The Adriance (located on Market St., a 15 min. bike ride away; closest stop on the Pok-Vassar bus is Hamilton and Main) maintains a special local history collection and several finding aids to local history and genealogical materials. For more information, contact the local history librarian using the email form or by phone.
Resources related to the environmental history of Poughkeepsie and its surrounding area include:
Newspaper clippings pertaining to Dutchess County and Poughkeepsie, with some reference to Ulster and Columbia Counties. Subjects include Adriance Memorial Library, clubs and organizations, towns and villages of Dutchess County, public buildings, art, biography, churches, colleges, government bodies, bridges, business firms, transportation, hospitals, industries, politics, environment, creeks, fires and firemen, Hudson River, education, sports, museums, music, railroads, roads, blacks, national groups, weather, and the history of Dutchess County and Poughkeepsie.
Miscellaneous letters primarily sent to Dutchess County people with some written by local people; family names include Pearsall, Platt, and Oakley. Subjects include church appointments, village office positions, Poughkeepsie's water supply, family news, legal and financial matters, traveling, and farming. There are numerous letters from Orlando Neely of New York City to his cousin Lucinda M. Pine concerning his romance and the demands of business, 1834-1838, and many from J.F. Barnard to J.B. Moss on legal matters, 1850-1857. Other items of note include Revolutionary War letters, 1778-1783, including one from George Clinton, and a speech by James Tallmadge, Jr., on the death of George Washington, 1800.
Finding aids: Item list.
Legal papers and correspondence of Joseph Brady, Edward J. Filipowicz, Arthur Greene, and others in local citizens' groups opposing construction of the highway, 1965-1971; reports on the environmental impact of the proposed highway prepared by the New State Dept. of Transportation, 1973-1975; and a transcript of testimony from Roger H. Corbetta given at a public hearing, 1966.
Records relating to the city of Poughkeepsie and its earlier existence as a village include minutes, 1803-1984; account books, budgets, and annual reports, 1818-1982; tax lists, 1815-1844; bills, receipts, vouchers, agreements, and other miscellaneous records, 1830-1852, relating to census-taking, hay scales, gunpowder inspection, taxes, the village market, the 1832 cholera epidemic, and general maintenance; court records, 1840-1841; Board of Health reports, 1919-1928; scrapbooks, reports, and miscellaneous records relating to the water supply, 1829-1875; election and voter records, 1834-1955; petitions and complaints to the Trustees, 1824-1840; records of the Overseer of the Poor, ca. 1815; and ordinances and codes.
Minutes of the Planning Board, 1936-1962; and reports and plans concerning city growth and development, land use, economic conditions, coastal management, housing, and zoning, 1938-1980.
Subjects: Land use -- Planning. Coastal zone management --
