BEACON

city, Dutchess county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Beacon, on the east bank of the Hudson River (there bridged to Newburgh), 58 miles (93 km) north of New York City. It became a city when the 17th-century villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing were united in 1913. The name was inspired by the fires that blazed atop Mount Beacon during the U.S. War of Independence to warn George Washington of British troop movements; the mountain was later a resort, and the Mount Beacon Incline Railway (operated 1901-72) ascended its west spur (1,540 feet [469 metres] above the river). Industrialization began after the War of 1812 when businessman John Jacob Astor and others built a cotton mill and foundry. Manufactures include clothing, hats, countertops, and rubber fabricated products; the city also is the home of one of the world's largest art foundries. Madam Brett Homestead (1709) in Beacon and Van Wyck Homestead (1732; site of courts-martial during the American Revolution) in nearby Fishkill are preserved as museums. Pop. (1990) 13,243; (1998 est.) 13,215.