BEACON- A new chapter is planned for one of the Hudson Valley’s historic landmarks following the October 8 approval of plans to transform Dutchess Manor on Route 9D into the visitor center and organizational hub for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
The Town of Fishkill Planning Board approved the site plan submitted by Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc. (HHFT), the nonprofit organization developing a 7.5-mile accessible, multi-use trail connecting the City of Beacon and the Village of Cold Spring.
Located near the midpoint of the planned trail, Dutchess Manor will serve as a central gathering place for visitors while providing indoor and outdoor spaces for educational programs, community partnerships and other activities. The reimagined property will also include 67 parking spaces. The visitor center is expected to open in 2027.
The project will give new purpose to a building with more than 150 years of history. Constructed in 1867 as a country estate for grain merchant James Wade and his wife, Louisa Van Amburgh Wade, the distinctive Second Empire-style mansion was designed by architect George Harney, who worked in Cold Spring and Newburgh. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The estate changed hands several times over the years. In 1886, it was purchased by Irish immigrant Francis Timoney, a local brickyard owner who operated three brickyards in the area. The surrounding community became known as Timoneyville, reflecting the number of workers employed at his brickyards.
In the 1940s, George and Anna Angel acquired the property and later leased it to their son, Michael Coris. Coris gave the estate the name Dutchess Manor and transformed it into a popular event venue. For more than six decades, the property hosted weddings, bar mitzvahs, proms and other community celebrations, drawing visitors with its historic architecture and views of the Hudson River and surrounding Highlands.
The Coris family expanded the original structure over the years to accommodate its growing popularity.
HHFT purchased Dutchess Manor in 2020, recognizing its location as an important component of the planned Fjord Trail.
“The Planning Board’s site plan approval allows us to move forward to transform Dutchess Manor into the Fjord Trail Visitor Center and serve the community in a variety of new ways,” said HHFT President and CEO Peter Mullan. “In addition to restoring this 19th-century building and surrounding landscape, we are creating new accessible public spaces and indoor and outdoor spaces that will support programmatic partnerships with schools and local nonprofits.”
As part of the project, HHFT plans to collect stories and memories from the public and the Coris family to incorporate into future interpretive programming, preserving the property’s history as a community gathering place.
“The Coris family transformed Dutchess Manor into a beloved gathering space that served the community for over six decades,” said HHFT Executive Director Amy Kacala. “We are honored that they have entrusted the property to us to steward this remarkable treasure in its next chapter.”
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