The Wappinger were a confederacy of Native Americans whose territory, in the 17th century, was spread along the eastern shore of the
Hudson River. Primarily based in what is now Dutchess County, their territory bordered
Manhattan Island to the south, the
Mahican territory bounded by the
Roeliff Jansen Kill to the north, and extended east into parts of
Connecticut. They spoke an eastern-
Algonkian language. Culturally they were closely related to the
Lenape people (Delaware Indians) to the west and south of Wappinger lands, and also related to the Mahican people to their immediate north and to the
Metoac peoples of
Long Island.
Wappinger means "easterner" in most Algonkian languages. The town of Wappinger, originally a part of the town of
Fishkill, was formed on May 20, 1875, and lies wholly within the limits of the historic
Rombout Patent, granted in 1685. The geographical area of Wappinger was first illegally settled in 1659 by members of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seeking religious freedom, they settled near the mouth of the
Wappinger Creek until Dutch Authorities removed them months later. It wasn't until 1685 when Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck were the first to legally purchase 85,000 acres from the Wappinger This would later be known as the Rombout Patent. The patent covered the towns of
Fishkill,
East Fishkill, Wappinger, the
City of Beacon, and parts of
LaGrange and
Poughkeepsie, these municipalities were once all a part of the
Town of Fishkill. Following the Rombout Patent, the first legal land purchase within the Town of Wappinger was in 1714 when Elias Van Benschoten purchased land and settled in the hamlet of New Hackensack. Following him were other families from
Hackensack, New Jersey. The Town of Wappinger is made up of many small hamlets and communities and was primarily agricultural, while mills lined the creek in the Village of
Wappingers Falls. Once the Town of Wappinger was officially created from the Town of Fishkill on May 20, 1875, it took another year to elect officials. The first meeting was held at the Brower Brother's Wagon Shop on Mill Street. The meetings of Town officials took place in the homes of the elected officials, whose jobs were mostly to maintain roadways and bridges.
Historic districts •
Wheeler Hill Historic District includes 49 contributing buildings, 15 contributing sites, and four contributing structures. It encompasses the estates of Obercreek, Elmhurst, Edge Hill, the former estates of Henry Suydam and William Crosby, and
Carnwath Farms that were developed between 1740 and 1940. Also included are two 18th century riverfront commercial structures, the Lent / Waldron Store, and Stone House at Farmer's Landing. Within this district, Wheeler Hill Road was once known as Rives Avenue or Hill, after Francis Rives who purchased the former Willis estate (Carnwath Farms) in 1870. • The
Wappingers Falls Historic District is in the center of the village of
Wappingers Falls, and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is roughly centered along South Avenue, West Main Street and
Wappinger Creek. It includes Mesier Park and many adjacent residential neighborhoods, roughly bounded by Elm, Park, Walker, Market and McKinley streets. Much of the district was built in the wake of the industrialization of
Wappingers Falls in the 19th century, and its styles represent a cross-section of that century. The east and west sides of the village are connected by an 1884 stone arch bridge over the falls that replaced earlier wooden structures.
Hamlets •
Chelsea – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town near the
Hudson River, primarily residential. A marina is located on the river. In the northern section of the hamlet, there is a large pumping station used by the
Delaware Aqueduct New York City water supply system during droughts to take water directly from the river. Chelsea was originally known as Low Point and derived its name from a low point of land extending into the river. It also served to distinguish it from the next hamlet north on the east bank of the river, once known as High Point, now
New Hamburg. The hamlet was called Low Point until the completion of the
Hudson River Railroad. At that time it was named Carthage. However, as mail was being misdirected to another
Carthage in Jefferson County, it was renamed Carthage Landing. In 1901, when the railroad built a new station, the name became Chelsea. The hamlet's post office was established in 1840 as Low Point. The current post office was the former 1875 district school. •
Diddell was a hamlet in the northeastern section of the town, just east of New Hackensack. By the 1800s
the Maybrook Railroad, which ran from
Pawling to
Poughkeepsie, established a station here. The Presbyterian Church of Hughsonville was erected in 1840. A post office was established there in 1847. The Hughsonville Fire Company traces its date of establishment to 1912. •
Middlebush, situated approximately one mile south-east of
Wappingers Falls, was an early business center. A post office was located there in 1824 that also served residents of Chelsea. The first Baptist church in the town was organized there in 1782. Abm. Van Wyck deeded the Society a piece of land for a site for a church and burying ground. The old cemetery remains, southeast of the intersection of Middlebush Road and Sgt. Palmateer Way (Old Route 9). In 1830, that meeting house became the property of the Methodist church, and was used by them as a house of worship until the present Methodist church in Wappingers Falls was erected in 1869, when it was taken down and the material used in the construction of the barn and sheds connected with that church. A portion of
NYS route 376 is known locally as New Hackensack Road. The Main Street was present day
N.Y.S. Route 376 and had a post office and several stores until the widening of the
Hudson Valley Regional Airport in the early-mid-1900s. •
Swartwoutville is located at the southeastern section of town. Named after
General Jacobus Swartwout. In the mid-1800s, the Underhill family built a house on her father's land. Dr. Underhill died September 5, 1889. In 1903 the property was purchased by
All Angels Episcopal Church in
Manhattan as part of its ministry to the poor. The church maintained All Angels' Farm, a forerunner of the
Fresh Air Fund. ==Government==