Editing Beacon, New York (section)

==History==
In 1683 [[Francis Rombouts|Francis Rombout]] and Gulian Verplanck, merchant-fur traders from New York City, purchased the land that would come to include the City of Beacon from the [[Wappinger]] tribe. The sale was sanctioned by [[King James II|James II of England]] in 1685 in the [[Rombout Patent]]. Rombout died in 1691, leaving his share to his daughter, [[Catheryna Rombout Brett|Catheryna Brett]]. The Rombout Patent was partitioned in 1706, and Brett received and maintained approximately {{convert|28000|acre|km2}} along the [[Fishkill Creek|Vis Kill]].

Brett sold some of her land to other settlers, often retaining the right to build a flour mill on the property. During the first third of the nineteenth century, Dutchess County ranked first among New York State counties in wheat production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/dutchesscounty00federich/dutchesscounty00federich_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Dutchess county"|website=archive.org|access-date=9 July 2017}}</ref> Mills on Brett's property attracted farmers from both sides of the river. In 1748 Brett and a group of other settlers agreed to build the Frankfort Store House near the water at the "Lower Landing" north of Dennings Point. This store marked the beginning of river freighting in the area, and Fishkill Landing developed into a river port.<ref name=verplanck>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028853327#page/298/mode/2up The history of Dutchess County, New York] Verplanck, William E., "The Town of Fishkill" in Hasbrouck's ''History of Dutchess County''</ref> As early as 1780 two dozen vessels operated out of Fishkill Landing. [[J.P. De Wint|John Peter DeWint]], owner of 2,000 acres at Fishkill Landing, helped further raise its status as a port by building the Long Dock in 1815. The village of Fishkill Landing was incorporated in 1864.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Fishkill Landing|volume=10|page=437}}</ref>

Matteawan was situated on the [[Fishkill Creek]] about a mile and a half east of Fishkill Landing, and a like distance above the mouth of the creek, whose hydraulic properties contributed to its development as a manufacturing center. It lay at the foot of the Fishkill Mountains, and was a station on both the [[Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad|Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut]], and the [[New York & New England Railroad]]s, and was connected with the Fishkill Landing by stage, and rail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/dutchess/dutch/Hist/mttwn1.htm|title=Matteawan|website=www.usgennet.org|access-date=December 6, 2012|archive-date=November 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103151301/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/dutchess/dutch/Hist/mttwn1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city served a variety of roles during the Revolutionary War. It manufactured war supplies, and served as a fort and signaling point. The city's name came from signal fires lit atop nearby [[Beacon Mountain|Mount Beacon]].

During the 1800s, the city became a factory town and was known as "The Hat Making Capital of the US" with nearly 50 hat factories operating at one time. The Matteawan Manufacturing Company was the first in the area devoted to hat production, employing 500 workers. Many others followed, including Dutchess Hat Works, which produced 450 dozen hats daily by 1900 and owned its own showroom in Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2019/05/28/beacons-hatmaking-history/|title=Beacon's hatmaking history - Hudson Valley One|first=Frances Marion|last=Platt|date=May 28, 2019|website=hudsonvalleyone.com|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203011327/https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2019/05/28/beacons-hatmaking-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Beacon [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] as a city in 1913, combining the villages of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan as well as a small portion of the [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|hamlet]] of Glenham from the [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] of [[Fishkill (town), New York|Fishkill]].

[[File:Beacon NY Building.JPG|thumb|left|Empty Historic Buildings in Beacon, NY, as seen in 2012, before later restoration.]]
During the 1960s, [[urban renewal]] led to the destruction of some significant historic buildings.<ref name="soul" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Home Lost to Urban Renewal: "Cedar Lawn" |url=https://www.beaconhistorical.org/sharing-beacons-history-blog/historic-home-lost-to-urban-renewal-cedar-lawn |website=Beacon Historical Society |access-date=21 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121152147/https://www.beaconhistorical.org/sharing-beacons-history-blog/historic-home-lost-to-urban-renewal-cedar-lawn |archive-date=21 November 2021 |date=30 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1975, the Dutchess Ski area, which had been a large tourist attraction, was closed.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Leba |first1=Jennifer |title=The Hudson Valley's Long-Lost Ski Areas (Revisited) |url=https://hvmag.com/life-style/the-hudson-valleys-long-lost-ski-areas-revisited/ |access-date=21 November 2021 |work=[[Hudson Valley (magazine)|Hudson Valley Magazine]] |date=1 December 2014 |language=en |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121153427/https://hvmag.com/life-style/the-hudson-valleys-long-lost-ski-areas-revisited/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in the 1970s, a decline in the economy shuttered most of Beacon's factories. This resulted in a severe and ongoing economic downturn that lasted from about 1970 to the late 1990s, during which almost 80 percent of the city's commercial business spaces and factories were vacant. Starting in the late 1990s, and with the opening of [[Dia Beacon]], one of the world's largest contemporary art museums, in 2003, Beacon began an artistic and commercial rebirth. New development continues to enlarge the city.<ref name="soul"/>