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Ten years later, the State convention also met here for ratification of the Federal Constitution. The town has a beautiful location, and is justly regarded the finest residence city on the river. It is not only midway between New York and Albany, but also midway between the Highlands and the Catskills, commanding a view of the mountain portals on the south and the mountain overlook on the north—the Gibraltar of revolutionary fame and the dreamland of Rip Van Winkle.
The azure heaven is filled with smiles,
The water lisping at my feet
From weary thought my heart beguiles.
Henry Abbey.
The well known poet and litterateur, Joel Benton, who divides his residence between New York and Poughkeepsie, in a recent article, "The Midway City of the Hudson," written for the Poughkeepsie Sunday Courier, says: