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THE HAMLETS & FARMS TOUR
The towns of Southeast and Carmel were settled early, but the lack of good river transportation kept them isolated and poor. The City of New York bought some of the very best farmland in the area so that it could become part of the reservoir system.
You'll start this tour from Route 22 in the Town of Southeast, go through Carmel, and it will end in Putnam Valley at the Taconic State Parkway.
1. DOANESBURG: OLD SOUTHEAST CHURCH ~ Turning off Route 22 at the historic marker, you'll see the Old Southeast Church, built in 1794 it is the oldest church building in Putnam County. Restored by the Landmarks Preservation Society, the Church is now used for special services and concerts. It is open to the public in the summer months.
2. DOANESBURG: THE SCHOOLHOUSE ~ Right in front of the church stands the schoolhouse. Records show a school here as early as 1784. It operated into the 1940's.
3. DOANESBURG: SEARS BURYING GROUND ~ This cemetery has the oldest marked grave in Putnam County, 1751.
4. MILLTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT ~ Turn left on Milltown Road to the Milltown Historic Area marker on the site of a pre~Revolutionary settlement in "The Oblong". At the marker, take the left fork on East Branch Road to see the Barnum House (late 18th century), the Milltown real school (1890), the Cage House (1749) and the Salmon House (before1750). Returning to the marker, take the first left after you cross the East Branch and follow (#5) Milltown Road until you return to Route 22.
6. SODOM ~ Cross Route 22 on Sodom Road and take the immediate right on Brewster Hill Road to Sodom. This hamlet has many old houses. "Stonehenge" is on the right, built in the mid~19th century by Seth B. Howes the wealthiest circus proprietor. One mile further on Brewster Hill Road you come to the Triangle House, built by Zalmon Sandford. This is where the first town meeting took place.
7. MORNINGTHORPE (Howes Castle) ~ Return to Route 22 and go right. Just under the railroad make a left on Allview Avenue take this up to Turk Hill. Allview ends at Turk Hill Road, and on your right is Morngthorpe the estate of Seth B. Howes, built in1880. Go right on Turk Hill Road and right on Route 22.
8.MONKEYTOWN ~ At the intersection of Routes 22 and 6, you are in the area known as Monkeytown, named because circus animals were keep here. Also the Borden Condensed Milk Factory, built in 1863, processed 80,000 gallons daily until the late 1920's, when many dairy farms were flooded by the New York City reservoirs. Some of the brick buildings that are still standing were part of Borden's.
VILLAGE OF BREWSTER ~ Turn left on Route 6 at the traffic light and enter the Village of Brewster. The village was founded in anticipation of the Harlem Railroad. James and Samuel Brewster purchased a large farm and built a depot. Walter Brewster laid out the streets and built more then 50 houses, making him Putnam's first developer. Explore Brewster on foot there is metered parking on Main Street next to the Southeast Museum.
WALTER BREWSTER HOUSE (Oak St.) ~ Built by the Brewster's in the middle of the 19th century , This Greek revival has been recently restored through the efforts of the Landmarks Preservation Society. (open by appointment)
SOUTHEAST MUSEUM ~ 67 Main Street, located in the lower level of the old Southeast Town Hall built in 1896. Stop by and learn more about the Harlem RR, Borden's Condensed Milk Factory, the Tilly Foster Iron Mine. Open: May ~ December.
SOUTHEAST TOWN HALL ~ 1 Main Street, The Southeast Town Hall was built in 1885/86 as the First National Bank.
9. TILLY FOSTER ~ Going West on Route 6, you'll come to Route 312 and on your right is the Benedict Farm, formerly Tilly Foster Farm (Tillingham Foster). It was best known for it's thoroughbreds. On the left you can see tailings from the Tilly Foster Mine one of the most famous iron mines in the world. The mine was opened in 1812 by James Townsend. It was the country's largest producer of iron ore in the 1860's, it operated until the end of the century.
10. FOWLER HOUSES ~ At the traffic light after crossing the Middle Branch Reservoir, on the right you will see the mid 19th century (#10) Elijah Fowler House. Make the first right after the traffic light (Root Ave.) and pass the (#11)Moses Fowler House where nearby George Washington's troops camped in route from West Point to Connecticut. At Simpson Road, go left and pass another Tilly Foster horse farm.
12. SETH FOSTER HOUSE ~ At the stop sign, turn left on Fair Street. You'll pass the Seth Foster House on your right. Tilly Foster was born in 1793, his father Seth was an early Carmel Supervisor.
13. PUTNAM FAIR GROUNDS ~ Right before the bottom of the hill, to your left is the site of the Putnam County Fair Grounds. Opened in 1851,livestock and produce competed for for prizes by the Putnam County Agricultural Society. Today, the 4-h Fair is held annually at the end of June at the County Park in Kent.
HAMLET OF CARMEL ~ Like Brewster Carmel lends itself to a walking tour. Just after the Carmel High School on your left a driveway turn into a County parking lot, parking is free for visitors.
COUNTY COURT HOUSE ~ Built 1814..Until it was closed in 1989 for restoration, it was one of New York's oldest courthouses in continuous use. when Putnam County separated from Dutchess in 1812 one of the first projects was building a courthouse. Portico and pillars were added to the 1840's simple square structure. 1990 started the extensive restorations of the courthouse to preserve the structure and adapt it for use as a Surrogate's court.
DREW METHODIST CHURCH(1864) ~ Walk past the County Office Building to the Drew Methodist Church, built on the site of an earlier church (1834). Perhaps hoping that his philanthropy would blot out his sins, Putnam's notorious son Daniel Drew was the church's major contributor.
ST. JAMES ROMAN THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH(1964) ~ St James in noted for its fine mosaic of Elias on Mt. Carmel and for its outstanding front wall of stained glass designed by a French artist Pierre Millous of Chartres.
REED MEMORIAL LIBRARY ~ When you reach Route 6, you will see across the intersection the unusual shape of the library, a 1913 structure listed on the National Register.
LAKE GLENEIDA ~ Cross Gleneida Ave. and return to the courthouse on the lakeside, there are no houses now. In Carmel's early days the lake was know as Shaw's Pond, and house lines both side of the street. When New York City purchased the lake for its reservoir system, the house were moved to other locations.
SYBIL LUDINGTON STATUE ~ The statue of Putnam's heroine Sybil Ludington commemorates her famous ride through the county to rouse her father's troops when the British were attacking Danbury in 1777. Created by the noted sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, it was given to the County by the Enoch Crosby Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
OLD BAPTIST CEMETERY ~ Continue on Gleneida Ave. past Fair Street to the Old Baptist Cemetery just past the stores. At least fourteen Revolutionary War Soldiers are buried here. Cemetery buffs will find two other old cemeteries across the street.
MOUNT CARMEL BAPTIST CHURCH (1870) ~ Was built to replace an earlier(1780's) structure, the first church in the hamlet of Carmel. Court was held in the Baptist meeting house from 1812 to 1814 while the courthouse was being built.
SEMINARY HILL ~ Return to your car and drive back toward the library. Take Seminary Hill Road past Gilead Presbyterian Church to the Guideposts on your left
14. GUIDEPOSTS ~ The headquarters of the Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's inspirational magazine is on the site of Drew Seminary and Female College Originally the home of the Carmel Collegiate Institute. Drew Seminary was named for Daniel Drew, whose $25,000 largess in 1866 made its remodeling possible. The barn-like structure seen today was built in 1873. The school under various names operated from 1848 until it was sold in the early 1950's.
GILEAD BURYING GROUNDS ~ A side trip taking the left fork at Merchants Street brings one to Gilead Burying Ground on your left. Here are the graves of many soldiers of the Revolutionary War, including that of Enoch Crosby, the model for James Fenimore Cooper's hero Harvey Birch in The Spy. Continue on Seminary Hill Road until it forks, take the right fork and take Drewville Road right at the bottom of the hill and follow it until it ends at Route 6 where you will go left.
15. PUMPING STATION ~ The pumping station that you see across Route 6 can bring water from Catskill systems or from Boyds or West Branch Reservoirs, or it can be used to pump water out of systems to drain the reservoirs.
16. HERMITAGE OF OUR LADY OF KURSH ~ A bit of old Russia is right beside the arches of a wooden gate. The retreat house of the Russian. Orthodox Church in exile was founded by Russians fleeting religious persecution in Russia in 1930's.
17. OLD MAHOPAC ~ After passing shopping centers and a pond on your left, you will come to site of the original hamlet of Mahopac. The City of New York condemned the settlement because it lay within 200 feet of a stream feeding its reservoir, and the buildings were burned down in 1900.
CARMEL HISTORICAL SOCIETY CENTER (Old Town Hall, 1906) ~ A detour to your left at the traffic light at Croton Falls Road and a right at the new Carmel Town Hall, takes you to the Historical Society center. Open May to October.
18. PUTNAM DIVISION OF THE NY & NORTHERN RR ~ The abandoned track of the Putnam can be seen at several areas along Route 6. The first train from Carmel was in 1886. It had six passengers and 39 cans of milk.
19. LAKE MAHOPAC ~ Take the right fork and follow Route 6N along the shores of Lake Mahopac, formerly Hustin's Pond. Lake Mahopac became one of the most exciting and popular summer resorts in New York. Stagecoaches brought vacationers to many hotels in the area. Ice cutting in the winter provided a source of income to the residents after the summer vacationers left.
20. CANOPUS ISLAND ~ Was a meeting place of the Mahopac's ( the native Wappingers) who lived in Putnam County before the Europeans came. In the 1880's there was an iron mine on the island.
21. MAHOPAC FALLS ~ Route 6N takes you to Mahopac Falls (Red Mills). In the 1740's Kirkham Mill was established. In 1756 the Red Mill was built. All the mills in the area used water to run the mills untill 1870 when New York City drew off water off from Lake Mahopac without legal authority, durring a drought. The Red Mill was torn down by the city and lake outlets were rechanneled. There plan was to flood the entire area for a reservoir.
22. RED MILLS BAPTIST CHURCH ~ The Baptist Church was built in 1868 and remodeled in 1868.
23. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CARMEL ~ An earlier was built in 1784. The current structure was built in 1833.
24. ABRAHAM SMITH HOUSE ~ After the church make a right onto Secor Road. The first house right after the high tension lines is the Abraham Smith House. Here part of this house dates to the 1740's, the front dates to the 18th century. The Smiths came from Long Island and were farmers, Saxton Smith was an important figure in 19th century Putnam politics.
25. TACONIC STATE PARKWAY ~ Secor Road leads to the Parkway. You can end your tour here or cross over the parkway and continue down Byrant Pond Road and connect with the Hills & Dales Tour