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Coles Mills was one of the first settlements in the Southern Precinct of Dutchess County, now Putnam County, in the U.S. State of New York. Cole’s Mills features prominently on the 19th Century maps of the area including the 1854 R. F. O’Connor Map of Putnam County, the 1867 F.W. Beers Map , and the United States Geological Survey map from 1892.

History
Cole’s Mills was settled by Elisha Cole in 1747. He built a grist mill at the outlet of Barrett Pond into the West Branch of the Croton River in 1748. A carding mill, saw mill, and school house were added in subsequent years. The land was leased from Mary Philipse Morris, who inherited it at age 22 as part of the Philipse Patent, and who was thought to be a love interest of George Washington. After the Battles of Saratoga, the Commissioners of Forfeiture confiscated the land from Mary and Roger Morris and sold it back to the tenants. Elisha and his sons were members of the 7th Regiment of the Dutchess County Militia, under Colonel Henry Ludington, during the American Revolutionary War. Just south of Cole’s Mills, on the road to Carmel, New York, was the farm of Captain Solomon Hopkins, where the patriot and spy Enoch Crosby took refuge from the British. . Enoch Crosby was the hero of The Spy (Cooper novel) by James Fennimore Cooper.

Cole’s Mills was downstream from the Boyds Corner Reservoir, the first reservoir constructed by the NYC Croton Aqueduct Commission in 1873. The construction of the Boyd's Corner Reservoir was overseen by William M. Tweed known as “Boss” Tweed, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Public Works, who ordered the construction of an earthen embankment to strengthen the structure. This embankment was poorly constructed, seen as unnecessary, and an opportunity for graft. Boss Tweed was convicted of 204 counts of corruption in 1873 and died in prison in 1878. In 1874, according to the Putnam County Courier, Theodore Cole of Cole’s Mills sued New York City for $10,000 in damages due to the stoppage of water from the Croton River to his four mills.

In 1888, NYC purchased the land and water rights of Cole’s Mills from various members of the Cole family. By 1890, work had begun on Reservoir D, now known as the West Branch Reservoir. Contractor M.S. Coleman was awarded the contract for building the West Branch dam and spillway for $398,262.50 in 1890.

Hundreds of men converged on the area to find work on Reservoir D. The work was difficult and laborers were killed and injured regularly, including 28-year old foreman “Con” Connolly in January 1891. As reported in The New York Times on October 21, 1893, a group of workers rebelled against Coleman’s order that they board on the property, and attacked Henry Episcobo, the keeper of the boarding house.

Building the West Branch Reservoir required clearing the basin of buildings and vegetation, relocating Dickson Road (now Dixon Road) over a new bridge at Cole’s Mills, and building an 1,800-foot causeway, now part of New York State Route 301, which runs above the reservoir. The reservoir was put in service in late 1895 and construction completed in 1896. Contractor Coleman also won the contract for the New Croton Dam in 1892. .