Less than 90 miles north of Manhattan and about 40 miles northwest of Danbury, the quiet and unassuming village of Millbrook rests. Nineteenth century colonial mansions sit atop acres of unspoiled terrain while modest homes built in their counterparts' vein scatter the remaining hillsides.
For the past 100-plus years, the relationship between wealthy estate owners and middle-class townspeople who inhabit these homes has become a social symbiosis.
According to village historian and local schoolteacher, David Greenwood, the presence of vacationing urbanites and descendents of original estate owners has become a base for the local economy. "The core of the village has traditionally been made up of people who worked in the estates and that holds true today," Greenwood explains. "The only difference is the majority of people with second homes now come for much shorter periods. They still require the support of the local population to provide the things that any homeowner would need." He says that this mutually beneficial relationship is rooted in the village's history. The weekend or vacationing individuals bring vitality to Millbrook while the community, in turn, provides a scenic, undeveloped environment for a second home.
The village of Millbrook—located in eastern Dutchess County's town of Washington—was settled by Dutch Quakers in the mid-eighteenth century. Millbrook's popularity began to grow in the 1870s after the construction of the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad. The Millbrook station allowed easy access to fresh air and a new atmosphere for the New York City population yearning for a release from Manhattan's hustle and bustle.
As Millbrook became an increasingly desirable place to visit, more and more vacationers began building second homes—a trend that continues today. This population generally sits in a higher tax bracket than full-time residents and has created local traditions as well as supporting already existing ones.
The Millbrook Hunt
Given the community's suburban location and wealthy inhabitants, the equestrian lifestyle has become engrained into Millbrook's culture. While not everyone is interested in, or able to afford horse-related sports and activities, its popularity is prevalent throughout the communities of Millbrook and Washington.
"Our countryside allowed that to happen," says Greenwood. He talks about the Millbrook Hunt—a century-old annual event in which horseback riders don traditional British hunting attire and traverse the countryside with hounds in tow searching for wild foxes. He says the idea of the activity is not necessarily to "chase an animal to its death—the majority of times that doesn't happen." Being outdoors and celebrating a locally accepted tradition is the primary ideology of the hunt. "The success of the hunt is one word: cooperation. All of the land-owners become part of the venue," Greenwood says. The cooperation of those living in surrounding areas is also required while horses and riders cross local streets.
From the hunt's popularity and a landscape tailor-made for horse owners, the equestrian culture of Millbrook has evolved to the current presence of multiple tack shops, polo clubs, horse trial competitions, and veterinary offices specializing in the treatment of horses.
In the Family Way
Some grew up in Millbrook participating in horseback riding and fox hunting where others had a more unexpected childhood. Tara Wing, lifetime Millbrook resident, is the daughter of artists Peter and Toni Ann Wing. After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Peter began to build a structure in homage of his adoration for old structures and buildings. His project was initially intended to be a barn with silos, but when a family member commented on its resemblance to a castle, Peter turned his energies toward creating a stone castle made from salvaged materials that, while a fully habitable and impressive building, remains an in-process art project.
Tara spent her childhood growing up in (and helping to build) her parents' makeshift castle. Her childhood was filled with activities not many children of the area partake in—and she is thankful for it. "It wasn't glamorous," she says. When she was a child she says she would "get up and work—mix cement or sort stones. It was hard work, but it instilled some values that some kids don't ever learn, so it paid off," says Wing, a professional photographer who also runs The Pumpkin House, an antiques and consignment emporium on Franklin Avenue.
Others moved to Millbrook in order to raise a family in a peaceful environment. Like Greenwood, current resident Gretchen Brown-Atkin decided that Millbrook was the obvious choice after falling in love with her current home. Like so many Millbrook citizens, Brown-Atkin made the move from New York City. "Basically it was between Rhinebeck and Millbrook," she said. "Then we found the house—and the house really did it." With her husband, Brown-Atkin raised two children in the village—both are now in their twenties and have moved out. "It felt safe—the kids could easily walk to the stores and the post office. I had this fantasy that we would move to the village and the kids could go down to the post office and pick up the mail. Of course they never did," she says with a laugh.
Brown-Atkin did not only find the perfect house when she moved to Millbrook, but also a refreshing community perspective. She says that Millbrook is full of "people who really do care about their town, and that's really wonderful." She continues, "It was just a charming life and as close to a 1950s sitcom as I could get," she says—again with a light chuckle.
Millbrook School
Although Millbrook seemed like an ideal place to raise a family, Brown-Atkin had issues with the public school system her oldest attended. The village has since incorporated multiple campuses into the unified Millbrook Central School district. Given her initial troubles, Brown-Atkin sent her youngest to surrounding private schools, including a stint at Millbrook School—a private preparatory school located on the outskirts of the village on hundreds of acres of farmland.
Nineteen-year-old LaGrange resident Jessica Marcus graduated in 2009; she now attends Marist College in Poughkeepsie. Although during her time at Millbrook School she did not necessarily understand the subtleties of attending a boarding school, in retrospect she greatly values the unique education she received. "It's a prep school but you're not just prepping for college," says Marcus. "You are preparing to speak to future bosses, apply for jobs, react to difficult situations and basically how to be an adult. You're living alone in a community where you have to rely on yourself."
Marcus also credits Millbrook School with instilling in her an awareness of the earth as an ecosystem needing stewardship. "If I'm leaving a room I make sure the lights are off. If there's no recycling bin I get confused," she says. Marcus is now very surprised that some people "don't notice how the environment is effected by what we do."
Alongside the increasing focus on environmental issues, Millbrook School also demonstrates an appreciation for the arts. Bill Hardy, head of the Art Department at Millbrook School, explains that the arts have always been viewed by the administration as a valuable aspect of a well-rounded education. "They have furnished us with a wonderful facility—the Holbrook Art Center—a 37,000-square-foot building that houses drawing, painting, ceramics, a lecture room, music studios, set design shop, a theater, photo studio, dark room, and a formal gallery," he says.
Every year the art department works closely with various arts foundations to exhibit the works of a specifically influential artist. This year, the Gordon Parks Foundation will supply the school with timeless prints by the Life photographer for the students to study. In turn, students will be called on to educate visitors about Parks when an exhibition of Parks's work is mounted in May. The foundation's goal is to preserve the legacy of the artist, Hardy explains. "There's no better way of doing that than to devote a course to it."
Art classes are electives at Millbrook School, however Hardy believes they are not viewed as such by the student body. "Studying the arts has a great deal to do with the way kids understand life at Millbrook," he says. "They want the total educational experience and the arts are part of that."
The Millbrook Myth
Millbrook, however, like any small town is not without its share of contentious issues. The primary reoccurring disagreements amongst villagers revolve around developers wanting to build on the untouched land or renovate historic but unused buildings.
The Thorne Memorial Building, originally erected in 1895 as an educational facility, now sits dormant in the heart of the village. Numerous plans to renovate the building were proposed over the past few decades, but none have come into fruition. Similar plans were in the works for Bennett College, an all-girls finishing school that opened in 1907 and closed in the late 1970s. Crumbling buildings now litter the site. Renovation ideas have been discussed by the local government but the campus has yet to undergo any changes since it closed.
Laura Hurley, the newly elected Mayor of Millbrook, said plans for an arts and cultural center were in the works for the Thorne Building. While the idea is supported by the community, funding is the major issue. "For almost two years we've been trying to get a cultural arts center up and running," Hurley says. But it seems that developers "don't have funding to make the necessary renovations—and neither does Millbrook."
In April of 2009, about a thousand gallons of oil leaked beneath village hall. This disaster, in turn, cost over $1 million to clean up. Although the village owns the Thorne building, Hurley says, "We are not prepared to invest taxpayer dollars at this time."
Olesia Plokhii, managing editor of the Millbrook Independent, the village's newspaper, explains that two schools of thought exist when it comes to development. One refuses outside developers—it is understood that development is inevitable; if development is necessary, it ought to be locally organized. The other ideology considers the beneficial aspects of development while remaining cautious considering economic, educational, and logistical implications. "The general point of view is that [community members] just don't want to be inundated by commercial development," Plokhii says.
She also discusses an issue that developed directly alongside Millbrook's growing popularity with Manhattan natives and those who yearn for country breeze. She explains what her colleague has dubbed "The Millbrook Myth."
"The perception is that this is The Hamptons of Dutchess County," she says. Realtors realized an untapped market in Millbrook for second homeowners and the myth began. Plokhii explains. "A perception then began to spread that Millbrook was a paradise for the rich and the wealthy. The reality is that wealthy people have come and settled here and they contribute heavily to the tax revenue of the community. But a lot of people aren't necessarily doing that well. The economy is hitting us—we feel it and we have for a while."
Thriving in the Downturn
Zach Hampton, owner of Millbrook's only grocery store, Marona's Market, is living proof that even in an economic tumult, businesses can thrive. He credits the store's 60-plus years of success to the personal relationship that exists between the store and the residents of Millbrook—full-time residents and weekenders alike. "If you're standing in an aisle, someone's going to ask you what you need," Hampton says. "If we don't have it, we'll call some other stores for you. It's the personal touch that I think keeps people shopping at Marona's Market rather than bigger supermarkets."
Plokhii says that while many businesses thrive, some still struggle to keep their doors open and most community members are hardly the millionaires they might be perceived as. These are working people who want to make a living and enjoy the breathtaking scenery and neighborly culture the quaint village has always offered.
Concurrently, America's economy has affected Millbrook's housing market in the favor of buyers. Peter Devers of George T. Whalen Real Estate says that the price of houses in Millbrook and the surrounding area are "as low as they're going to get in the foreseeable future. If you've got the wherewithal to come out and purchase something, now is the time." Devers cites 10 immediate listings including a $259,000 4-bedroom colonial and a $975,000 mansions-style estate.
Devers aligns real estate agents with those who may be struggling given today's economic climate. "A lot of agents aren't making a good living because of the lack of sales," Devers, who has been with the 75-year-old company for 30 years, explains. "Some agents have left the business or might supplement their income with part-time jobs elsewhere. Like any business, with the economy in a downturn it's pretty much the established agents or the lucky agents making a living."
Unfortunately for sellers, property values have dropped about 20 percent since the height of the market. Devers says that real estate agents increasingly have to tell sellers that they might have to settle for $50,000 less than they might have gotten four years ago. He remains confident in his buyers and sellers that there is product in the area for multiple price ranges.
"There's a new raft of people who feel more confident about the economy and their futures in particular, and they're coming out looking," he says.
Devers and Greenwood both remain optimistic about the aesthetic allure of Millbrook and believe that weekenders and families in search of a full-time residence will find moving to the village a sound investment.
Greenwood says moving to Millbrook in 1984 was a blessing. "The house is wonderful, the community embraced us with open arms and we've never looked back," Greenwood says. "I think it's the best thing to ever happen to us."
Resources
Marona's Market (845) 677-3471
Millbrook and Vicinity www.millbrookandvicinity.com
Millbrook Independent www.themillbrookindependent.com
Millbrook School www.millbrook.org
The Pumpkin House www.thepumpkinhousemillbrook.com
Village of Millbrook www.village.millbrook.ny.us
Tara Wing Photography www.tarawingphotography.com
Town of Washington www.washingtonny.org
George T. Whalen Real Estate www.gtwhalen.com
Wing's Castle www.wingscastle.com
