By KATHRYN MATTHEWS - 4/2/2004
AT first glance, Millerton looks less than chic, even slightly shabby.
It's so low-key that some famous residents of the more picturesque
Connecticut villages a few miles to the East can drop by without
causing a stir. Meryl Streep will occasionally come to town for a
salon haircut, and Michael J. Fox can browse a bookstore
undisturbed. ...........''On some Saturdays,'' said Allan Ripp,
a Manhattan public relations specialist who has been a Millerton
weekender since 1989, ''Main Street can now feel like Millbrook''
-- the better-known Hudson Valley village where luxury S.U.V.'s
long ago crowded out the pickup trucks.
A former rail junction for the surrounding region and the town
of North East, of which it is a part, Millerton has a dairy
farming past and blue-collar roots. Rail access has long made the
northeast corner of Dutchess County attractive to weekenders
seeking a rural respite amid its stunning hills and valleys. One
of them, a millionaire horse breeder named Thomas Hidden, built
Hiddenhurst, a gleaming white Colonial Revival mansion on bucolic
Sheffield Road, in 1903.
The local economy faltered after the railroad closed, and many
farms shut down in the 1970's and 80's. But over the last two
decades, a new Millerton (the residents use the name to include
both the village and the town of North East) has emerged. At the
McEnroe Organic Farm Market on Route 22, many customers are
''locals who were originally weekenders from the city,'' according
to the proprietor, Ray McEnroe, a native who with Douglas Durst,
the real estate developer, also owns a 500-acre organic farm that
is certified by the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
The new contingent of Millerton second-home owners include
young telecommuting professionals, gentleman farmers, financiers,
artists, antiques dealers, publishers and retirees from Long
Island and Westchester County.
In the last three years, Millerton shifted into a higher gear
as well-heeled weekenders discovered it and Metro-North extended
train service to Wassaic, just 10 miles south. For many it is an
attractive alternative to nearby but pricier Connecticut.
The Scene
Even on a frigid Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, Millerton
hummed with activity. Teenagers packed Taro's pizzeria; cell
phone-toting patrons lingered at Irving Farm, a cousin coffeehouse
to 71 Irving Place in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan;
parents and children lined up at Pasta at Large, a fine-foods
takeout spot. A steady flow of moviegoers made parking hard to
find.
They were headed to the Moviehouse on Main Street, which has
been an anchor, along with nearby Oblong Books & Music, of
downtown Millerton's commercial renaissance. In 1978 Carol and
Robert Sadlon, who were then weekenders, created the Moviehouse,
transforming the 1904 Grange Hall (where previous operators had
briefly featured pornographic movies) into a three-screen theater
that specializes in independent and foreign films, with an art
gallery and a cafe. The audiences sometimes include well-known
actors, producers, directors -- even film critics like Gene Shalit
and Joel Siegel. ''Architecturally, Millerton appealed to us as a
wonderful turn-of-the-century village,'' Ms. Sadlon said. The
Sadlons renovated several other village buildings in the 1980's,
including Simmons' Way, a country inn.
In contrast to the bustle of the village, the surrounding town
of North East, with magnificent vistas of the Taconic Range and
the Catskills, offers serene relief.
Zoning regulations in North East -- usually, a five-acre-lot
minimum in an agricultural zone -- have helped preserve the
countryside. So has the Dutchess Land Conservancy, which since
1985 has obtained 29 conservation easements, mostly from
weekenders, protecting 2,400 acres in North East, said its
executive director, Rebecca Thornton.
Pros
Weekenders, even famous ones, can be assured of their privacy.
''Celebrities want to blend in and lead a somewhat normal life on
weekends, and we respect that,'' Ms. Sadlon said.
With a bank, stores that include a hardware store and a
pharmacy, hair salons and a commercial strip on its eastern
outskirts, Millerton also offers one-stop shopping. In addition to
a Grand Union supermarket just outside the village, the Silamar
Farm stand on Route 22, open May through December, has seasonal
produce; further south, the McEnroe market has a wide selection of
certified organic meats, vegetables, dairy products and specialty
foods from green tea to Bhutanese red rice. And the Salem Saddlery
opened a shop on Main Street last summer, selling gear for
equestrians and people who just plain love horses.
The village is family friendly. ''There have always been a lot
of kids here,'' said Mr. Ripp, a father of two teenagers and a
5-year-old.
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a 10-foot-wide, 8-mile-long paved
path on which no cars are allowed, is used by cyclists, skaters
and walkers. ''It's a great place to teach kids how to ride a bike
or Rollerblade,'' said Dave Schufelt, executive director of the
Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association.
Eddie Collins Memorial Park, named for the Hall of Fame
ballplayer who was a native of Millerton, is a site for fireworks
and fairs and has a pool and a skateboard and skating area. Two
miles north of Millerton, Taconic State Park offers swimming and
boating at Rudd Pond, as well as hiking and picnicking. It's free
most of the year, with a $7 day charge in summer. Less than a
half-hour drive away in the Berkshires, Catamount and Butternut
Basin draw downhill skiers and snowboarders while Bash Bish Falls
attracts hikers and anglers.
Cons
Unlike Millbrook, or Lakeville and Salisbury just over the
border in Connecticut, Millerton is not a manicured,
postcard-perfect town; it has a grittier edge, evidenced by modest
homes crowded side-by-side along some village side streets. The
end of Main Street feeds into a short strip-mall stretch of auto
body shops, gas stations and convenience stores -- even a
McDonald's.
The village has several casual restaurants but few places for
fine dining.
Though full-timers and weekenders report a peaceful
coexistence, a shortage of available housing has caused some
friction. ''The biggest gripe we hear around here is that kids who
grew up in Millerton can't afford to live here now,'' Mr. McEnroe
said.
With a growing second-home community, finding workers for
services like landscaping can be a challenge.
LAY OF THE LAND
Putting Aside Its Blue Collar
POPULATION -- Village of Millerton: 925; town of North East:
3,002. SIZE -- Millerton, 1.02 square miles; North East, 43.92
square miles.
MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE -- $200,000.
RECENT SALES -- A 1,080-square-foot, one-bedroom, two-bathroom
renovated 1910 cottage with a wraparound deck and barn on 5.7
acres, which was offered for $269,000 and on the market for 156
days, sold for $265,000.
A 1,648-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom, brick
ranch-style home on 0.4 acres sold for $210,000, the asking price,
after 57 days on the market. A renovated 2,676-square-foot,
four-bedroom, two-bathroom 1890 colonial on 0.7 acres in Millerton
village, originally listed at $269,000, sold for $253,000 after 71
days on the market.
A 5,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom contemporary,
built in 2001, on 17.7 acres with a pool, ornamental gardens and
valley and mountain views, originally offered at $1.8 million,
sold after 92 days for $1.75 million.
DISTANCE FROM NEW YORK -- 98 miles. TRAVEL TIME -- By car, two
hours in light traffic. By rail, an hour and a half on the
Metro-North Harlem Line from Grand Central Terminal to Wassaic, a
10-minute drive to Millerton.
GETTING THERE -- Take the Taconic State Parkway north to the
Route 199-Pine Plains exit. Go east on Route 199 about 20 miles,
to its end. Turn left onto Route 22-44 North. At the first
stoplight, turn right onto Main Street, Route 44, which takes you
into the village.
WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING -- Simmons' Way Village Inn (53 Main
Street, 518-789-6235) is in an 1854 Victorian house and has a
restaurant. The inn has nine antiques-furnished rooms. Winter
rates are $100 to $150, with breakfast included. After May 1,
rates are $130 to $200.
