Cold Spring popular with antique shoppers

By Rebecca Rothbaum
Poughkeepsie Journal

These days, however, most people come for the antiques or an afternoon on the river.

The Village of Cold Spring is a popular destination for Hudson Valley day trippers, drawing especially large crowds during the summer with its mix of antique shops, boutiques, restaurants and a riverfront park.

Cold Spring was transformed from a sleepy hamlet into a thriving village in the early 19th century, when the West Point Foundry opened. The foundry supplied most of the heavy cannons for the Union during the Civil War and in 1862 President Abraham Lincoln visited for an inspection.

The railroad came through the village in 1848, bringing more people to the town.

The village has retained much of its 19th-century architecture. In 1973, the village center was made a historic district. As a result, the atmosphere is decidedly quaint.