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College Hill Park is one of the two largest open spaces in the city and includes a nine-hole golf course, walking trails, and, as the highest point, wonderful scenic views of the city and of the Hudson River Valley.
This Parthenon-like structure commemorates the fact that this was the site of an academy, or college, in the 19th century. It burned down, and in 1892 W. W. Smith (of the Smith Brothers cough drop fame) purchased the land and gave it to the city as a park.
At the turn of the century, it was a very important park for the city. Residents flocked to the park to play tennis, walk through the gardens, enjoy picnics, and watch fireworks.
In the mid 1930s one of the residents, G. Dudley, with additional funds from the WPA (or Works Progress Administration), built this solarium as a monument to the role of the City of Poughkeepsie in having a number of colleges and institutions of higher education.
On the north side there is a nine-hole golf course, constructed in 1937, which in the wintertime can also be used for skiing. Downslope from the golf course is Morgan Lake, where there is a small city park and a dock for fishing. The city’s main reservoir is also located on the north slope of College Hill. The reservoir provides the pressure head for the fire hydrants throughout the city’s water mains.
Further to the north are the drumlin fields, which are glacial deposits. On these hills the Hudson River psychiatric buildings and the Bowne Tuberculosis Sanitorium were built in the 19th century and is now where Dutchess Community College is located, including Bowne Hall and Drumlin Hall on top of one of the drumlins.
College Hill is a perfect place to come to get an overall view of the City of Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley.
