Sentence:  Along <WSD>Wappinger</WSD> Creek in Dutchess County , past the white church at Fishkill , past Verplanck 's Point on the east bank of the Hudson , to the white salt crusted roads of the Long Island Rockaways there was a watching and an activity of preparing for something explosive to happen . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a point or extent in space