MILLBROOK COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP RECEIVES A $554,000 COUNTY GRANT TO HELP CONVERT BENNETT CAMPUS INTO A COMMUNITY PARK
Bennett College was opened in 1907 as a two-year women’s college and its large Tudor mansion stood as the gateway to Millbrook for 70 years, until 1978 when the college declared bankruptcy and its buildings left to decline.
In 2014, portions of the site were purchased by the Millbrook Tribute Garden and the Thorne family to be used as a community park. The Thorne family and Tribute Garden donated these, and other adjacent properties, to the MCP in 2021 to form the 32-acre facility.
Created in 1999, the Dutchess County PMG program helps protect important agricultural and open space resources. The program provides a locally-funded match for land preservation purchases up to 50 percent of the total project cost. Since its inception, the program has helped to protect 5,313 acres of farmland and open space in Dutchess County, with the protection of an additional 853 acres of farmland pending in five projects. An acquisition of an additional 155 acres of pristine open space is also pending.
