Amenia, New York | |
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Town | |
Tenmile River Metro-North station in Amenia
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Location of Amenia, New York |
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Coordinates: 41°50′49″N 73°33′17″W / 41.84694°N 73.55472°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
County | Dutchess |
Government | |
• Type | Town Council |
• Town Supervisor | Victoria A. Perotti (R) |
• Town Council |
Members' List
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Area | |
• Total | 43.6 sq mi (113.0 km2) |
• Land | 43.2 sq mi (111.9 km2) |
• Water | 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km2) |
Elevation | 568 ft (173 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 4,436 |
• Density | 103/sq mi (39.6/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 12501 |
Area code(s) | 845 |
FIPS code | 36-01693 |
GNIS feature ID | 0942425 |
Website | www |
Amenia is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the east border of the county.
Amenia is one of the original towns formed by act of March 7, 1788. It comprises the width of the Oblong Tract, and the east tier of lots in the Great Nine Partners Patent.
The first known inhabitants of the area were members of the Pequot people, who had a village in the northeast part of the town on the west side of Indian Pond called Wechquadnach. The Scatacooks from Connecticut were accustomed to hold pow wows in South Amenia.
In 1703 Richard Sackett was granted a patent for land along Wassaic Creek. As this land was already included in the previous Great Nine Partners Patent, Sackett's title was invalid. Sackett was also one of the partners in the Little Nine Partners Patent. He settled about one mile south of Wassaic at a site called the "Steel Works", as furnace and foundry were established there during the Revolution to manufacture steel for the use of the army. There was a forge at that location as early as 1770.
In 1724 Captain Garret Winegar (Winnegar) came to Amenia Union from East Camp in Columbia County, New York. The Winegars were among the Palatine families from the Middle Rhine that had settled in the Province of New York in 1710 under the sponsorship of Queen Anne. A second Palatine family, that of Johannes Rouh (Rowe), came to Hitchcock's Corner (Amenia Union) sometime prior to 1731. Samuel Hitchcock, for whom the hamlet was named, arrived in about 1757. Dr. Thomas Young lived at the "Corner" for several years and married a daughter of Captain Winegar. The town was named by Young, derived from Latin and meaning "pleasant to the eye".