Millerton native captures life in the village through her own lens

Libby Valentine
Aly Morrissey
Libby Valentine
MILLERTON — For nearly a decade, Libby Valentine’s vibrant and distinctive photographs have graced the cover of Main Street Magazine, but her ties to Millerton go way back. Back to 1875, to be exact, when her great grandfather Richard L. Valentine moved to the region and started a business that has endured for 150 years and counting.
Valentine’s brother, Bruce, now carries on the family legacy as the owner of Valentine Monument Works and Sandblast — one of Millerton’s most historic businesses — but it was his early fascination with photography that first sparked Libby’s own creative journey.
She smiled as she recalled a memory from age seven. “Growing up, my brother converted a closet in our house into a dark room and I would sit on a stool and watch him develop his photographs.”
As the years went by, Valentine continued snapping photos but didn’t begin to take the art form seriously until she had children and started an annual tradition of creating elaborate holiday cards.
“I kind of went all out,” she said. “Some years they were goofy, others were serious, but they were always a big production.” Her friends soon began to notice the quality of her images and asked her to photograph their families. “And then I just started picking up my camera more and more,” Valentine said.
Today, Valentine is constantly capturing the beauty of Millerton from all angles and hours, but mostly during “golden hour,” her favorite time of day.
“I bring my camera with me wherever I go,” she said, pointing to her Nikon DSLR. Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, like last week while she was delivering copies of the magazine just after sunrise. Valentine captured a serene moment at Rudd Pond when fog enveloped two fishermen who were waiting in pursuit of an early morning catch.
While anyone might look at Valentine’s photographs in awe, she is unwaveringly humble and views herself as more of a student of the craft than an expert. “I learn something new from each photograph I take,” she said. “It’s all about lighting. There’s obviously a lot more to it than that, but if you can find good lighting, you’re golden.”
Libby Valentine’s first introduction to photography was her brother’s makeshift darkroom in a closet. Her photographs are regularly featured in Main Street Magazine.Aly Morrissey
In addition to staging Main Street Magazine’s iconic cover photos, Valentine also creates the publication’s “Recipe of the Month,” which she called a “big-time passion.” With a love for sweet and savory recipes, she spends countless hours in the kitchen and considers cooking a mood booster. “That’s my sanctuary — my space,” she says. “My go-to when I’m feeling blue.”
While she said it hasn’t always come naturally, her father — who will turn 91 this year — is also a great cook. “He still does all the cooking,” she says
That love of food and creativity will likely find its way into Valentine’s November cover. Her process, she says, is a mix of structure and spontaneity. Some months have defined themes, while others are left open to inspiration. “It’s a time when everyone starts to gather,” she said of November.
Clarity often comes late at night when her mind is racing, and that’s exactly how her latest idea was born. “I want to decorate a holiday table — but outdoors, surrounded by the colors of fall,” she said. “I’m going to decorate the heck out of it — a big, beautiful fall table for the November issue.”
As people eagerly await the next issue, locals will know exactly when it’s out. “Delivering the magazine is like Christmas every month,” Valentine said. “People recognize me, they recognize my car, and as I’m getting the magazines out of my hatch they’ll come over to me and chat and ask for a copy.”
With that recognition and appreciation, it’s hard for Valentine to remember her early days at the magazine, when she first began sending editor and publisher Thorunn Kristjansdottir photographs that were accepted for Instagram and, occasionally, inside of the magazine. “And now, it seems like I’m the cover girl,” she laughed.
Despite having a coveted job as a magazine photographer, Valentine doesn’t consider photography work. “Photography has always been a passion, it’s never been a job,” she says.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.