Poughkeepsie dates to 1686, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #352 of 758 in New York. What drives it
20 places in town are on the National Register, among them 4 National Historic Landmarks and three historic districts with 14 buildings between them. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1850.
From Poughkeepsie’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Poughkeepsie began, and where its name came from
When was Poughkeepsie founded?
1686
Poughkeepsie dates its founding to 1686 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.
First census: 11,511 in 18502020 census: 45,471340 years
How did Poughkeepsie get its name?
The name Poughkeepsie is derived from a word in the Wappinger tribe's Munsee language, roughly U-puku-ipi-sing, meaning 'the reed-covered lodge by the little-water place', referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River south of the downtown area.
How historic is Poughkeepsie?
A−
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Poughkeepsie is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #352 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Poughkeepsie’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Poughkeepsie’s 9.4 sits near the middle of its state (44% of New York towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1686.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Poughkeepsie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Eight other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wappinger's Creek
1809–1847
New Hamburg
1828–1982
Barnegat
1854–1856
Clinton Point
1856–1881
Rowland
1881–1902
Arlington
1882–1926
Camelot
1884–1914
Stoneco
1891–1951
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArlingtonBahret Mobile Home ParkBarnegatCamelot Village Mobile Home ParkColonial HeightsCrown HeightsFairviewHowlandKnapps CornerLittle Falls Mobile Home ParkMacDonnell HeightsManor Hill Mobile Home ParkNew HamburgRed Oaks MillRochdaleRudcoShady BrookShady Brook Mobile Home ParkSheafe Manor Mobile Home ParkSpackenkillStonecoThe GablesVan Keurens
Gone or out of use
Bowne HospitalhospitalClinton Point QuarrymineJuliet Theatrebuilding
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Poughkeepsie
English colonist Robert Sanders and Dutch colonist Myndert Harmense Van Den Bogaerdt acquired the land on which Poughkeepsie now sits from a local Native American tribe in 1686, and the first settlers were the families of Barent Baltus Van Kleeck and Hendrick Jans van Oosterom. The settlement grew quickly, and the Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie was established by 1720.
After the notable men of the convention had departed to their homes the little village of Poughkeepsie continued to reach out and grow. A map made in 1790 shows that some twenty houses in the central section were built between 1770 and 1790. The town of Poughkeepsie, also, must have been by that time pretty well settled and probably the area of cleared land was almost as great as it is at present. The limekilns at Barnegat were beginning to flourish certainly at this time. C. M. Woolsey's history of Marlborough publishes a map
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dutchess County, New York1909 · page 527Read the page →
Read the text
Carroll, James E., Poughkeepsie Connolly, Frank J., Poughkeepsie Conklin, Fred L., Millerton Cossum, Charles F., Poughkeepsie Conger, Edward A., Poughkeepsie Daughton, Jos. A., Poughkeepsie Daley, Annie G. W., Poughkeepsie Donnelly, John J., Matteawan
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Poughkeepsie, 1686 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1686, according to Wikidata. Poughkeepsie’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1850 counted 11,511 people here.
How does Poughkeepsie rank for history?
Poughkeepsie is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #352 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Poughkeepsie?
20 listings, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks: 17 buildings, among them the Locust Grove (a National Historic Landmark since 1964), and 3 historic districts, the Main Street Historic District, the Stone Street Historic District and the Rosenlund Estate Buildings, with 14 contributing buildings. 43 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Poughkeepsie?
14% of Poughkeepsie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1968.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (20), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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