New York State Route 301

File:Carver Bridge.jpg at Carver Bridge|alt=Ground-level view of a causeway crossing a reservoir. On either side of the causeway are short stone walls. The lake's banks are surrounded by thick woods.]]

The western terminus of NY 301 is at a four-way junction with NY 9D in Cold Spring. At the intersection, Morris Avenue enters from the north, Chestnut Street comes in from the south, and Main Street enters from the west and leaves to the east on NY 301. The route climbs a hill into the Philipstown village of Nelsonville, where it remains Main Street until transitioning into Cold Spring Carmel Road and passing near the southeast border of the Hudson Highlands State Park. It crosses US 9, locally Albany Post Road, at Mekeel Corners and continues northeast into the woods of the Clarence Fahnestock State Park.{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Main+St&daddr=Co+Rd+47%2FNY-301+E&geocode=FXsEeAIdQomX-w%3BFVQdeAIdQLqb-w&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=12&sll=41.474889,-73.693542&sspn=0.132989,0.363579&ie=UTF8&ll=41.431884,-73.932066&spn=0.016635,0.045447&z=15 |title=overview map of NY 301 |accessdate=September 14, 2012}}

The highway crosses over Clove Creek a few times and turns slightly towards the southeast; however, it soon resumes a northeasterly course as the Cold Spring Turnpike. Continuing through the state park, NY 301 skirts the southern bank of Lake Canopus before crossing the Taconic State Parkway in Putnam Valley. Roughly {{convert|3.5|mi|1}} to the northeast at Mead Corners, NY 301 bears southeast toward Carmel. The road passes north of Sagamore Lake to hug the western shore of Boyds Corner Reservoir—part of the Croton Watershed of the New York City water supply system. Shortly thereafter, NY 301 follows the inside of the western fork of the West Branch Reservoir (also NYC watershed) past the former colonial settlement of Coles Mills just south of the Nimham Mountain State Forest, before bisecting the body of water via a causeway.

NY 301 ends at NY 52 (Gleneida Avenue) to the north of Lake Gleneida in the county seat of Carmel. Lake Gleneida is a controlled lake, created when an original pond was dammed in 1870, once more part of the Croton Watershed.{{cite news |last=Nackman |first=Barbara Livingston |title=Abundance of boats put damper on $2.3M plan to improve hamlet |url=http://www.carmelresident.org/hamlet/Abundance_of_boats_jn010513.html |newspaper=The Journal News |location=White Plains, NY |date=May 13, 2001 |accessdate=December 24, 2009 |quote=The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is in charge of Lake Gleneida, created in 1870 when the city built a dam to create a controlled lake. |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009215638/http://carmelresident.org/hamlet/Abundance_of_boats_jn010513.html |archivedate=October 9, 2007 }} At the far end of the junction is the Putnam County Courthouse, a National Register of Historic Places-listed structure that was first constructed in 1814.{{cite web|last=Gobrecht|first=Lawrence|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, Putnam County Courthouse|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7221|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation|date=March 23, 1976|accessdate=December 24, 2009}} The eastern terminus of NY 301 is just {{convert|0.25|mi|2}} north of NY 52's eastern terminus at US 6.

The portion of modern-day NY 301 west of Meads Corners was originally part of the Philipstown Turnpike. Initially, the county's proximity to the Hudson River supplied cheap means of transporting goods to Albany and New York City, though in the winter months, the river froze over.{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Putnam County|year=2008|publisher=Putnam County Government|accessdate=August 24, 2008|url=http://www.putnamcountyny.com/historian/ourhistory.htm|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214111726/http://www.putnamcountyny.com/historian/ourhistory.htm|archivedate=February 14, 2010}}

To resolve the issue, in 1815, the Philipstown Turnpike Company was organized to improve upon a toll road from Cold Spring to the Connecticut border.{{cite book|first=William Smith |last=Pelletreau|title=History of Putnam County, New York|year=1886|publisher=University of Michigan|page= 519}} On April 15, 1815, "an act to incorporate the Philipstown turnpike company in the county of Putnam" was passed.{{cite book|page= 449|author=New York (State) Legislature|year=1834|publisher=John Shea|location=Oxford University|title=Journal of the Assembly of the State of New York|accessdate=August 24, 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLQFAAAAQAAJ&q=Philipstown+Turnpike&pg=PA449}} East of the Connecticut border, the turnpike continued as the New Milford and Sherman Turnpike.{{cite book|page= 1335|author=Connecticut, General Assembly|title=Special Acts and Resolutions of the State of Connecticut ...|year=1857|publisher=Case, Lockwood & Brainard|accessdate=August 24, 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggc4AAAAIAAJ&q=Philipstown+Turnpike&pg=PA1334}}

On the turnpike, wagons transported manufactures inland, and carried produce from the eastern part of the county. Before the advent of the railroad, the road was a business center for much of the county.{{cite web |author=Goist & Gilbert|title=History of Putnam County Chapter XXVII Town of Kent|year=2004|publisher=NYGenWeb|accessdate=August 24, 2008|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyputnam/history/index.htm}} One of the intentions of the turnpike was to "greatly promote the public good, as well contribute to their individual interest". However, the turnpike was eventually abandoned, because the tolls received were not sufficient to defray the expense of maintaining the road and associated bridges. The tolls were also inadequate for investors in the Philipstown Turnpike Company to make a profit.

Image:NY301WesternTerminus.jpg

NY 301 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to the portion of its modern alignment west of US 9. At the same time, the section of what is now NY 301 from County Route 21 (CR 21) in Kent Cliffs to NY 52 in Carmel was designated as part of NY 130, which continued southwest from Kent Cliffs to Peekskill via CR 21, Oregon Road, and Division Street.{{cite map |title=Road Map of New York |year=1930 |publisher=Standard Oil Company of New York |cartography=General Drafting}} By 1932, NY 301 was extended eastward to NY 130 in Kent Cliffs by way of its modern alignment.{{cite map |title=Texaco Road Map – New York |publisher=Texas Oil Company |year=1932 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}} NY 130 was replaced by an extended NY 301 from Kent Cliffs to Carmel {{circa|lk=no|1934}}{{cite map |title=Texaco Road Map – New York |publisher=Texas Oil Company |year=1933 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}}{{cite map |title=Texaco Road Map – New York |publisher=Texas Oil Company |year=1934 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}} and eliminated entirely {{circa|lk=no|1938}}.{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=Standard Oil Company |year=1937 |cartography=General Drafting}}{{cite map |title=New York Road Map for 1938 |publisher=Esso |year=1938 |cartography=General Drafting}}

The section of NY 301 from the vicinity of Kittridge Drive, a local street southeast of Kent Cliffs, to NY 52 was initially county-maintained as CR 47.{{cite map |title=Metropolitan New York & Long Island |publisher=Amoco Oil Company |year=1973 |edition=1974 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}} On April 1, 1980, ownership and maintenance of this section of the route was transferred to the state of New York as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government.{{cite web |author=New York State Legislature |url=http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$HAY341$$@TXHAY0341+&LIST=LAW+&TARGET=VIEW |title=New York State Highway Law § 341 |accessdate=June 24, 2010|author-link = New York State Legislature}} The concurrent CR 47 designation was subsequently eliminated; however, the number was later reused for a {{convert|0.2|mi|1|adj=on}} former alignment of NY 301 in Kent Cliffs.{{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-repository2/INV_2010-03-02_putnam.csv |title=Putnam County Inventory Listing |date=March 2, 2010 |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |format=CSV |accessdate=January 20, 2011}}

On August 20, 2002, the portion of NY 301 between NY 9D and US 9 was designated as the "Sergeant Albert Ireland Memorial Highway".{{cite web |url=http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi |title=Bills of New York State – bill number-based search (S5082B, 2001)|author=New York State Legislature|accessdate=February 5, 2010}} The ceremonial designation honors Albert L. Ireland, a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant from Cold Spring who was awarded many citations, including nine Purple Hearts, for his service during World War II and the Korean War.{{cite magazine |date=July 27, 1953 |title=National Affairs: Fighting Man |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936077,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222112113/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936077,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |accessdate=June 24, 2010}}{{cite news |url=http://www.pcnr.com/news/2004-11-10/Front_Page/066.html |title=Memorial Service for Albert Luke Ireland |date=November 10, 2004 |newspaper=Putnam County News and Recorder |location=Cold Spring, NY |accessdate=June 24, 2010}} In June 2012, the entire roadway was designated as the Hudson River Turnpike by Putnam County with the intent of reminding "drivers of the picturesque landscape and historic areas along its path".{{Cite news |title=Putnam's Route 301 renamed Hudson River Turnpike |last=Nackman |first=Barbara Livingston |date=June 20, 2012 |accessdate=September 14, 2012 |url=http://www.lohud.com/article/20120620/NEWS04/306180112/Putnam-s-Route-301-renamed-Hudson-River-Turnpike |newspaper=The Journal News |location=White Plains, NY}}

{{NYinttop|length_ref={{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Volume%20Report%202008.pdf |title=2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State |date=June 16, 2009 |page=210 |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |accessdate=February 1, 2010}}|county=Putnam}}

{{NYint

|location=Cold Spring

|mile=0.00

|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|9D|location1=Cold Spring Station}}

|notes=Western terminus

}}

{{NYint

|location=Philipstown

|mile=2.48

|road={{jct|state=NY|US|9|city1=Fishkill|city2=Peekskill}}

}}

{{NYint

|location=Putnam Valley

|mile=8.63

|road={{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Taconic}}

|notes=Exits 31A-B on Taconic State Parkway

}}

{{NYint

|mile=19.04

|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|52|name1=Gleneida Avenue}}

|location=Carmel

|notes=Eastern terminus; hamlet of Carmel

}}

{{jctbtm}}

{{Portal|Hudson Valley|U.S. roads}}

• List of county routes in Putnam County, New York

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{{Attached KML}}

{{Commons category|New York State Route 301}}

{{NYSR external links|type=N|nyroutes=yes|termini=yes|route=301|alps=yes}}

301

Category:Transportation in Putnam County, New York