From the colonial period, the Poughkeepsie area has been a prime location on the Hudson, midway between Albany and New York City. Accessibility, scenic beauty, and a dynamic economic and cultural environment have made both city and town of Poughkeepsie excellent communities in which to live, work, and play. Numerous Americans have left their mark here, including the Livingstons, S.F.B. Morse, the Smith Brothers (of cough drop fame), Matthew Vassar, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Thomas Watson Sr. Poughkeepsie has also been enhanced by the contributions of its African American community and by successive waves of immigrants seeking a better life. From hosting New York's United States Constitutional Ratification Convention in 1788 to becoming the location of IBM during World War II, Poughkeepsie has continued to be the site of world-changing events.