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Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie ( /pəˈkɪpsiː/) is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany. The name derives from a word in the Wappinger language, roughly U-puku-ipi-sing, meaning "the reed covered lodge by the little-water place," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River, south of the present downtown area. Poughkeepsie is known as "The Queen City of the Hudson." Poughkeepsie is the principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. It was originally settled in the 17th century by the Dutch, and became New York's second capital shortly after the American Revolution. It was chartered as a city in 1854. Major bridges in the city include the Poughkeepsie Bridge, a former railroad bridge now serving as a public walkway, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge, a major thoroughfare built in 1930 that carries U.S. Route 44 (concurrent with State Route 55) over the Hudson.