MILLERTON — After 20 years, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail (HVRT), one of the region’s most popular recreational resources, now allows cyclists, walkers, runners, skaters and other trail goers to head north on the new extension, which stretches from Main Street in Millerton to Beilke Road in Ancram.
The old Harlem line
It all started with the railroad. The Trail’s website, www.hvrt.org, explains that the New York & Harlem Railroad originated in the 1830s as an early commuter railroad, linking lower Manhattan to the suburb of Harlem.
In the 1840s, the railroad extended northward into Westchester County, and by 1845, the New York State Legislature authorized further extension northward to connect with Albany.
At the time, an inland route up the Harlem Valley was chosen because it was easier and less costly to construct compared to a route following the Hudson River, according to the website. By 1852, the railroad was built north to Chatham, completing a line more than 125 miles from Manhattan.
In subsequent years, the upper portion of the New York & Harlem Railroad would become a secondary line in the Vanderbilt New York Central Railroad empire, which would later merge with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form a mega-railroad known as the Penn Central Corporation.
Bankruptcy and entropy
In the wake of its bankruptcy, the railroad’s management began cutting costs and abandoning thousands of miles of low-profit branch and secondary lines, including the Upper Harlem Line between Millerton and Chatham.
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA) explains a federal plan reorganized Penn Central into a down-sized Conrail System and eliminated the Harlem Line north of Millerton in 1976. The line was cut back farther south to Wassaic and then Dover Plains.
With New York State’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) assuming responsibility for commuter services in 1972, the service district was extended back to Wassaic from Dover Plains in 2000; the Upper Harlem Line also received upgrades.
Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association Chairman Dick Hermans said it was during the 1970s that trucks were making a lot of the freight deliveries; the last items being delivered to Millerton via freight were pet food and propane.
With the trucks taking business away from the railroads and with the section leading to Millerton in poor condition, the railroad system abandoned the section extending to Millerton. By 1981, the track was officially removed between Wassaic and Millerton and northward to Chatham.
Why the rail bed was saved
Hermans said it was thought that making use of the linear corridor between the communities left behind from the railroads was a good idea so that, on some future date, a modern kind of train could perhaps return to the area. Once the corridor is gone, Hermans said, it would be hard to duplicate it.
Totaling 4.5 miles, the first section of the trail connects Amenia to Coleman Station and was completed in 1996; the trail was extended from Coleman Station to Millerton in 2000, adding another 3.6 miles.
More than just a place saver, the trail is also an enormously popular free recreational resource. Hermans said he believes it has proven its worth to the region. Eventually the trail will cover 23 miles, from the Metro-North Wassaic Train Station in Amenia to the Copake Falls area of Taconic State Park.
While there are still many miles to go before the project is completed in full, community members and leaders were excited nonetheless by the news of the northbound section opening for public use.
“Our patience will be rewarded,” said North East town Supervisor Chris Kennan in a recent newsletter. “It’s going to be a stunningly beautiful asset to our already very beautiful part of the world.”
Hermans said, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
When the project began in 2000, the HVRTA’s hope was always to extend it north.
“Little did anybody know it would take 20 years,” Hermans commented. “But here we are.”
The HVRTA is currently raising funds for a matching grant to build a trail linking Black Grocery Road in Copake and Orphan Farm Meadow in Copake Falls, totaling 4.9 miles at a likely cost of $2.4 million.
Hermans said the group is also working on a Bridge to Nature project over Webatuck Creek in Millerton, which will serve as an outdoor educational project to give trail visitors a deeper understanding of all they see when they’re on the trail and the impacts that humans have on the natural world.
Additionally, the HVRTA is still trying to raise funds to install a pedestrian bridge in Hillsdale; at this time, it has $75,000 pledged and is looking to match that with another $75,000.
Looking ahead, the HVRTA will seek bids for the construction of the bridge project in the spring. With any luck and no stumbling blocks, that section should be built next year.
Nathan Miller
Kanchisar Jiradhanaiphat, left, and John Schildbach plan to open Muanjai Tea on Main Street in Millerton in early July.
MILLERTON — The opening of a proposed Thai tea shop on Main Street has been delayed while owners await approval from the Dutchess County Department of Health.
John Schildbach, who plans to open the shop with his wife, Kanchisar Jiradhanaiphat, in the former Candy-O’s space, said plans to include seating have complicated the approval process because of the building’s existing septic system.
Candy-O’s, a candy shop which relocated farther down Main Street earlier this year, did not provide seating for customers, allowing it to operate with a smaller septic system under Department of Health regulations.
Schildbach, who wants to add 20 seats, said an engineer has signed off on plans for the tea shop and sent a recommendation to the Department of Health. Despite that recommendation, the shop had to push back the original June 6 opening date.
“We haven’t even started buildout,” Schildbach said. “If I can get everything moving, it’ll probably be early July now.”
Schildbach said interior renovations to the shop couldn’t begin until the business had received permits from the health department. A series of scheduling conflicts meant the engineer couldn’t get to the shop until the first week of June, but Schildbach said he was staying patient.
“You’re always waiting on the people who are in charge,” Schildbach said.
Schildbach said he hopes to receive approval for 20 seats in the shop, but expects the health department to reduce indoor seating slightly.
If that happens, Schildbach said it will only hamper the space’s indoor capacity until Millerton’s municipal wastewater system is installed, which is expected to be complete in 2028. He expects to receive approval for 12 to 14 seats inside the café for the time being.
Department of Health approvals are the last hurdle holding things back, Schildbach said. Once that approval has been obtained, Schildbach said village building officials are prepared to issue permits for the interior renovations and he is ready to get to work.
The shop is targeting an early July opening date, with a goal of opening before Millerton’s 175th celebration set for July 11 to 19.
Millerton News
CANAAN — Anita L. (King) Gochey, 85, of 77 South Canaan Rd. died June 5, 2026, at Geer Village. She was the wife of the late Lester Gochey. Anita was born July 16, 1940,in Winsted, daughter of the late Ivan and Irene (Dulude) King.
Anita was well known throughout the Northwest Corner. She worked for many local businesses and organizations. Anita worked at the Rexall Drug Store, C.A. Lindell and Sons, Bob’s Clothing, Brooks Pharmacy, and the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in the cafeteria.She used her skills in calligraphy to complete the record books for the North Canaan Congregational Church.Anita’s daughter remembers her as being very creative with cardboard, and a loving mom.
Anita is survived by her son Raymond Gochey and his fiancee’ Chris Filkins of Hinsdale, Massachusetts; and her daughter Michele O’Brien of Sharon. She is also survived by her sister Denise Warner of Torrington and her brother Arthur King of Danbury. Her three grandchildren, Kyle Gochey of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Cody O’Brien of Georgia, and Sabrina O’Brien of Falls Village. Anita was predeceased by her brother, Martin King.
A Celebration of Anita’s life will be held on Saturday June 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home 118 Main St. Canaan, CT 06018.
Nathan Miller
Carol Kneeland, left, Cyndhia Valle, center, and Irene Banning knit together on North East Community Center’s back porch during the first “Community Porch Party” on Wednesday, June 3.
MILLERTON — A new pilot program at the North East Community Center aims to bring in community members for chill hangs at the nonprofit’s office on South Center Street this summer.
The weekly “Community Porch Party” is an evolution of senior administrative assistant Ash Baldwin’s “Craft Collective,” which invited community members to enjoy a group crafting session where participants were encouraged to bring individual projects, swap tips and be together. The gathering on Wednesday, June 3, and the preceding “Craft Collective” meetings are part of a broader effort to provide accessible, community-building programming.
The pilot program is set to run every Wednesday through the end of July.
NECC board chair and interim Executive Director Irene Banning joined Baldwin along with Millerton resident Carol Kneeland and Pine Plains resident Cyndhia Valle at the program’s opening night. Kneeland brought enough knitting needles and yarn to go around, and taught Valle how to get started making a knitted square.
“She’s a total pro of 40 minutes,” Kneeland said, knitting needles in hand.
Banning said the community center is working to return to a former status as a community hub. She remembered the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for the organization, when it shifted to providing crisis management programs such as its food pantry and housing assistance.
While those programs are still important to NECC’s mission, Banning said, community building is equally so.
She recalled needing an outlet for social interaction when her son moved away from her home, prompting her to find a knitting group based out of Pine Plains.
“One day I just picked up my knitting and I decided to go,” Banning said. “It’s been a fabulous thing.”
The “Community Porch Party” is less focused on the crafting, and instead on just providing an opportunity for people to enjoy a nice yard and a chat with fellow community members. Baldwin and Banning assembled sweet treats and snacks for people to eat, and crafters are encouraged to bring a project but it’s not required.
The effort stems from a recognition that social interaction can be difficult to come by in northeast Dutchess County.
“It’s so hostile out there, and you always have to be careful about what you say or what you don’t say,” Banning said. “Just to have a place where that doesn’t matter is really nice.”
NECC’s “Community Porch Party” is set for Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5:30 through July 29.
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Leila Hawken
AMENIA — The Water Committee is exploring options to allow municipal water customers to pay their bills online and by credit card.
Responding to customer interest in additional payment options, the committee discussed potential billing software upgrades during its regular meeting Wednesday, June 3.
Town Billing Clerk Nancy Nowak presented information from Muni-Link of Bellwood, Pennsylvania, a cloud-based billing company that serves municipal utilities.
“This software is so much better,” Nowak said. “It is similar to what we have now, but it’s easier.”She added that the company works with four credit card processors.
Initial set-up cost for the system is estimated at $12,000, Nowak said, with an additional monthly charge of $650. Current administration costs for billing stands at $138 monthly for the town.
“But you would be getting twice as much service,” said Water Committee chairman Bill Flood, comparing the proposed streamlined billing system to the present one.
Nowak had explained that the current system provides limited account management capability, leaving much input to be done by hand. She reported also that over the years, customers have asked for the convenience of emailed billing and on-line payment.
For those water district customers who lack computer capability or who prefer to pay in person, there would still be the option for mailed billing.
The committee agreed to continue to explore the option, gathering additional information, before presenting a proposal to the Town Board.
In other discussion, Flood announced that the prefabricated pump house building is expected to be installed at the Lavelle Road site in the fall. The foundation is ready to accept the new structure.
A program to replace non-working water meters is progressing with VRI Environmental Services, the town’s water operator, having sent out 20 postcard notices. In response so far, 13 meters have been replaced.
In final action, the Water Committee agreed to meet quarterly, rather than the current monthly schedule. Special meetings will be scheduled as needed.
Millerton News
SHARON — Susanne Cecilia Berberoglu, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on May 14 surrounded by the love of her family.
Born on Fe 13, 1951, in New Milford, Susanne lived a life filled with warmth, adventure, compassion, and dedication to those she loved.
A graduate of Brookfield High School, Susanne went on to work as a travel agent, a career perfectly suited to her adventurous spirit and love of discovering the world. She especially cherished her travels to Australia, London, and Hawaii, creating memories that she carried throughout her life.
Susanne had a lifelong passion for antiques and found joy in collecting and appreciating beautiful pieces filled with history and character. She was also deeply devoted to her beloved Boston Terriers, whom she lovingly raised and cared for over many years. Her home was always filled with warmth, laughter, and the companionship of the dogs she adored.
Above all else, Susanne treasured her family. She is survived by her devoted husband of 54 years, Tayfun Berberoglu Sr.; her loving daughter, Jennifer; her son, Tayfun Berberoglu Jr.; and her cherished granddaughters, Faora and Sybella. Her love, kindness, strength, and gentle spirit will forever remain in the hearts of all who knew her.
Susanne will be remembered for her caring nature, adventurous soul, and unwavering love for her family, friends, and animals. Her memory will continue to inspire all whose lives she touched.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Millerton News
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