Poughkeepsie (1983: Doomsday)

Poughkeepsie is a city-state in former New York State along the Hudson River.

Before Doomsday
Before European settlement, the Poughkeepsie area was home to the Wappinger people. The site of Poughkeepsie was purchased from these natives in 1686 by Robert Sanders, an Englishman, and Myndert Harmense Van Den Bogaerdt, a New Netherlander Dutchman. The settlement grew until it became an incorporated village in 1799 and a city in 1854.

Poughkeepsie gained temporary fame during the American Revolution, during which it was a temporary capitol of New York.

Throughout the nineteenth century, Poughkeepsie grew with the help of several industries, including shipbuilding, paper production, and breweries. The owner of some of these breweries founded the women's only Vassar College to the east in 1861, though the school became coeducational by 1969. Several New York City wealthy families would also build homes in the area.

Government
Poughkeepsie's government is based upon the pre-Doomsday county government, and thus includes an executive and a 25-member legislature. The area is traditionally conservative, and many politicians still consider themselves part of the old Republican tradition.

Demography
About 150,000 people with within Poughkeepsie's greater borders or protection, though only a fraction of that number, about 20,000, live within the city proper.

Culture
Only one radio station is active in the Poughkeepsie area: Vassar College's WVKR-FM. The station provides a combination of music, news, and educational programing.

Downtown Poughkeepsie is the site of the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, where many shows are held.

Education
Poughkeepsie offers public education to those lying within its boundaries. The state operates a multi-building school system within the city, and also sends teachers outside the city to teach primary education in public buildings in places where children can not reach the city-system safely or easily.

Vassar College lies within Poughkeepsie's boundaries, and today remains the center of education in the region. Its library contains hundreds of thousands of volumes.

Military
Initially after Doomsday, Poughkeepsie's police forces kept order. Today, the police has become the de facto military of the state, with about 8,000 members stationed around the region.