| Pawling | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Etymology: | From Catherine Pauling, wife of Albert Pauling, and eldest daughter of colonial landowner Henry Beekman |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Hudson Valley |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Dutchess |
| Coordinates: | 41.5667°N -109°W |
| Leader Name: | James Schmitt (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1788 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 45 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 44.2 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.8 |
| Elevation Ft: | 479 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 8,012 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | EST |
| Utc Offset1: | -5 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -4 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 12564 |
| Area Code: | 845 |
| Blank Name: | Exchange |
| Blank Info: | 855 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0979347 |
| Website: | Welcome to Pawling, NY |
Pawling is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. Its population was 8,012 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Catherine Pauling, the daughter of Henry Beekman, who held the second largest land patent in the county. The town is in the southeastern part of the county, and contains a village of the same name.
A part of the town was involved in a boundary problem involving New York and Connecticut. A section of the town, located in the "Oblong"—the name was given to the disputed oblong strip of land, two miles in width forming part of the Eastern boundary of the now Dutchess and Putnam Counties—was settled by Nathan Birdsall and his wife Jane Langdon; they were the first pioneer settlers of Quaker Hill, Dutchess, NY. He was a native of Long Island and was born around 1700 to Quaker parents. He was one of the surveyors of the area and picked his home site during the survey.
Nathan purchased his land from the Great Nine Partners Patent, prior to moving his family there, erected a log house and barn, probably around 1720. The next settler was Benjamin Ferris, a Quaker preacher. It was not until 1731, when the one-hundred-year-old dispute as to the boundary between the English in New England and the Dutch in New York was settled, that emigration started in any volume. A number of Friends began coming from Harrisons Purchase, now a part of Rye, in Westchester County, New York. Their Quaker Meeting House is still standing today, and open for visitors.
In the American Revolution colonial commander in chief George Washington established his headquarters at the John Kane House in the town (now the village) for two months in 1778. The town was founded in 1788, but part of the town was used to form the neighboring town of Dover in 1807. The town of Pawling was part of the Beekman Patent, a large land grant to Col. Henry Beekman in 1697.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 45sqmi, of which 44.2sqmi is land and 0.8sqmi (1.80%) is water.
The eastern and western section of the towns are high and hilly, with the Great Swamp and Harlem Valley in the middle, where the village of Pawling is located. The highest elevation in town is Observatory Hill, at 1332feet above sea level; the lowest is 420feet, in the Great Swamp, along the southern boundary of the town.
Most of the population of Pawling is concentrated in the valley, traversed by NY 22 (joined by NY 55 south of the village) and Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. There are two train stations in town, the Pawling station in the village and the Appalachian Trail station, allowing passengers to hike that trail up into the Pawling Nature Reserve along Hammersby Ridge in the northern section of town.
The southern town line is the border of Putnam County, New York, and the eastern town boundary is the border of Connecticut. To the west lies the town of Beekman, with Dover to the north. It also shares a small border with the town of East Fishkill at the southwestern edge of the town.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 7,521 people, 2,823 households, and 1,987 families living in the town. The population density was 170.2sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 3,101 housing units at an average density of 70.2sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 94.43% white, 1.46% black or African American, .17% Native American, 1.28% Asian, .04% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.85% of the population.
There were 2,823 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $61,380 and the median income for a family was $70,056. Males had a median income of $47,143 versus $35,063 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,043. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Since 1878 Pawling has operated under a council-manager form of government.
The Pawling Fire District is the fire department that covers the Town Of Pawling. By keeping buildings up to code, controlling illegal occupancies, monitoring the safety of living-areas and issuing licenses and permits, the department works to control the potential for dangerous situations. The fire district operates three fire stations spread out all over the town, as their district covers a large area. The department is capable of handling fires, rescues, extrications and natural disasters. The PFD operates a varied fire apparatus fleet, however does not provide Emergency Medical Services. Both BLS and ALS EMS calls are handled by Empress Ambulance (formerly EMStar, which was merged in Sept 2021) who are contracted to provide the town with 24/7 ambulance service. In the event of numerous calls within a short amount of time, ambulances are pulled from neighboring towns including Beekman, Dover and Patterson or, if a backfill unit is available, it will respond from nearby.
Police protection in Pawling is provided by through the Dutchess County Sheriff's office and New York State Police. Sheriff's deputies have a substation located in the middle of the hamlet, near the train station. The MTA police also cover the center of town, as the Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line has a train station in the town.
Pawling has several free standing doctors' offices and clinics, including Village Medical and The Atrium. Pawling has no hospitals, but within a short distance from town are three medical centers and two hospitals. MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center and Vassar Brothers Medical Center are located in nearby Poughkeepsie, and Danbury Hospital is located in Danbury, CT. Putnam Hospital Center is located in Carmel in Putnam County and New Milford Hospital in New Milford, CT. There are several urgent care centers located nearby, including in Carmel and LaGrange.