About Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie, New York sits as the county seat of Dutchess County with a population of around 30,000 residents.  Located on the Hudson River Valley just between New York City and Albany, Poughkeepsie and is known as the “Queen City of the Hudson”.  This is the perfect location for a person wanting to live in a smaller community without giving up all that a large metropolis center has to offer.  The waterfront and main street areas have gone through a recent revitalization, which the city hopes will poise the area for more growth in the coming years.

Poughkeepsie has a rich historical significance.  It was the second capital of New York state and was the place where Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and George Clinton debated and ratified the United States Constitution during the American Revolution.  With the ratification, New York became the eleventh of the thirteen original colonies become the beginnings of what is now the United States of America. 

During the heydays of the area in the 1800s, it was a major center for whale rendering and shipping, hatteries, papermills and breweries.   Thanks to the region’s immense beauty and closeness to New York City, it became a weekend playground for such reputable families as the Astors, Rogers and Vanderbilts.  

Modern day Poughkeepsie has as much to offer residents as it did over a hundred years ago.  This is a younger city, with a median age of only 32.7 years.  While the median home value has gone up significantly over the last decade, it is still over $60,000 less than the median of the entire state.  This means that Poughkeepsie may be the ideal place for a young professional to start out building their life or a young family to buy their first home to settle down. 

Commuter service is available through the MTA’s Metro-North Railroad and regular trips to New York and Albany are available through a variety of trains.  The majestic Poughkeepsie Bridge, which was built in 1888 as a rail bridge traveling across the Hudson, has been closed since 1974 due to a fire.  Now, a local group called Walkway Over the Hudson has raised enough funds to turn this historic bridge into a connecter for the rail trails that run on either side of the Hudson.

One of the major industries making its home in the town of Poughkeepsie is the IBM Corporation.  This plant was named Assembly Plant of the Year in 2008 by Assembly Magazine.  The local newspaper, the Poughkeepsie Journal can also boast as being the third oldest active newspaper in the entire United States. 

Poughkeepsie also has a rich culture in the arts.  The Bardavon 1869 Opera House, located in the Main and Market Streets area, is a regular site of drama, music, dance and film events as well as its own Hudson Valley Philharmonic.  Visual art enthusiasts can feed their passion at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, where pieces are on display from as early as antiquity through to the modern day.  Amateur historians can explore Locust Grove, the home of Samual Morse.