About

The Town Hall complex is the main campus for Town government.  Town Hall houses the offices of the Assessor, the Building Inspector, the Code Enforcer, the Finance Department, the Fire Inspector, the Lake Carmel Park District, the Planning Department, the Receiver of Taxes, the Recreation Department, the Supervisor, the Town Clerk and the Town Justice Court.

The Kent Police Department and the Kent Public Library are also located at the complex as is an all-abilities playground, and multiple hiking trails.

The addresses and phone numbers for Town departments are listed on their home pages and on the Depa rtments general page.

 

Brief History of Kent

Kent was first settled by the Nochpeem tribe, part of the Wappinger Confederacy, of the Algonquin Nation, about 12,000 years ago. 

European settlement began in 1687, when Adolph Philipse purchased land from two Dutch fur traders, Jan Roelof Sybrandt and Lambert Dorlandt and was granted a royal patent for land that reached from the Hudson River to the Connecticut border.

As European settlement increased, the local Wappingers fought unsuccessfully to retain their land. Their last sachem, Chief Daniel Nimham sued the Philipse family for return of the land, traveling to London to present his case to the King. Even though their land was taken from them, the Wappingers, under Chief Nimham, fought alongside the Patriots in the Revolution. Tragically, Chief Nimham, his son and sixty braves perished at the Battle of Kingsbridge in 1778.

Most of Kent's tenant farmers served in the 7th Regiment of Dutchess County under Colonel Henry Ludington during the Revolution. Ludington, an aide and friend of General Washington, and his wife Abigail, raised 12 children, ran a 229-acre farm and built a gristmill in the area of Kent now known as Ludingtonville. On April 26, 1777, word was received that the British were attacking Danbury and Sybil Ludington, their 16 year old daughter, rode horseback all night in the rain to alert her father's troops. After the War, Colonel Ludington served in the County Legislature.

After the Revolution, most of Kent was confiscated from the Philipse heirs and many tenant farmers were able to purchase the land they had been farming. Cattle farming, mining and charcoal manufacturing were important industries until the early 1900s.

The Town of Kent was part of Frederickstown, which was established on March 7, 1788. Kent became a separate town in 1795, known as Fredericks. Originally part of Dutchess County, Kent became part of Putnam County in 1812. On April 15,1817 the name was changed to Kent to honor a the family of Chancellor James Kent, Columbia University's first professor of law and author of the standard legal reference of its day, Commentaries on American Law.

In the early 1900's when farming in the area began to decline, Kent became a vacation destination. Construction of the Taconic Parkway in the early 1930's made it easier for people from the New York City area to come to Kent. Drawn by its natural beauty, people came and established seasonal communities, camps and clubs. The construction of I-84 and I-684 in the 1970s opened Kent up to large permanent residential development.

Today, Kent retains its rural character with its natural beauty and scenic charm. Almost half of its 43 square miles is open space, accessible to the public for a wide variety of recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, boating, and hunting.