DUTCHESS TURNPIKE

Inscription

DUTCHESS TURNPIKE
CHARTERED BY NEW YORK
STATE ON APRIL 5, 1802. BEGAN
IN POUGHKEEPSIE AND DIVIDED
HERE, EAST TO DOVER, NY AND
NORTHEAST TO SHARON, CT.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2024

Chartered by New York State on April 5^th, 1802, the Dutchess Turnpike was an important route of transportation that connected Poughkeepsie with Dover, New York and Sharon, Connecticut, which allowed produce and agricultural goods to make their way to New York City via the Hudson River.

The history of the Dutchess Turnpike, along with its significance, is detailed in the 1984, Volume 69 Yearbook of the Dutchess County Historical Society. In an article titled, “The Turnpikes of Pleasant Valley,” by Alson D. Van Wagner, the early history of the route is described as such:

The act is quite specific in regard to election and term of officers, taking of land, settlement techniques between turnpike corporation and landowner, etc. The road was to be at least 4 rods wide (66 feet) “except where valuable buildings interfere!”, 28 feet “of which shall be bedded with stone, gravel or stone pounded, or other small hard substance…rising towards the middle by a gradual arch, and not so steep…as that a wagon…loaded with hay will not be overturned by moving on any part…; and the waterways on each side…as that in the times of snow they will form a good path for sleds.” Furthermore, the turnpike must be kept in good repair.

In 1869, the ownership of the portion of the Turnpike within Poughkeepsie was surrendered to the City. A few decades later, the Dutchess Turnpike was made a public road. Now, the former Turnpike is part of US 44.

The site of this marker is where the Dutchess Turnpike split into its Dover and Sharon branches, and the application for this historical marker comes from students at the nearby Arlington High School.