Red Hook and the Hudson Valley

Demographics

Red Hook is located in Dutchess County and the Hudson River Valley two hours north of Manhattan and one hour south of Albany, NY. The Town of Red Hook is comprised of two villages—Red Hook and Tivoli—and three hamlets—Annandale, Barrytown, and Upper Red Hook. The Red Hook Area Chamber of Commerce services the business community throughout the town.

Nearly 11,000 people call Red Hook home. See here for more census data.

Educational institutions: Red Hook Central School District and Bard College.

Supervisor: Robert McKeon

Mayor: Karen Smythe

Geography / Map / How to Get to Red Hook

Red Hook is two hours north of Manhattan, one hour north of Poughkeepsie, and one hour south of Albany. Nearby towns include Catskill, Hudson, Kingston, Rhinebeck, and Woodstock.

East bank of the Hudson River. Poets Walk. Tivoli Bays.

By train

Amtrak to Rhinecliff

Metro-North to Poughkeepsie

By plane

Option A

1. Fly to any of the three NYC airports (JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark)
2. Take a taxi or public transit to Penn Moynihan station
3. Take a 2-hour Amtrak train ride along the Hudson River from NYP to Rhinecliff (RHI)
4. Rhinecliff is a 20-minute drive from Red Hook

Option B

1. Fly to Albany airport
2. Rent a car and drive one hour to Red Hook, NY
1. Or take a taxi to the Albany Amtrak station and then take a train to Hudson or Rhinecliff

History

The town of Red Hook was founded in 1812. Indigenous. Settled. Dutch settlement.

Culture

Agricultural area. City’s cosmopolitan influence. farm to table. culinary school. Bard College. Nature. Spirit. Bard Conservatory of Music and the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities.

Fun Facts

• The movies Things Heard and Seen (with Amanda Seyfried) and The Dead Don't Die (with Selena Gomez, Adam Driver, and Bill Murray) were filmed here.
• Red Hook's oldest operating organization, The Red Hook Society for the Apprehension and Detention of Horse Thieves, was established in 1796 and continues to operate to this day.
• Eleanor Roosevelt grew up visiting her family in Tivoli. Check out her bust next time you’re in Tivoli.
• In 1879, the suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony gave a speech in the Massonneau Building in the Village of Red Hook, which is now Yum Yum Noodle.
• The philosopher Hannah Arendt and writer Philip Roth are buried at Bard College Cemetery.

Community organizations

Civics: Town, Village, Hamlet, Mayor, Supervisor, Board of Trustees, Upcoming Election dates