[CHAPTER XXVI.]
TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR.
By Dr. C. A. Gorse.
Less than three centuries ago, to be accurate in 1609, Hendrick Hudson sailed up the beautiful river to which he gave his name, and anchored in the broad bay above the Highlands to trade with the aboriginal inhabitants, who then inhabited the primeval forests which lined its banks.
It is probable that he and some portion of his crew were the first men who set foot upon the virgin soil of New Windsor, but it was not until more than half a century later, in 1685, that a company of Scotch and Irish emigrants to the number of twenty-five families, with their servants, under the leadership of Colonel Patrick McGregorie, accompanied by his sons-in-law, David Foshack and Captain Evens, settled upon the extreme eastern extremity of the town, now known as Plum Point, an elevation of 118 feet above the river and consisting of eighty acres at the mouth of the Moodna Creek.
Here they erected a commodious cabin and established a trading post; this is the earliest recorded settlement in the county. Colonel McGregorie was appointed muster general of the militia of the province and after his death, in 1691, in an endeavor to suppress an insurrection by the Leister party, his sons-in-law and their families continued to reside here until 1789. The patent which the Colonel obtained to the land passed into the possession of his son, Patrick McGregorie, Jr.
The town is wedge-shaped, its sharp edge of about five miles in extent resting upon the river. There is but a small extent of comparatively level land along the river bank upon which the village of New Windsor stands, back of which there rises a steep bluff with a surface of sand and gravel, and a substratum of clay, which is used in the manufacture of an excellent quality of brick, which at the present time is the principal industry of the place. The township is bounded on the north by the city and town of Newburgh, from which it is separated by Quassaick Creek, an outlet of Washington Lake, formerly known as Little Pond, also a portion of the town of Montgomery; on the west by the towns of Montgomery and Hamptonburgh; on the south by Blooming Grove and Cornwall. From the latter town it is separated by Moodna Creek, near its mouth. On the east it is bounded by the Hudson River.
The soil is of a sandy and gravelly nature, interspersed in some portions by rocks and large stones, of a diversified surface, being rolling and hilly. After leaving the river the surface gradually ascends for a distance of two or three miles, interspersed with gentle elevations which have been utilized by retired business men of New York for sightly country residences, most of which command a magnificent view of the noble Hudson, and the picturesque Highlands in the distance.
On the northern edge of the town rises Snake Hill, or more recently called Muchattoes Hill, an elevation of 600 feet above the river. It lies north and south and is almost perpendicular on its eastern extremity, but slopes gradually on the west, from which the surface is again rolling and adapted to agricultural purposes. At the distance of about five miles from the river the town is crossed north and south by two ridges, rising in amphitheatre form, from whose summit is obtained a most elegant view of the surrounding country. The Highlands on the south, the Fishkill Mountains on the east, the Shawangunk Mountains on the north, and the Sugar Loaf and Schunnemunk Mountains on the west.
PATENTS.