Welcome to Hillsdale
Hillsdale has a population of less than 2,000, but this small community located about three miles from the New York-Massachusetts state line has racked up some outsized accomplishments. Thanks to the community spirit of its area residents, Hillsdale is home to a thriving farmers' market, a microbrewery, a reinvented country store, an old-fashioned ice cream shop, a flower boutique, and much more. Hillsdale is a town with two hamlets. One is also called Hillsdale in the northwest corner of the town and the other is Harlemville in the southern portion bordering Copake. The Hillsdale Hamlet Historic District makes up a large part of the hamlet of Hillsdale with 128 buildings.
Drive Times from Major Cities
- From Albany, NY: About 50 minutes
- From New York, NY: About 3 hours
- From Hudson, NY: About 25 minutes
- From Boston, MA: About 2 hours 40 minutes
Community Resources and Amenities
- Open Saturdays from 9 AM to 1 PM mid-May to mid-November.
- Operates at Roeliff Jansen Park on Route 22 in Hillsdale.
- Over 30 vendors plus live music, food demonstrations, kids' activities, and community food programs make this vibrant farmers' market a community hub.
- Hillsdale General Store makes it home in a commericial building that's been part of the community since the mid-1800s.
- Now operated as a classic general store with a focus on local and American-made goods, Hillsdale General Store was the first commercial building to be restored after the hamlet of Hillsdale was designated a National Historic District in 2010.
- Located across the street from the general store is HGS Home Chef with two teaching kitchens and a kitchenware shop housed in a restored 1870s house.
- Serves the communities of Ancram, Copake and Hillsdale, NY.
- Known for the "big green chair," a 10-foot-tall, 8-feet-wide outdoor sculpture designed by renowned artist Leon Smith, who lived nearby in Ancramdale.
Taconic Hills Central School District
- Based in Craryville, Taconic Hills Central School District serves students and families in Copake, Hillsdale, Philmont, and parts of Ancram, Austerlitz, Claverack, Gallatin, Ghent, Livingston, Northeast, and Taghkanic.
- The district consists of a PreK–6 elementary school and 7–12 junior/senior high school with a combined enrollment of about 1,400 students.
Health Care Resources
- Provides services to more than 100,000 residents in Columbia, Greene and Dutchess counties.
- The region’s only comprehensive primary and specialty care health system.
- Anchored by Columbia Memorial Hospital in nearby Hudson with 192 beds.
Recreation and Culture
- Managed by the Town of Hillsdale and owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
- Provides a home for the Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market, the town summer youth program, and Grillsdale, a farm-to-grill food event.
- Features a community garden, trails, access to the Roeliff Jansen Kill, picnic areas, and a dog run.
- Headquartered in an historic 1851 building renovated from the foundation up.
- A state-of-the art brewing facility produces a line-up of beers and ales.
- Welcomes the public in its beer garden restaurant serving pub-style food featuring locally-sourced produce.
- This used book store is a local institution stocked with about 50,000 books.
- A profile in The New Yorker described it as "the kind of place you half expect to find a talking rabbit wearing a monocle and vest and reading by candlelight."
