New about the Fishkill Supply Depot, New York's Valley Forge

Advocating the Preservation, Study, and Proper Interpretation of the Fishkill Supply Depot and Encampment

News

Schumer Legislation to Help Fishkill Revolutionary War Camp Access Federal Preservation Dollars Set to Clear Major Legislative Hurdle
Press Release from the Office of U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, December 15, 2009
"The legislation would expand the program to include the depot and authorize $10 million per year of funding specifically for the acquisition of Revolutionary War sites, in addition to the already available $10 million in funding for Civil War Sites..."

People to Watch: Mara Farrell, Community Activist
Hudson Valley Magazine, November, 2009
By Mary Forsell
"Almost anyone driving along Route 9 south of I-84 in Fishkill wouldn’t notice anything unusual — a blighted mall, a Mexican restaurant, a Hess station. Mara Farrell sees things differently. 'This is hallowed ground,' says the Fishkill resident. 'This is a place where dramas played out...'"

Revolutionary discovery along Route 9: Research finds site holds soldiers' graves
Times Herald-Record, November 15, 2009
By Alyssa Sunkin
"They were America's first patriots, the ones who fought for democracy and freedom. For years, they rested beneath overgrown grass and a sea of trees off Route 9 in Fishkill, unknown to passersby and archaeologists. That is, until two years ago..."

Three cheers...
Poughkeepsie Journal, August 3, 2009 (see p. 2)
"... To Mara Farrell, co-founder of Fishkill Historical Focus, who recently testified before the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks in favor of Sen. Charles Schumer's legislation to make the Fishkill Supply Depot eligible for federal preservation funds."

Senate Testimony by Mara Farrell concerning the Fishkill Supply Depot
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, National Parks Subcommittee Hearing: to receive testimony on S. 1168 and H.R. 1694, to authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, July 15, 2009.

Historian makes aid pitch in DC
Poughkeepsie Journal, July 17, 2009
By Jenny Lee-Adrian
"A Fishkill resident who testified at a Senate hearing is hopeful about U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer's legislation that could make the Fishkill Supply Depot eligible for federal funding..."

Senate holding hearing on bill that would preserve Fishkill Revolutionary War Camp, Mid-Hudson News Network, July 14, 2009
"The Dutchess County Legislature unanimously went on record supporting a federal bill to preserve Revolutionary War battlefields and related sites. The bill is pending in Congress. Local preservation expert and Fishkill Depot advocate Mara Farrell will be testifying before the [United States] Senate Subcommittee on National Parks..."

NY growth besieges Revolutionary patriots' graves
Associated Press - printed in 203 newspapers in US and abroad, July 3, 2009
By Chris Carola
"Ed Spaeth was researching his family tree when he discovered an 18th-century ancestor likely was buried in the woods just down the hill from his Hudson Valley home. Although he can't pinpoint Francois Martin-Pelland's grave, historical evidence has led Spaeth to the nearby grove believed to be the final resting place of hundreds of other Revolutionary War soldiers posted here when Fishkill was the main supply source for Gen. George Washington's northern army..."

Fishkill's plans tied to fate of key lands
Poughkeepsie Journal, June 18, 2009
"U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., recently came to town to push legislation that would allow a Revolutionary War encampment known as the Fishkill Supply Depot to obtain federal money to preserve hundreds of graves discovered at the site. This is a vitally important project, one that has the support of many historic and civic groups in the town and area..."

Senator Schumer Presents Ideas for Saving Fishkill Supply Depot
Incorporated Orange County Chapter of the New York State Archeological Association, June 6, 2009
"They were the first American Patriots. They stood in battle against the greatest military power the world had ever seen. They suffered unimaginable hardships, including near starvation, epidemics of incurable diseases, infestations of lice, and even lack of clothes and firewood in the face of frigid New York winters..."

Schumer visits Revolutionary War gravesite
Southern Dutchess News, June 3, 2009
by Kristine Coulter
"FISHKILL— Senator Charles Schumer visited the grounds where the Fishkill Supply Depot was located and where it was recently confirmed that possibly thousands of soldiers’ graves are still there..."

Schumer: Depot and fallen Revolutionary War heroes must be honored; says site can become added jewel in the crown that is Hudson Valley's unparalleled tourism industry
Press release from the office of U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, dated June 1, 2009
"U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, standing at the Fishkill Supply Depot in Duchess County, today announced legislation to make the site eligible for federal preservation funds..."

Schumer seeks cash to preserve historic graves
Poughkeepsie Journal, June 1, 2009
"U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer announced legislation today that would allow the Fishkill Supply Depot — an encampment during the Revolutionary War — to receive federal money to preserve hundreds of graves discovered at the depot..."

Saving a Revolutionary War soldiers’ burial ground
Mid-Hudson News Network, June 2, 2009
"[U.S. Sen.] Schumer will introduce legislation to expand that to include significant sites from the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. 'The bottom line is very simple,” Schumer said, “the sacrifices of patriotic Americans should never be forgotten nor should their graves be desecrated or paved over.'"

Senator Schumer urges National Park Service to conduct thorough investigation of former revolutionary war camp, assess value to preserve site and honor fallen soldiers
Press release from the office of U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, dated May 18, 2009
"The sacrifices of the first Americans must not be forgotten, nor should their graves be desecrated by commercial development. The Fishkill Supply Depot would be most appropriately used as a memorial to the brave men and women who fought during the Revolution and not a mall or office park."

Town Hopes to Preserve "N.Y's Valley Forge"
Preservation Magazine, May 26, 2009
By Margaret Foster
"Now a group of... Fishkill residents wants to permanently preserve the land, where state archaeologists discovered more than 100 graves..."

Letter from Paul Hawke, Chief, American Battlefield Protection Program, National Park Service, to Senator Stephan Saland, Assemblyman Joel Miller, Dutchess County Legislature Chairman Roger Higgins, and Fishkill Supervisor Joan Pagones, May 18, 2009:
"...The... Report to Congress on the Historical Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (September 2007) recognizes the Fishkill Supply Depot as one of the most significant places of the Revolutionary War. Because of its susceptibility to development, the depot site is listed as a priority among national preservation efforts in the report. We offer our support as you seek ways to protect the depot's archeological resources and secure the final resting place of the soldiers who served this country during its struggle for independence..."

Remains of nation’s first veterans found in Fishkill
Southern Dutchess News, May 5, 2009
by Kristine Coulter
"'Those buried in this cemetery are some of the United States’ first war veterans and they should be treated appropriately. While it is likely that most buried here died of diseases associated with military life of the time, rather than battle wounds, they were still far from home and fighting for American independence and gave their lives for that cause,' said [New York State Historic Preservation Program Analyst Archaeology Douglas] Mackey....

'Any historical location requires more than a postage stamp piece of terrain. Preserving the soldiers’ burial ground goes without saying. Yes, it should be honored. And you can't honor these patriots by simply preserving a gravesite surrounded by shopping malls. It needs space to breathe,' said [Fishkill Historical Focus's Mara] Farrell."

Fishkill land confirmed to be Revolutionary War gravesite
Poughkeepsie Journal, April 29, 2009
"Graves, very likely those of hundreds of Revolutionary War soldiers, have been found, at long last, on undeveloped land in the Town of Fishkill that was proposed to be a shopping center..."

H.R.1694 - Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act
Passed the House of Representatives, April 21, 2009
"A bill to authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 under the American Battlefield Protection Program..."

To Preserve or to Pave Over History
New York Times, April 18, 2009
By Peter Applebome
"... a place... where, as one contemporary account put it, soldiers 'patched their clothes until patches and clothing both gave out and the garments dropped from their bodies,' where hundreds, perhaps well over a thousand, were buried in unmarked graves."

N.Y. Revolutionary War Encampment Faces Development
Preservation Magazine, May 5, 2008
By Sarah Amtower
"A strip mall may take over the site of an important Revolutionary War supply depot in Fishkill, N.Y. Of the depot's 70 acres listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, 18 acres are slated for new development..."

Letter from J. Winthrop Aldrich, Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, to Fishkill Supervisor Joan Pagones, March 27, 2009:
"...I understand that you are aware of recent efforts to develop [the property... just across Route 9 from the Dutchess Mall] and of the efforts by various local and regional entities to preserve the parcel in its undeveloped state. I believe you are also aware that this parcel, and the adjacent Oasis Ministries parce, are the last two sections of the [National Register of Historic Places] Historic District that have not been seriously impacted by commercial development. As such, these parcels represent the last intact vestiges of an important part of Fishkill's and the nation's history. The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation strongly encourgages the Town to consider how it can most effectively help to preserve this important historic location. The opportunity to achieve this patriotic and deeply worthy objective is not likely ever to come again...."

Paving over history
Published in the New York Times New York Region Opinions page, December 9, 2007
By Mara Farrell
"It’s a beautiful thing to have a Revolutionary War site like the Fishkill Encampment and Supply Depot, a nationally registered landmark, in your town. But when the military camp — where thousands of George Washington’s troops were stationed to keep the British from moving past New York City and capturing the Hudson River — is also home to the heavily trafficked Route 9 corridor, pleading for its survival can sometimes feel like a never-ending battle... "

Fishkill historic site should be preserved
Southern Dutchess News, November 14, 2007
By Nate Binzen
"Pretty soon, you can expect all the wooded land between the historic Van Wyck House and the Maya Café on Route 9 in Fishkill to be covered in a brand new shopping center, despite the facts that the entire property is within the Fishkill Supply Depot site listed on the National Register of Historic Places..."

Revolutionary War Site Threatened by Developer
Beacon Dispatch, February 3, 2007
By Michael Boyajian
"Few people realize that a major historic site exists in Fishkill.... A place whose hallowed ground was walked by the very likes of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette and General Israel Putnam..."

Shopping area once supplied, housed fledgling army - FISHKILL DEPOT
Poughkeepsie Journal, Wednesday, December 13, 2006
By Lauren Giordano
"There are 70 acres just off Interstate 84, exit 13 in the Town of Fishkill, known to most people as the Dutchess Mall or, more recently, Home Depot. What most people don't know is the vast history those acres hold. The site was once known as the Fishkill Encampment and Supply Depot, used extensively during the Revolutionary War..."

Letter to Poughkeepsie Journal by Timothy Binzen
Printed in Poughkeepsie Journal, December, 2006
"In New York State, a municipal government can request that the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) comment on a proposed construction undertaking under SEQRA (the State Environmental Quality Review Act). One result of this comment can be that in order to receive a construction permit, a project proponent must show that a development will not impact significant archaeological resources, that are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places..."

Letter to Poughkeepsie Journal by Martin Byster
Printed in Poughkeepsie Journal, December 21, 2006
"Crossroads is within the 70 acre Fishkill Supply Depot on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974 to recognize its “ historical and archaeological significance” and encourage its preservation... "

Letter to Poughkeepsie Journal by Michael Boyjian
Printed in Poughkeepsie Journal, November 24, 2006
"Fishkill must implement innovations that will promote its rich historical past. One way is to work with local businesses along Route 9 in the area of what was once the Fishkill Supply Depot, an important American Revolution encampment that rivaled similar locations at Valley Forge and Morristown..".

Historical group seeks state review of depot - Fishkill land target of developers
Poughkeepsie Journal, Thursday, November 30, 2006
By Leigh Gomez

Fishkill depot defenseless against mall
Times Herald-Record, September 16, 2006
By Michael Randall
"Fishkill —- What a way to treat a historic site. The Fishkill Encampment and Supply Depot was a pretty important place back in 1776. Historians say George Washington's army might not have won the American Revolution without it. But 230 years later, it's not only largely forgotten, it's all but disappeared... "

Historians against plaza on Route 9 - Critics say site was American Revolution hub
Poughkeepsie Journal, Monday, July 10, 2006
By David Paulsen
"FISHKILL —- A developer's plans to build a retail plaza on Route 9 south of Interstate 84 has sparked objections from local historians, who say the land should be preserved for its historical ties to the American Revolution..."

Revolutionary War site is in jeopardy - Letter by Mara Farrell
Poughkeepsie Journal, Monday, July 11, 2006
"Once again commercial development in the Town of Fishkill threatens the remains of a precious and unique heritage that dates back more than two centuries to the Revolutionary War..."

Defending What's Left of a Revolutionary Site
New York Times, June 16, 2006
By Fernanda Santos
"Shortly after he took command of the Continental Army in 1775, at the onset of the Revolutionary War, George Washington ordered the construction of a military camp and storage yard south of the Fishkill Creek, on a 70-acre parcel that now spans both sides of Route 9, near Interstate 84, in the Town of Fishkill..."

Plaza is proposed in Fishkill - 8-acre parcel across from Route 9 is seen as possible site
Poughkeepsie Journal, Saturday, May 13, 2006
By Craig Wolf
"FISHKILL —- Land that has long lain undeveloped near the Dutchess Mall during its long period of decline is suddenly of interest..."