Dutchess Turnpike Milemarker 4

4 Miles from P.C. House

Location:

The milestone is located on the north side of U.S. Route 44 in the Town of Poughkeepsie just north of Thomas Ave, at #987 Route 44. Coordinates are 41.712479°, -73.86306°. It is unclear whether this milestone is located on the NYSDOT right-of-way for Route 44 or on the property at 987 Dutchess Turnpike.

History:

The mileage of the stone is assumed based on its location from the Poughkeepsie Court House, since the lettering has worn off.

This stone was located by the NYSDOT ROW Mapping Group in November 1979 as on left side of the road, 1.8mi east of the Rt 44/Burnett Blvd intersection [3]. In 1983 and 1984 [1], Clifford Buck inventoried the remaining stones on the Dutchess Turnpike and identified stone #4 as on the north side of the road “a few houses southwest of Hornbeck Road”. Currently the stone is more than a few houses southwest of Hornbeck Road, so it may have been relocated. A rudimentary search at the Dutchess County Record Room found no references to the stone in deeds or filed maps [2]. A search of NYSDOT’s record plans also did not reveal any mapping that includes the milestone.

Sources:

[1] Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book 1984, page 153-170, “Turnpikes of Pleasant Valley” by Alson D. Van Wagner

[2] 987 Dutchess Tpke at 134689-6262-04-817422-0000. Most recent deed Doc 02-2008-2030. Previous deed from 2008, doc #2030 for “two eastern lots”. Previous deed L511/P36 for three lots. Also searched files map #1683.

[3] Undated (circa 1980) untitled writeup on history of Dutchess Turnpike compiled by K. Chapman of NYSDOT Region 8; document retained by NYSDOT Region 8 ROW Mapping Group