COM M U N IT Y
RHINEBECK
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riving north on Route 9 just south of Rhinebeck, you enter the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, a 32-square-mile strip of riverbank along which the one-percenters of a bygone age—many of them connected to the Livingston family—built lavish “country seats.” But as early as 1704, William Traphagen had already figured out that Rhinebeck was the ideal spot for hospitality and good times. The Dutch had been settling in the area since 1686, and Route 9—then the Albany Post Road— had been built along older trails of the Wappinger and Wiccoppe natives, who were then hired as early mail carriers. In 1703, the trail was widened into a public highway, and Traphagen clearly had an eye for location. Still in operation as the Beekman Arms, the inn hosted founding fathers during the Revolution and everything from town meetings to auctions and tea parties after that, with a guest list that included, but has never been limited to, a great many bold-face names. In the mid-19th century, Rhinebeck was renowned for woodworking and fine clothing.
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Stately Village Living By Anne Pyburn Craig Photos by Abby Foster
By the 1890s, Rhinebeck was famed for its violets, a cash crop that brought in a cool million some years. (From the Gilded Age through the Depression, the violet was the world’s most popular flower, and Rhinebeck was known as the Violet Capital of the World.) The place once called the “Parlor of Dutchess County” for tidy streets, spreading greenery, and civilized welcome, remains on that track: smart but not smug, well-kempt but woke, with a rich civic life. Two colleges—the Culinary Institute of America just south in Hyde Park, and Bard College in Red Hook—pump out steady streams of culture and fine food. THE SCENE Through the pandemic, the town has pulled together in true Rhinebeck style. Citizens quickly organized Rhinebeck Responds, a “citizen-run effort to recruit volunteers, identify needs, and facilitate community service” in cooperation with government, civic agencies, churches, and neighbors, and residents have been helping
support residents and their beloved small business community ever since. Beloved cultural institutions such as the Center for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies took programming online. “You have to be adaptable, draw on strength from your experiences and just move forward,” says Laura Pensiero, who came back upstate to open Gigi Trattoria in 2001. “The universe is bizarre right now, but it’s an awakening for a lot of people about how strong we really are.” Trained in public health, Pensiero knew what to do and installed a plasma air bipolar ionization systems, ample sanitizing stations, and temperedglass safety shields in her restaurant. “What got us through the takeout-only period was customer loyalty and core staff,” she says. “This is a town where people respect each other and care about the community, and we’re having none of the issues I’ve heard about in other places.” Pensiero earned that loyalty. Rhinebeck’s dining scene is famously varied and dense—there are more than two dozen eateries within the
