Beekman

The name Beekman became attached to the area in 1697 when Henry Beekman, a local Colonial land baron, obtained a grant from the British crown. The land was originally settled by the Wappinger indians. The town includes the villages, hamlets and communities of Beekman, Clove Valley, Green Haven, Poughquag, Sylvan Lake, and West Pawling. Beekman has always been a rural area; it experienced its first “mining enterprises boom” from the mid 1800’s through 1900’s. The iron industry left a few visible remnants; The Old Beekman Furnace can still be seen on Furnace Road.