Bill Frattarola, Jr. · Houlihan Lawrence

About Kent

Kent is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 14,009 at the 2000 census. The name is that of an early settler family.

The Town of Kent is the north-central part of the Putnam County. It is sometimes called "Kent Lakes." Many of the lakes are reservoirs for New York City.

History of Kent

Kent was part of the Philipse Patent of 1679, when it was still populated by the Wappinger tribe. Daniel Nimham (1724-1778), was the last chief of the Wappingers and was the most prominent Native American of his time in the Hudson Valley. The town was first settled around 1750 by Zachariah Merritt. It became the Frederickstown Precinct in 1772. Other early family names were Boyd, Wixon, Farrington, Burton, Carter, Barrett and Ludington and they can still be found today.

The present day intersection of I-84 and Ludingtonville Road was the home of Colonel Henry Ludington and his daughter Sybil, who rode 40 miles one dark night to call up her father's militia during our fight for Independence. Whereas Paul Revere was captured and failed to complete his mission (a little known historical fact), Sybil, then just 16 years old, succeeded. In honor of this brave woman and her father we now know that location as Ludingtonville and a statue of her stands on the shores of Lake Gleneida across from the Putnam County Courthouse.

Sybil convinced her father to let her summon her father's militia. She rode her horse Star on 40 miles of country roads in the dark. Her course took her down through Carmel, on to Mahopac, and around to Kent Cliffs, to Hortontown, through Farmers Mills to Stormville and then back home again.

The Town of Kent was established as the "Town of Frederick" in 1795 when the township boundaries were realigned. Until 1812 was part of Dutchess County. The town's name was changed to "Kent" in 1817. A small portion of the Town of Philipstown was transferred to Kent in 1877.

The major population center of the township is Lake Carmel, a settlement around an artificial lake (also known as "Lake Carmel") developed in the 1920s. Historically the population centers had been Farmer's Mills and Ludingtonville, little of which remain. The town is served by the Carmel Central School District and, for the majority of residents, by the Carmel Post Office under the name Kent Lakes (because another community upstate has a post office called Kent).

Due to little commercial development and suburban sprawl the Town of Kent has become one of the most beautiful natural locations within 50-60 miles of New York City. West Kent is a sought after weekend destination for New York City second-home owners. The abundant lakes, streams, rock formations and Parks and the clean air and water make it an oasis of nature.

Kent is home to a number of reservoirs that supply water to New York City and Westchester County and consequently a large portion of the land has been purchased for conservation by New York City through the Watershed Preservation Program.

Taxes are lower than in Westchester but higher than other Putnam County towns which have seen developments by major big box retailers and have lost much of their small town charm.

Geography of Kent

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 43.2 square miles (111.8 kmē), of which, 40.6 square miles (105.2 kmē) of it is land and 2.5 square miles (6.6 kmē) of it (5.88%) is water.

The north town line is the border of Dutchess County. Kent sits high on the Hudson Highlands sixty miles north of New York City in the north central portion of Putnam County. Within the borders are two State Parks: Wonder Lake in the east and Fahnestock in the west, a portion of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and thousands of acres of open spaces under the permanent protection of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Kent is home to a number of lakes which were once the domain of summer visitors but now have become year-round communities. Sagamore Lake, Kentwood Lake, Lake Tibet, China Lake (so named for a case of china an angry housewife threw in it to spite her drunken husband), Palmer Lake and White Pond.

Kent is also home to The Mount Ninham Fire Tower. Located in the Taconic Hills north of New York City, in the Town of Kent, Putnam County, Mount Ninham Fire Tower was built by the State of New York and the CCC in 1940. The 90' Aermotor tower with 7'x 7' metal cab is located on state forestland. The tower was first staffed in 1941 reporting 73 fires and 266 visitors. Although not used for fire detection in many years, it is maintained as a radio repeater site. Vandals burned the observer's cabin in 1994. Restoration of the tower is being initiated by the Town of Kent Conservation Advisory Commission. It is the tallest remaining fire tower in NY State. This tower appears on the National Historic Lookout Register. Local volunteers organized by the Town of Kent began restoring the tower in the mid-1990s. Their work was completed in the spring of 2005 and the official dedication held on July 24, 2005. 3 miles northwest of Carmel.

Kent Lakes is also home to several New York City reservoirs, among them Boyd's Corners and West Branch, with the former being the east of Hudson terminus of the Catskill/Delaware system and a vastly important link in what may be the world's most important engineering feat - the New York City water supply.

Interstate 84 and the Taconic State Parkway pass through the town.