Parrott Rifles, a type of cannon used extensively by both sides in the American Civil War, were manufactured at Cold Spring's West Point Foundry. The Putnam History Museum is located in the now defunct foundry's school building, and at the outdoor West Point Foundry Preserve.
Boscobel House and Gardens, an early 19th-century Federal-style mansion was moved in its entirety from its original location 15 miles downriver to a scenic bluff in Garrison in 1961. A growing destination for weddings and life celebrations, Boscobel also hosts the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival during the summer.
Patterson's Great Swamp, 444 protected acres, is supported by groups like the Friends of the Great Swamp (FroGS) and The Nature Conservancy. See ducks, geese, deer, wild turkey, cottontails, squirrels, foxes, coyotes, beavers, muskrats, minks, and bobcats; as well as turtles, snakes, frogs, and salamander—with occasional black bears and moose.
There's a highly public Cold Spring media battle between conservative Roger Ailes, of Fox News fame—whose wife Elizabeth publishes two of Putnam's weekly papers—and Gordon Stewart, a liberal entrepreneur, whose relatively new, free newspaper is in direct and sometimes gritty competition with the Aileses' paper.
Fahnestock State Park is a focus for year-round outdoor activity all, with boating, swimming, lake and pond activities, hiking, cross-country skiing, and camping on 14,000 acres. It serves as the natural division between eastern and western Putnam, and Appalachian Trail hikers can be seen there year-round.
Putnam County is currently in a heated legal battle with Gannett over the County Clerk Dennis Sant's refusal to provide the newspaper chain with the names of registered gun owners in the county. County Executive MaryEllen Odell backs the refusal.
The Chuang Yen Monastery, in Kent, features beautifully walkable grounds, resident monks with shaven heads and saffron robes, numerous public programs, a charming gift shop, and the largest indoor Buddha statue in the US. Chuang Yen means majestically adorned.
Hello Dolly, starring Barbra Streisand, was filmed at Garrison's Landing, a tiny Victorian waterfront neighborhood, complete with gazebo, which houses two community favorites, the Garrison Art Center and the Philipstown Depot Theatre. The Art Center's summer Fine Crafts Fair draws thousands down to the riverside each year.
Putnam's Breakneck Ridge is one of the most popular and challenging hiking locations in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Local emergency responders call it simply "the mountain" and know all too well how easy it is to get lost, stranded, or hurt there. Hike it if you dare.
A broad coalition of regulators, local governments, environmental organizations, and residents are working to create the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, a path for pedestrians stretching from Cold Spring to Beacon alongside picturesque Route 9D.
