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    Putnam County
    Putnam County
    Putnam County
    Ebook168 pages58 minutes

    Putnam County

    By Guy Cheli

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    About this ebook

    Putnam County, located fifty miles north of New York City and one hundred miles south of Albany, was an important site during the American Revolution and the Civil War. With the advent of the railroad, the county became an important hub for travelers heading to Boston and points north. By the mid-1800s, thousands of workers immigrated here to undertake the enormous task of building dams and reservoirs for New York City’s drinking water. A popular vacation destination of past decades, Putnam County today retains much of its original charm and rural flavor.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 10, 2004
    ISBN9781439632093
    Putnam County
    Author

    Guy Cheli

    Guy Cheli is a member of the Ossining Historical Society, a writer, and contributing editor for Here at Home magazine.

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      Book preview

      Putnam County - Guy Cheli

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      INTRODUCTION

      Putnam County has long been intimately involved in the history of the United States. In Colonial times, it was one of the prime sources of iron ore for cannons and muskets used to fight the British. The chains drawn across the Hudson River to harass the British fleets that needed to sail north were made from iron ore found in a mine in the middle of Putnam County. That mine was the target of many searches by the British army and its spies, but it was not found for the duration of the Revolution. It rests in the wooded hills of Clarence Fahnestock State Park, close to where the Appalachian Trail traverses the park en route from Maine to Georgia. On a similar note, the largest open-pit iron mine in North America existed in Putnam County until the creation of the Middle Branch of the Croton Reservoir of the New York City Watershed flooded it. The Tilly Foster Mine made a significant contribution to the economic growth of the area, and when it closed, the new iron mine area at Mesabi in Minnesota was in the beginning stages of development.

      Upon learning that Danbury, Connecticut, was under attack, a Putnam County native rode to warn her father’s regiment and to alert the troops to muster at his mill to save the city. Sybil Ludington rode twice as far as a certain silversmith from Boston that night, while eluding British sympathizers who were searching for her to kill her. Her effort resulted in the troops rallying and harassing the British forces south all the way to the sea. The British effort was so costly for them in terms of casualties that they never undertook a similar operation for the duration of the war.

      Another vivid example of Putnam County’s impact on history took place during the Civil War, when a secret effort that was as significant as the Manhattan Project occurred here. The project was so important to the outcome of the war that Pres. Abraham Lincoln secretly visited Putnam County four times to check on its progress. The parrot gun was so radically different in its design that it revolutionized cannons and was manufactured worldwide from then on. The design greatly increased range and accuracy. It was invented and produced in Cold Spring.

      Today, Putnam County is a bucolic reminder of how life can be. Free from the pressures of life in a city, residents hike the trails, climb the mountains, bicycle on and off-road, and swim and fish in the lakes and streams. In a couple of locations, record fish have been caught (please do not ask me to disclose the places). For bicyclists, what remains of the route of Sybil Ludington has been marked and the gaps filled in to create the 42-mile circular Tour de Sybil. Those who follow the red square signs with the reflective white star (her horse was named Star) will gain a new appreciation of the effort involved when Sybil Ludington stepped into history.

      As a validation of the values of religious freedom on which our nation was founded, the North American headquarters of the exiled Dalai Lama in Kent. The largest Buddha in the Western Hemisphere is housed here.

      Guy Cheli has captured the essence of Putnam County in the text and rare vintage photographs in this volume. Putnam is fortunate to have a resident with the steady eye and the ready ear to capture and condense sights and tales of the past in an age that is guilty of focusing too much attention on the present. Read and enjoy this book and then consider a trip to Putnam.

      So, come and visit Putnam County. Enjoy the many lakes, the Hudson River, and the verdant hills and parks. Come camping along the Appalachian Trail or in Fahnestock State Park. Come and enjoy the quaint villages, excellent shops, and restaurants. The newest public venture is the conversion of the old Putnam Division Railroad right of way into a rail trail that continues into the North County Trail in Westchester. Eventually, riders will be able to go from Brewster to the Bronx on a continuous bikeway.

      So, come and have a look at Putnam County. You may do what most of us have done, stay!

      —Bil Tulipane

      Supervisor, town of Kent

      One

      CARMEL

      The town of Carmel was formed from Frederickstown on March 17, 1795. The villages of Carmel, Mahopac, and Mahopac Falls comprise this township. Carmel was named after Mount Carmel in Lebanon because of its similar fertile and habitable valleys. Carmel is surrounded by Putnam Valley to the west, Southeast to the east, Kent to the north, and Westchester to the south. Its terrain is generally hilly, with modest valleys running in a north–south direction. The West Branch of the Croton River and Michael’s Brook flow through the eastern section of town. Peekskill Hollow Brook flows through the extreme northwest corner of town. These brooks gave rise to the many mills built by the earliest settlers.

      There are several large lakes here, the largest being Lake Mahopac, which will be covered in the next chapter. Lake Gilead and Lake Gleneida are two large deep lakes that are watershed properties. The West Branch and Croton Falls Reservoirs are also within the town border. The earliest known settlers in this town were believed to be the Hamblin family, who came from Cape Cod in 1739. Timothy Shaw built his home on the north shore of the lake he named Shaw’s Pond c. 1742. The lake was later given the more romantic name of Lake Gleneida.

      In 1812, Putnam was taken from Dutchess County and established as the 46th county of New York State. Carmel was designated as the

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