The following are old postcards from the Rhinebeck area.
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The Wharton House, located on Rt 9, is now called the Van Wyck house. It is a museum and home of the Fishkill Historical Society. It is one of the oldest structures in Dutchess County. I-84 is currently 100 yards from the house. In the revolution it was the headquarters of a large staging and war materials area. There was a large flat field across Rt 9 that was this camp site, 1mile north of here are the two old churches in the Town of Fishkill that served as a jail and hospitals. Immediately south ot this area then are the high hills of the Hudson Highlands, which the colonists used to box the British in NYC. This area was under the control of Benedict Arnold as the commander of West Point. He and his pretty and flirtatious wife lived in the Robbins house just south of here on the river. The big question for the historical group here is, "Did Washington sleep here, or in a neighboring house, the night before he learned that Benedict Arnold had fled to the British lines." This additional information on the Wharton House has been provided by John Dux.