he Town of Southeast is located approximately fifty miles north of New York City, in Putnam County. In the early part of the eighteenth century, families from Cape Cod and Long Island began settling along the East Branch of the Croton River, in the area that would later become Southeast.

However, it wasn't until border disputes between Connecticut and New York were resolved that villages and towns began to truly grow and develop in eastern Putnam County. In 1788, the Town of Southeast was incorporated by the State of New York.

 Main Street, Brewster was laid out in 1849 by Walter Brewster, local builder and speculator, who built passenger and freight train depots so that the Harlem Line Railroad would stop at his "Station."

 Walter Brewster constructed over 50 buildings, churches, and stores in the new village, mapping out a new avenue for stages to Danbury, Connecticut. The Village of Brewster, incorporated in 1894, lies within the Town of Southeast.