Fishkill Village

Dutchess County, New York

Fishkill Village Hall is located at 1095 Main Street, Fishkill NY 12524.
Phone: 845‑897‑4430.

Beginnings [‡]

The crossroads village of Fishkill grew throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in response to the needs of travellers, and increasingly served as a village center for settlers in the adjacent agricultural area. In 1780 the Marquis de Chastellux estimated that in Fishkill "there are not more than fifty houses in the space of two miles."[1] The Colles map of the Post Road, published in 1789, locates the Dutch Reformed and Trinity Churches, three taverns, and a blacksmith shop in addition to numerous dwellings. Prior to 1836 and academy and a "boarding school for young ladies; were erected, and by 1842 the village, located in what was considered "one of the largest and wealthiest inland towns of the state," contained "800 inhabitants, 100 dwelling houses and 8 stores."[2] In 1866 the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad was constructed from a station of the Hudson River Railroad (1851) at the mouth of Fishkill Creek, northeast through Dutchess County. A stop along that line, Fishkill Village in 1873 contained "3 churches, a union school, a national and a savings bank, printing office, and 737 inhabitants."[3] Located in rapidly-developing southern Dutchess County, Fishkill Village is presently vulnerable to the pressures of increased population and to more intensive demands upon the land.

Endnotes

1. Marquis de Chastellux, Travels in North America in the Years 1780, 1781 and 1782, Howard C. Rice, Jr. translator (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1963), I, pp.86-87.
2. Thomas F. Gordon, Gazetteer of the State of New York, (Philadelphia: T.K. and P.G. Collins, 1836), p.427. A Gazetteer of the State of New York, (Albany: John Disturnell, 1842), p.165.
3. Franklin B. Hough, Gazetteer of the State of New York, (Albany: Andrew Boyd, 1873), pp.263-264.

‡Weaver, Lynn Beebe, New York State Board for Historic Preservation, Parks and Recreation, Fishkill Village District, nomination document, 1973, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.

Nearby Towns: Beacon City • Fishkill Town • Wappingers Falls Vlg •