Untitled (8)SUNDAY. JANUARY s, 1967 POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL
18th
Century Map Confirms
Belief
In Early King'
BY JOSEPH W. EMSLEY ' Old Evidence Gone
An early 16th century Romboutl Virtually all physical evidences
Patent map in the County Clerk's of the old Kink's Road at the i
office confirms the belief of local', creek crossing have been ob-
historians that there once was alliterated, but Mr. Dick pointed
crossing of the old King's Road,' out that his children noted some
now Route 9, east of the present evidence of man-made vestiges
Route 9 crossing the Wa_ pingers'. in the shale crossing area. The
Lake property. ;accompanying map showsthe
The late Helen Wilkinson Rey-, point of crossing at circle 2, and
nolds and the late Dr. J. Wilson', the map itself contains the cross-
Poucher county historians, both I ing marker with the caption, "The
called attention to such a Post'', Bridge Crossing the Kill at the
Road crossing of the WappingersiKing's Road". Towards the Hud -
Creek but left uncertain the exact i son Rivera4 circle 1 is the
point of the crossing. Interest in' "Bridge South of Brewer's"—in
the approximate point of cross-! the area of the present stone
ing was stimulated recently by! bridge over the creek in the vil-
inquires connected with a story!lage proper.
about Wappingers Lake, which) Bought in 1741
has been purchased by the Village' Dr. Poucher, tracing early de -
of Wappingers Falls. velopments of the village, wrote
The writer, through the co-) that in 1741, Adolph Brewer of
operation of William Dick, 47 Lin-; Bergen County, N. J., bought
Coon -
cone Dr., whose residence pro
-I some 600 acres in Dutebess perty adjoins Wappingers Creek,�ty, much of it the present Vil-
learned that the old King's Road,lage of Wappingers Falls. His
crossing was approximately 1.0001 son. Nicholas, operated a mill
feet west of the "little" falls of near the bridge, a covered,strue-
the creek. ;ture on the site of the present
The "little" falls adjoin Mr. village stone bridge, which was
Dick's acreage near a sharp bend) built in 1652. Pepter Messier, a
in the creek which is shown on! prosperous New York City bus -
the Rombout Patent map. Thelinessman, purchased the village
lake property acquired by the vil- property held previously by the
lage extends east to the "little" Brewer family. The original
falls, but the village has no right j patentees of the village lands
of access to the creek from thei were Francis Rombout, Gulian.
private properties which flank; Vemlarck and Stephens Van
either side of the creek. I Cortland.
Road Bri"..d.
at Falls',
..._.._ ..... �,..: Pou6hkeePsie ou 00
AN 01.D ROMBOU'i PATENT MAP in the the predecessor of the present New York -Albany
1I County Clerk's office has brought to light, as Post Road. The old crossing apparently was
shown in the above reproduction, the point about L000 feet west of the "tittle" s "upper"
where the old King's Road bridge crossed the falls of the lake property, which was acquired
creek. King's Road, or Kings Hignway, was by the Village of Wappingers Falls last year.