As seen on the Poughkeepsie Journal website:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20107210320

Lafayetteville: Milan hamlet, named for visiting marquis, was a busy stagecoach post

By Anthony P. Musso • For the Poughkeepsie Journal • July 21, 2010

The center of Lafayetteville, a hamlet in the Town of Milan, is at the intersection of Route 199 and North/South Road. While the area now boasts few stores and the vacant 19th-century Lafayette House, it was once a bustling center of activity in an agricultural region.

Lafayette House and the hamlet itself were named in 1824 in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette who visited the region that year.

The inn served as a regular stop on the stagecoach line that ran from the Hudson River to Salisbury, Conn., and served as overnight accommodations for post riders.

"Route 199 was the main thoroughfare for the stagecoach line and Lafayetteville was a major stop," town historian Patrick Higgins said. "Eventually railroad lines came into Pine Plains and took a big amount of the business away from Lafayetteville."

The impact of four railroads, scheduling 15 trains a day through Pine Plains, affected many surrounding communities and business at the Lafayette House waned..

Across the road, on the southeast corner of the intersection sat the Lafayette Lodge, a building that housed Leapin' Lena's. The popular night spot boasted a huge bar, dining room and a raised dance floor, along with 12 guest rooms on its second level.

"Lena Grosenbeck ran the place and customers came from all over the eastern seaboard to go there," lifetime Lafayetteville resident George Campbell said. "It was a very well-known place and had the largest dance floor in Dutchess County.

"My father had a bar, gas pumps and an ice house on one of the four corners for about 16 years," Campbell said. "After Lena died, he bought the lodge in 1950."Campbell's father eventually sold the lodge to another family, who ran it until it burned down in 1961.

In 1936, a summer camp in Lafayetteville served as the first training site for one of the biggest heavyweight championship fights in the history of boxing. Owned by two undertakers from Harlem, the camp was used by boxer Joe Louis before leaving for New Jersey to prepare for his fight with Germany's Max Schmeling.

The camp was on Route 199, just east of today's Taconic State Parkway, and Louis accomplished his daily run along the main road.

"One day, I saw Joe Louis running up the road and ran along with him," Campbell recalled. "I was about10 years old at the time."

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At the regular Milan Town Board meeting in June, the town board voted unanimously to reduce General Fund spending by $27,221, based on a projected revenue shortfall of $60,000. The town board also reduced the budgeted revenue by the same amount to keep the budget in balance. The major reason for this decline in revenue is a sharp drop in mortgage tax. Last year, the town board projected that the town would receive $90,000 in mortgage tax. It appears now that the town will receive less than half this amount – only around $42,000, leaving a deficit of $48,000 in this account alone. Other smaller areas of lower than budgeted revenue bring the total to $60,000. Unless there is an upswing in revenues in the second half of the year, it is certain that further cuts will have to be made to balance the budget, a constitutional requirement.

Added to the town’s financial problems is the cost of growing cost of health insurance. The previous town board budgeted $60,000 to cover these costs, but despite changing one of the policies to a lower cost one, the town will pay over $75,000 in this fiscal year. It should be said that the town board members were unaware of the 34 percent increase in premiums when it approved the final budget. If left as is, this would add another $11,000 to the deficit.

To remedy this situation, the town board held a special meeting on June 30, and after considerable discussion and analyses, voted to change both the employee and retiree plans. These changes will result in $9,000 in savings over the remainder of the fiscal year on just the general side of the budget. Comparing the present plan with the newly approved plan, the new plan will result in a $28,000 reduction over the course of a year. Both plans provide for reduced premiums for the town and the participants in the health plans. The plans are due to go into effect on August 1.

It should be noted that the revenue shortfalls in this year’s budget are not likely to be made up in next year’s revenues. Thus, there is a strong likelihood that the 2011 budget will have to reflect these reductions. It’s belt-tightening time.