A Road Trip circa 1940

The roads, mileage and homes have changed

AN HISTORICAL ROAD TRIP

Courtesy of

“Dutchess County American Guide Series”

Sponsored by the Women’s City and County Club of Dutchess County New York

Published by the William Penn Association of Philadelphia

MCMXXXVII

Copyright: 1937

By the William Penn Association of Philadelphia

Compiled by: The workers of the Dutchess County Unit

Federal Writers’ Project of the

Works Progress Administration in the

State of New York

Page 97:

Section c. Junction State 199 and US 44 – Washington Hollow – Poughkeepsie, US 44, 32.2 m.

Unexpected curves and patched macadam on most of route. The New York Central R. R. (Harlem Valley Division) parallels the route to Amenia.

US 44 is a direct route from the Berkshires to the West. The Dutchess Turnpike, predecessor or US 44, was surveyed in 1802, and was completed from Litchfield, Conn., to Poughkeepsie in 1805. Since the days of the stagecoach, traffic over this route has increased in response to changing modes of transportation, until today the road is an important link between the East and the West. It has gradual descending grade from 900 ft. to tidewater level. The highway at first winds through the beautiful Harlem valley, flanked on both sides by mountain ranges. Small farming communities on the floor of the valley present a contrast to the wild beauty of the wooded slopes.

Our part of the tour:

Page 98: Near the end of the lake (Lake Amenia) the highway begins its S-curve ascent of De La Vergne Hill, 1.3 m long. From a point at 8.8 m, near the top of the ascent is a view (L) down the pasturelands of the Harlem valley, with a narrow rock pass far south, through which State 22 makes its way.

At the tope of De La Vergne Hill (929 alt.) is the junction with State 82A.

For the next 9 m. the road gradually descends to an altitude of 565 ft. at Millbrook. This section is rocky and hilly, with few dwellings.

At 11.2 m. is a dirt road (R), the entrance to MILLBROOK SCHOOL, a private preparatory school for boys, established in 1930.

At 12.6 m. is the MILLBROOK TREATRE (L), one of the dozens of country playhouses developed by the little-theatre movement. Broadway try-outs are held here during July and August from Wednesday to Saturday (no matinees). The one-story building was originally a Quaker meeting house; the pews are still used and seat approximately 250 persons. The windows are of early design, with 6-in. square panes. Charles S. Howard and Edward Massey are directors.

At 15.2 m. is an open-air SWIMMING POOL (L) (admission $0.40) equipped with bathhouses and shower facilities.

MABBETTSVILLE, 15.4 m (692 alt. 40 pop.), a hamlet consisting of a store, a garage, and a cluster of houses, was early named Filkentown in honor of one of the Great Nine Partners. The present name was derived from James Mabbett, a commission auctioneer who settled here early in the 19^th century.

Between Mabbettsville and Millbrook lies the large private estate DANHEIM (R), formerly the property of C. F. Dietrich. Its 2,500 acres are partly improved and partly in the natural wooded state.

At 16.9 m., opposite main gateway to Danheim (R), US 44 turns sharply L. and enters the village of MILLBROOK.

MILLBROOK, 17.2 m. (565 alt., 1,296 pop.)

Railroad Station: New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. (freight service only).

Accommodations: Millbrook Hotel and Millbrook Inn

Millbrook grew with the building of the railroad and station in 1869. The name was given in compliment to George H. Brown, who was chiefly responsible for the completion of the road and who named his estate Millbrook Farms. The village, incorporated in 1895, is a landscaped expanse of modern homes with trim lawns and shade trees. The hamlets of Mabbettsville, South Millbrook, and Mechanics are suburbs. The surrounding countryside is particularly beautiful with hills, wooded slopes, and wide meadows. Much of the area is included in large estates, and several of the mansions are visible from the highway. A number of stables are maintained; riding and hunting are popular. Writers and artists have been attracted to Millbrook, and the summer theatre is enthusiastically supported.

Both the Hicksite and Orthodox Quakers have continued active here. The Hicksites meet occasionally in the Brick Meeting House in Mechanic, on State 343, E. of South Millbrook. In 1926 the Orthodox joined with the Dutch Reformed and Methodist congregations to build the Federated Church in Millbrook.

US 44 follows Franklin Ave. to North Ave. and turns L. on North Ave. At 17.8 m. is junction with dirt road.

Right, on this dirt road, is the HART HOMESTEAD, 0.5 m., built in 1800 by Philip Hart, owner of the fulling mill. It is a Colonial frame house, with hand-carved paneling and elaborately decorated window cornices. A 6-ft. fireplace of simple hand-carved design is in the right wing. Antique furniture completes the picture of a pleasing old homestead. When the house was built the front was painted white and the rear red, in keeping with the general practice of the period.

At 18.4 m. is the BENNETT SCHOOL and BENNETT SCHOOL JUNIOR COLLEGE (R). The Bennett School was founded by May Friend Bennett at Irvington-on-Hudson in 1891. In 1907 Miss Bennett purchased the former Halcyon Hall in Millbrook, a vacant hotel, and moved the school to the site it now occupies. The buildings are on a knoll, surrounded by a wide lawn. The tennis courts and archery range are visible from the highway. Three graduates of the school’s drama department, Mildred Natwick, Helen Chandler, and Helen Trenholme, have appeared on Broadway. Betty Furness, featured film player, graduated from the high school department. Gail Bolger, another graduate, appeared with Helen Chandler in the 1936 production of Pride and Prejudice.

Greek drama was first presented in 1920. In 1922 an outdoor Greek theatre was built, in which Greek Festivals are held each year.

In 1935 the school’s department of liberal and applied arts was chartered as a junior college, covering the 4-year general or college preparatory course. It also offers a 2-year course in academic studies, dramatic art, music, fine and applied arts, household arts, and secretarial duties.

At 18.5 m. is FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT, the junction of State 82, State 243, and US 44. A stone shaft at the center of the intersection gives directions. US 44 turns R.

SOUTH MILLBROOK, 18.5 m., was formerly known as the Four Corners and Washington Four Corners, and became Washington, N. Y., in 1869. The name confused postal clerks, who read the “D.C.” (Dutchess County) as District of Columbia; and the name was therefore again changed to South Millbrook.

Left on State 343 is the entrance (R) to the PHEASANT BREEDERS AND HUNTING ASSOCIATION, .4m. A varying admission is charged for the privilege of hunting pheasants on the estate.

At the .7 m. is the MILLBROOK GOLF CLUB (L). Golfing, swimming and tennis facilities are provided.

The hamlet of MECHANIC, 1 m., so named because of the number of skilled workmen employed in the various blacksmith, carpentry, and wagon-making shops in the neighborhood, grew around the BRICK MEETING HOUSE (L), built in 1780 by the Nine Partners Meeting of Society of Friends. The two-story rectangular brick building, 40 by 75 ft., is in such excellent condition that a casual glance might give the impression that it is of recent construction. It is free from ornamentation. The interior was divided into two parts-one for men and one for women. A raised platform was provided for the speakers and rough benches for the congregation. On both the women’s and men’s sides cast-iron wood burning stoves are still in position. No alterations have been made since the meeting house was erected. On the lawn in front of the building is a sun dial, donated by Jacob Willetts (see below). A horse block still remains on the driveway (R) .

Freed Negro slaves sought the protection of the Quakers a century ago and built a colony of huts near the church. The hovels were destroyed to make way for landscaping SANDANONA (Indian, Sunshine) , the adjacent estate of John D. Wing.

The site (R) of the NINE PARTNERS SCHOOL lies 500 ft. E. of the meeting house. This school was opened by the Society of Friends in 1796, especially for those of their faith who were in indigent circumstances. A thorough academic course was offered; attendance reached 100 students. It continued to prosper until the division of the Society of Friends in 1828 into Orthodox and Hicksite groups. (See tour No. 4) Upon this division the Hicksites withdrew from the Orthodox Nine Partners school and established a separate and similar school under the principalship of Jacob and Deborah Willets, who had been among the first pupils to attend the original school. Jacob Willetts was the author of popular arithmetic and geography textbooks: to his inspiration we owe the useful lyric beginning “Thirty days hath September”. Deborah Rodgers Willetts was a noted grammarian and mathematician. The Nine Partners School continued under the management of the Orthodox branch until 1835. Later it was reopened and continued under the other direction until 1864. The building was then removed, and part of it was incorporated in the construction of John D. Wing’s private residence.

THORNDALE, 19.2 m. (R), occupied by Oakleigh Thorne, is the old homestead made famous by the horses and cattle bred under the direction of Edwin and Samuel Thorne. In 1860, Samuel Thorne’s herd of 70 short-horn Durhams, valued at $70,000, was regarded by authorities as the best herd in the United States. The low stone house built in 1725 by Isaac and Hannah Thorne still stands on the grounds. The extensive flower gardens are open to inspection during the spring.

At 20.8 m., is view (R) across the Dutchess woods to the bulging blue line of the Catskills.

WASHINGTON HOLLOW, 23.8 m (321 alt., 80 pop), is today a residential village for Poughkeepsie commuters. The small white frame houses on the one street are shaded by large maples. Settled before the end of the Revolution, it was in 1813 the camp ground for artillery trains bound for Sacketts Harbor. For a number of years it was the site of the Dutchess County Fair. The lonely bandstand, racetrack, and rambling hotel are still intact (R) at the edge of the village, adjoining the N. junction with State 82 (R).

At 23.9 m., about 200 ft. from the road, with the grounds enclosed by a fieldstone wall, is the ZACHEUS NEWCOMB HOUSE (L), one of the earliest examples of the Dutch Brick house in Dutchess County, built in 1777 by Sarah Tobias Newcomb, while her husband, Zacheus, was away at war. Mrs. Newcomb not only superintended the construction of the house but also directed the manufacture of the bricks which were used in it. The pond visible from the highway was formed by flooding the pit from which the brick clay was dug.

For more information concerning this book, please contact the Millbrook Free Library. This is part of the Bennett Collection, a legacy of Bennett College.