$1,195,000
9 Quarry Pond Road, Beacon
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,850 sq ft · 1.3 ac
Dutchess County · Town guide
Beacon
A mile-and-a-bit of Main Street between the river and the mountain, a train to Grand Central, and a housing stock that runs from 1890s worker cottages to new townhouses by the creek. It's also where our main office has been since 2009.
Beacon at a glance
$689,000median sale price, Q3 2025
21median days on market
80–95 minMetro-North to Grand Central
41homes sold, July–September 2025
The town
Beacon made hats, then bricks, then not very much for a few decades. The factories along Fishkill Creek closed, Main Street emptied out, and by the 1990s you could buy a Victorian on the hill for the price of a car. Then, in 2003, a major contemporary art museum opened in an old printing plant by the river, and the town changed faster than anyone expected. Artists came first, then the people who like living near artists, then everyone who had heard about it from them.
Today Main Street runs a little over a mile from the west end, near the train and the river, to the east end, where it crosses the creek under the mountain. Along it are galleries, cafés, vintage shops, a hardware store, bakeries, restaurants, studios, a couple of bars where everyone seems to know each other, and the Fieldstone & Finch office at 212 Ferry Lantern Street, just off it. It's a walking street. On a Saturday in October it's a crowded walking street.
Beacon is a small city (about 14,000 people) and it feels like one: there's a city council, a city school district, a real downtown and a lot of civic argument about development, parking and how many new apartment buildings are too many. It is not quiet in the way some of the river villages are. People who love it love that.
Housing stock and prices
Beacon's houses come in layers, roughly by distance from Main Street.
- Near Main Street
- Worker cottages and 1900–1930 frame houses with porches, often on lots of a tenth to a fifth of an acre. Two and three bedrooms, one or two baths, sometimes no driveway. Typically $500,000 to $750,000; renovated ones a walk from the train go higher.
- On the hills
- Larger Victorians, Italianates and Queen Annes, some with river views, many with original woodwork and the old-house issues that come with it. $750,000 to $1.4 million.
- By the creek and the river
- Converted mill lofts and newer condos and townhouses, mostly built since 2000. $450,000 to $800,000, plus HOA fees.
- Toward the mountain and outside the city
- Ranches, capes and colonials from the 1950s to the 1990s on bigger lots in the surrounding town, and the occasional older house with land. $550,000 to $900,000.
- Multifamily
- Two- and three-family houses on the side streets, popular with owner-occupants who rent out a unit. Rosa Delgado handles most of ours.
Supply is tight. Most well-priced houses near Main Street go under contract within three weeks, and some get several offers. Houses that need a lot of work, or sit on a busy road, take longer.
Getting around
The Beacon station sits by the river at the west end of town, on Metro-North's Hudson Line. Express trains reach Grand Central in about an hour and twenty minutes; locals take closer to an hour and a half. It's one of the main reasons people move here. From the station, Main Street is a steep walk up the hill or a short shuttle ride; most commuters drive and park. Permit parking at the station has a waiting list in some years, so ask about it early.
A small ferry crosses to Newburgh on weekday commuting hours, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge carries I-84 west across the river toward the Thruway and the airport at Stewart. Driving to Manhattan takes about an hour and a half without traffic, which is rare. In town, you can live without a car near Main Street, but most households have one.
Outdoors and landmarks
Mount Beacon rises right behind the east end of Main Street. The trail up is short and steep, past the ruins of an old incline railway that once carried visitors to a hotel on top, and ends at a fire tower with a view down the river to the city on a clear day. The Fishkill Ridge trails continue north for longer hikes.
Down by the river, Long Dock Park has a waterfront path, a kayak launch and a beach of sorts. From the train you'll see Pollepel Island and the ruin of Bannerman's castle, an arsenal built by a military-surplus dealer more than a century ago; tour boats run out to it in season. The Madam Brett homestead, from 1709, is the oldest house in Dutchess County and is open to visitors. Fishkill Creek runs through the east end, with falls by the old mill buildings and a creekside trail toward the townhouses at the bottom of the hill.
A long-planned walking and cycling trail, often called the Fjord Trail, is meant to run south along the river from Beacon toward Cold Spring. Parts are under construction; it's a source of both excitement and argument, and it will change traffic patterns near the trailheads.
Through the year
Spring is when most listings appear, from March onward, and when the creek runs high. Summer brings river evenings, music in the parks and weekend visitors from the city. Fall is the busiest season on Main Street: foliage on the ridge peaks around mid-October, and the second, smaller real estate season runs through it. Winter snow is moderate in town, heavier up the mountain roads. The town is still lively on weekends in January, which is not true of every river town.
Practical notes for buyers
- Schools: Beacon has its own city school district, K–12. Contact the district directly for information.
- Water and sewer: most houses in the city are on municipal water and sewer. Outside city limits, check.
- Taxes: city, county and school taxes together are substantial. A $650,000 house commonly carries $12,000 to $15,000 a year. Look at the bill.
- Old-house items: many Beacon houses are 100 years old or more. Expect plaster, older wiring, slate or old shingle roofs, and fieldstone foundations that get damp in spring.
- Short-term rentals: the city regulates them. Check current rules before you count on rental income.
Our Beacon listings
$649,000
31 Larkin Mill Lane, Beacon
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,620 sq ft · 0.2 ac
Just listed!$549,000
47 Fishkill Creek Terrace, Beacon
2 bd · 2 ba · 1,240 sq ft · Pending
Also pending: 5 Steeple Hill Road, $725,000. All listings
Thinking about Beacon?
Nadia Finch, Marcus Oyelaran and Rosa Delgado all work out of the Beacon office and live within a few miles of it. Rosa works in English and Spanish. Stop by 212 Ferry Lantern Street, or call (845) 555-0127.