Hudson Highlands State Park at Philipstown/Garrison

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HISTORY OF PHILIPSTOWN

In 1697 Adolphus Philipse, a wealthy Province of New York landowner and merchant, purchased a tract from Dutch traders which received British Royal sanction as the Highland Patent. Comprising roughly 250 square miles, it extended approximately 13 miles along the eastern shore of the Hudson River, from Annsville Creek to the Fishkill Creek, and eastward some 20 or so miles to the border of the Colony of Connecticut. Philipstown was first settled in the westernmost of this parcel circa 1715. In 1754 the Highland Patent, subsequently known as the Philipse Patent, was divided among Philipse heirs into nine parcels. In 1788, Philipstown was established out of the three river lots and part of a fourth inland to the north, becoming one of the three original towns in what is now Putnam County. In 1806 a very small portion north of the Hudson Highlands by the mouth of Fishkill Creek was split off from Philipstown and given to the Town of Fishkill.

HISTORY OF HUDSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK

For most of American history, the Highlands were harvested for their natural resources, particularly mineral. Iron and copper were mined from them. Some of the former was used to make cannons by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring continued making them under the direction of Robert Parrott through the late 19th century. Quarries were also carved out of the slopes, most notably on Breakneck Ridge and Bull Hill.