Dutchess

Formed November 1, 1683 (2^nd county)

Dutchess County (295,897), Poughkeepsie (31,581)

A red brick and masonry Classical Revival facility built in 1902 serves Dutchess County.  The courthouse is at the intersection of Market and Main streets.  Market Street is United States Highway 44 in the town.  The county is an original (2^nd county) formed on November 1, 1683 with Poughkeepsie as the only county seat.  William Beardsley is the designer.  There were 1720 and 1806 courthouses earlier.  An Administration building was added in 1965.  Dutchess County is named for the Duchess of York.  The county seat is Native American for “waterfall.”  Dutchess County was the birthplace for 1 New York Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Dutchess County government consists of a sheriff, an Executive, and 25 Legislators.  Two County Court Judge, Two Family Court Judges, and One Surrogate Court Judges serve Dutchess County.  The county is on the southeast border with Connecticut.  The Hudson River forms its western border.  New York City, New York is south and Albany, New York is northwest of the county.  The county center is 11.9 miles Northeast of Poughkeepsie nearer Millbrook.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Columbia County and Connecticut and Putnam, Orange, and Ulster counties. 

The area of the county is 825 square miles.  It is 30 out of 62 in the state.  It ranks 15 out of 62 in population in the state.  It has a density of 358.7 persons per square mile making it 17 out of 62 in the state.  Dutchess County has 22.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 84 cuts the southern part of the county from Putnam County, south, into Orange County, west.  United States Highway 9 goes north to south from Columbia County to Putnam County.  Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 31^st President, was born and is buried in this county.  The county is shaped like a bowl tipped to the west.  Poughkeepsie is located in the southwest part of the county.  Poughkeepsie is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 10.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced PA-KIP-SEE.  This county is in the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Wappingers Falls