochemist and tobacco industry whistleblower. He is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the developm ...

, former vice president of research and development at

Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancin ...

* James Kirke Paulding, born in Pleasant Valley a former

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

, an American writer and childhood friend of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

* Carson Robison (1890-1957), early country and western music and radio performer

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 1.7%, is water.

Major roads

A section of

goes through the town in a southwestern-northeastern direction. It intersects with the

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP) is a limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River ...

, a north–south highway, in the northern part of the town.

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 2000, there were 9,066 people, 3,467 households, and 2,485 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,614 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.46%

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 ...

, 1.93%

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, .12% Native American, .64% Asian, .02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, .83% from other races, and 1% 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 2.65% of the population. There were 3,467 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

income for a household in the town was $54,578, and the

income for a family was $62,264. Males had a

income of $47,647 versus $31,496 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 $25,942. About 3.9% of families and 5.6% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Pleasant Valley Free Library was founded in 1903, and originally operated under State Charter and was governed by five trustees. The library has moved locations twice, the first time after it burned in 1913, and the second in 1974, where it remains currently. The library offers adult, young adult, and children's materials in the form of books, audiobooks, music CDs, and DVDs. There are eight public computers available for use, as well as two public computers in the young adult area. Additionally, the library offers services such as printing, faxing, photocopying, and tech help. Digital services offered by the library include Overdrive, Inc., Hoopla, and NovelNY, among others. The library's programming includes book discussion groups, children's storytimes, in-depth tech help, and yoga.

2018 Fire

On November 6, 2018, an electrical fire started in the basement of the library and spread through the walls to the upper floor. It was estimated that the library lost about 52,000 items in the collection, primarily due to smoke damage, though in the year after the fire, the library acquired 30,000 items mostly through donations. The historic building, built in the 1870s, required about $3 million dollars to rebuild and expand, and finally reopened in early February 2022.

Board of trustees

The Pleasant Valley Free Library Board of Trustees currently has 12 members, though it can have up to 13, and the Board meets on the third Thursday of each month. * President: Joy Dyson * Vice President: Julie Kessler * Treasurer: Steve MacNish * Secretary: Gail Rau * Dorothy Denny * Pauline Herr * Dave Kruger * Kathy Kruger * Michael Rifenburgh * Don Sagliano * Kim Sears * Anna Wei

Communities and locations in Pleasant Valley

* Bloomvale – a former mill hamlet north of Washington Hollow, at Route 82 and Clinton Corners Road. *Clark Heights – a location southwest of Pleasant Valley hamlet on Route 44. *Gretna – a location in the western part of the town. *Netherwood – a location southwest of Salt Point. * Pleasant Valley – the

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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

of Pleasant Valley is in the southwestern part of the town, on Route 44. It was formerly called "Charlotte." * Salt Point – a hamlet near the northeastern town line. *Timothy Heights – a location south of Pleasant Valley hamlet on Route 44. *Valleydale – a development southeast of Pleasant Valley off Traver Road. *Washington Hollow – a hamlet near the eastern town line. It is the former location of the Dutchess County Fair.

References

External links

Town of Pleasant Valley official websitePleasant Valley Free Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasant Valley (Town), New York Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area Towns in Dutchess County, New York Towns in New York (state) Towns in the New York metropolitan area 1821 establishments in New York (state)