Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the Town of Poughkeepsie, 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, 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 o ...

, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 45,471. The name is derived from the native compound Uppuqui-ipis-ing, from ''Uppuqui'' ( ) meaning "lodge-covered", plus ''ipis'' meaning "little water", plus ''ing'' meaning "place", all of which translates to "the reed-covered lodge by the little water place". This later evolved into ''Apokeepsing'', then into ''Poughkeepsing'', and finally ''Poughkeepsie''. The area includes a large

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

campus noted for its ongoing development and manufacturing of

IBM mainframe IBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM since 1952. During the 1960s and 1970s, IBM dominated the computer market with the 7000 series and the later System/360, followed by the System/370. Current mainframe computers in IBM' ...

History

The town was first settled ''circa'' 1780 and was part of the Schuyler Patent of 1788. The town of Poughkeepsie was established in 1788 as part of a general organization of towns in the county. In 1854, part of the western section of the town, already an independent village, became the city of Poughkeepsie. At least two National Historic Landmarks are located in the town: the Vassar College Observatory and the Main Building of Vassar College.

Education

File:Old Main, Vassar College edit1.jpg, The Main Building at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

File:Vassar College Observatory.jpg, Vassar College Observatory File:James A. Cannavino Library.jpg, James A. Cannavino Library at

Marist College Marist University is a private university in Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Marist was founded by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute, in 1905 to prepare brothers for their ...

File:Marist Campus 014.jpg, Marist College Hancock Center File:Dcc003.jpg, Taconic Hall of

Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College (SUNY Dutchess, or DCC) is a Public college, public community college in Dutchess County, New York. It is one of 30 community colleges within State University of New York, the State University of New York system (SUNY) ...

, and

are located in the town of Poughkeepsie. Sections of the town are in several

school districts A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary or secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school district and is used to assign stud ...

: Arlington Central, Spackenkill Union Free, Hyde Park Central, and Wappingers Central. The first Arlington High School was in Poughkeepsie before being moved to the more rural Lagrangeville. Our Lady of Lourdes High School is a private, co-educational, Catholic

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located at a former IBM site on Boardman Road. Poughkeepsie Day School is an independent, co-educational, day school for students from pre-kindergarten (3 years) through grade 12, located at another former IBM site on Boardman Road. Oakwood Friends School is a private, co-educational middle school and high school located near the western end of State Route 113 (Spackenkill Road).

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 8.44%, is water. 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 ...

, which marks the boundary of the

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

towns of Lloyd and

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

and the Orange County town of Newburgh, forms the majority of the western border of the town. The City of Poughkeepsie occupies the remainder of the town's western border. The town is bordered by Hyde Park to the north, Pleasant Valley to the northeast,

LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaWappinger The Wappinger ( ) were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutc ...

to the southeast. U.S. Route 9, U.S. Route 44 and State Route 55 pass through the town.

Government and emergency services

Government

The town of Poughkeepsie operates under a council–manager form of government. The Town Supervisor is the chief administrative officer of the town and village, selected to carry out the directives of the council. The Deputy Supervisor monitors the town's fiscal condition and enforces its ordinances and laws. The Town Supervisor is also involved in the discussion of all matters coming before council yet has no final vote. The Town Board is the legislative body consisting of the Town Supervisor and five council members. The Town Supervisor serves as the presiding officer of the council. The council functions to set policy, approve the annual budget and enact local laws, resolutions and ordinances. The Town Supervisor and Town Clerk are elected officials, as are the Town Council members from the six wards of the town.

Fire

Three fire departments cover the town of Poughkeepsie: the Arlington Fire District covers most of the town, from the southern end to the LaGrange line, from the city line north, the Fairview Fire Department covers a small section in the northern section of the town near Saint Francis Hospital, and the New Hamburg Fire Department covers the south end. The fire districts operate a total of seven fire stations spread out over the town, as their district covers a very large area. The departments are capable of handling fires, rescues, extrications and natural disasters. The departments operate a varied fire apparatus fleet, along with

basic life support Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening condition of cardiac arrest until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians or any ...

and

advanced life support Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend basic life support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation (breathing). Components Key aspects of ALS level care ...

emergency medical services (EMS) within the Arlington Fire District. Within the Fairview section, Mobile Life Support Services is contracted to handle advanced life support calls. All EMS transports in the New Hamburg Fire District are covered by Mobile Life Support Services through a contract with the town of Poughkeepsie.

Police

Police protection is provided by the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department. When someone calls 911, the call is routed to the Dutchess 911 center in the town of Poughkeepsie, and they route it to the town police department's communications center, who then dispatch the closest unit(s) based on a GPS map.

Medical

The Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center is located in the town, and Vassar Brothers Medical Center is located a mile away in the city of Poughkeepsie.

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 42,777 people, 14,605 households, and 10,121 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 15,132 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 63.01%

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 ...

, 38.07%

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 ...

, 0.14% Native American, 5.13% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 1.62% from other races, and 2.00% 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 5.27% of the population. There were 14,605 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $55,327, and the median income for a family was $65,258. Males had a median income of $46,701 versus $31,005 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 $23,589. About 3.3% of families and 5.7% 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 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides regular service to Poughkeepsie city. Poughkeepsie also has commuter rail service to New York City via the

Hudson Line (Metro-North) The Hudson Line is a commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It runs north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River, terminating at Poughkeepsie (Metro ...

Bus

Dutchess County Public Transit bus system provides service throughout the town.

Communities and locations in or near the town of Poughkeepsie

* Arlington – A suburb that is located in the town, east of the city line. The

Arlington Central School District The Arlington Central School District (abbreviated ACSD) is one of thirteen public school districts serving residents of Dutchess County, New York. The district was created in 1924. Organization Coverage area The district's territory covers s ...

takes its name from the area. *Barnegat – A location in the southwestern part of the town. *Colonial Heights – A hamlet west of Rochdale. *Clark Heights – A location at the northeastern town line in Pleasant Valley. (Home of the Boy) * Crown Heights – A hamlet on the western side of the town. * Fairview – A community in the northern part of the town that borders the northern city line. * MacDonnell Heights – A hamlet southwest of Rochdale. * New Hamburg – A small hamlet along the

that is home to a popular

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

and a busy Metro-North train station. Adjacent to

Wappingers Falls Wappingers Falls is a village in the towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger, in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappin ...

, the hamlet is the southwesternmost point in the town. *

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 ...

– The town of Poughkeepsie wraps around the city of Poughkeepsie in a crescent shape. * Red Oaks Mill - A

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

located southeast of the city. The area borders Spackenkill on the east and centers on the intersection of Vassar Road (Dutchess County 77), Spackenkill Road ( New York State Route 113) and New Hackensack Road ( New York State Route 376). A small, residential side street also feeds into the intersection. *Rochdale – A hamlet by the eastern town line, sandwiched between Arlington and Pleasant Valley. *Rudco – Once a small parcel of farmland before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was purchased in 1942 by IBM to expand upon. * Spackenkill – Hamlet located in the town occupies the area south of the city line, including the Hagantown and Kingwood Park neighborhoods. The

Spackenkill Union Free School District The Spackenkill Union Free School District, also known as Spackenkill School District, is a New York school district in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It includes a majority of the Crown Heights and Spackenkill census-designated places ...

takes its name from the area. An IBM plant is also located in the area, and many of its employees live in Spackenkill. * Van Keurens – Hamlet; this land is mostly taken over by the Clinton Point Quarry, owned by Tilcon, Inc. *

– A small part of the Village of Wappingers Falls is in the southern part of the town.

Notable people

Bill Duke William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor, director, and producer. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. As a ...

, actor * Taylor Jardine, lead singer for We Are The In Crowd * Jeh Johnson, United States Secretary of Homeland Security (Cottam Hill) *

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

, pioneering aviator, brother of Lee Miller *

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. Miller was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, becoming a fashion and fine-art pho ...

, ''Vogue'' photographer and

correspondent *

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a Electrical telegraph#Morse ...

, American painter who turned inventor * Matthew Vassar of England, who died at his namesake

File:Samuel Finley Breese Morse - Samuel F. B. Morse Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg,

, who lived at Locust Grove File:Portrait of Matthew Vassar by Charles Loring Elliott.jpg, Matthew Vassar, born in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England, who died in 1868 while giving a speech at the college he chartered

References

External links

Town of Poughkeepsie official website

Poughkeepsie Public Library District

* ttp://www.poughkeepsie.macaronikid.com Macaroni Kid Poughkeepsie - Family friendly events {{DEFAULTSORT:Poughkeepsie (Town), New York New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Towns in Dutchess County, New York Towns in New York (state)