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Kiryas Joel, New York

Kiryas Joel (קרית יואל, ; often locally abbreviated as KJ) is a village coterminous with the Town of Palm Tree in Orange County, New York, United States. The village shares one government with the Town. The vast majority of its residents are Yiddish-speaking Hasidic Jews who belong to the worldwide Satmar sect of Hasidism.

Kiryas Joel is the largest municipality and largest principal city in the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn forms part of the New York Combined Statistical Area.

According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Kiryas Joel has by far the youngest median age population of any municipality in the United States, and the youngest, at 13.2 years old, of any population center of over 5,000 residents in the United States.

Residents of Kiryas Joel, like those of other Haredi and Orthodox Jewish communities, typically have large families, and this has driven rapid population growth.

According to 2020 census figures, the village has a high poverty rate with about 40% of the residents living below the federal poverty line. It is also the place in the United States with the highest percentage of people who reported Hungarian ancestry, as 18.9% of the population reported Hungarian descent in 2000.

History
Kiryas Joel is named for Joel Teitelbaum, the late rebbe of Satmar and driving spirit behind the project.

The Satmar Hasidim came from Satu Mare, Romania, known when under Hungarian rule as Szatmár. Teitelbaum, originally from Romania, rebuilt the Satmar Hasidic dynasty after World War II.

In 1947, Teitelbaum settled with his followers in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, a borough of New York City. By the 1970s, he decided to move the growing community to the Town of Monroe, a suburban location in Upstate New York that was more secluded from what he considered the harmful influences and immorality of the outside world, yet still close enough to the New York metropolitan area's commercial center. The land for Kiryas Joel was purchased in the early 1970s, and 14 Satmar families settled there in the summer of 1974. Monroe town officials initially expressed skepticism over Teitelbaum's and his followers' plans to build multi-family housing in Kiryas Joel, but they eventually allowed the town to incorporate in 1976. When he died in 1979, Teitelbaum was the first person to be buried in the town's cemetery. His funeral reportedly brought over 100,000 mourners to Kiryas Joel.

It is widely believed that no candidates run for the village's board or the school board unless approved by the grand rebbe, Aaron Teitelbaum. In 2001, Kiryas Joel held a competitive election in which all candidates supported by the grand rebbe were re-elected by a 55–45% margin.

In 2019, the village of Kiryas Joel separated from the town of Monroe, to become part of the town of Palm Tree, New York's first new town in 38 years. On July 1, 2018, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill to create Palm Tree, triggering elections for the first governing board. The new town had 10 elected positions on the November 2018 ballot, including a supervisor, four council members, and two justices to preside over a town court.

The name "Palm Tree" is a calque (translation) of the surname/family name of Joel Teitelbaum. In Yiddish, teitel (טייטל) means "date palm" and baum means "tree".

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), and only a very small portion of the area (a small duck pond called "Forest Road Lake" in the center of the village) is covered with water.

Demographics
Kiryas Joel began with a 1977 founding population of 500 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,138 people, 2,229 households, and 2,137 families residing in the village. The population density was 11962.2 PD/sqmi. There were 2,233 housing units, at an average density of 2033.2 /sqmi. The racial make-up of the village was 99.02% White, 0.21% African American, 0.02% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

Kiryas Joel has the highest percentage of people who reported Hungarian ancestry in the United States, as 18.9% of the population reported Hungarian ancestry in 2000. 3% of the residents of Kiryas Joel were Israeli, 2% Romanian, 1% Polish, and 1% European.

The 2000 census also reported that 6.3% of village residents spoke only English at home, one of the lowest such percentages in the United States. 91.5% of residents spoke Yiddish at home, while 2.3% spoke Hebrew. Of the overall population in 2000, 46% spoke English "not well" or "not at all".

There were 2,229 households, out of which 79.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 93.2% were married couples living together, 1.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.1% were non-families. 2.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 5.74, and the average family size was 5.84. In the village, the population was very young, with 57.5% under the age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 7.2% from 45 to 64, and 1.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 15 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.0 males.

The village abides by strict Jewish customs, and its welcome sign (installed in 2010 ) asks visitors to dress conservatively and to "maintain gender separation in all public areas".

Poverty and crime
The median income for a household in the village is $40,218, and the per capita income for the village is $12,114. According to 2020 census figures, the village has a high poverty rate with about 40% of the residents living below the federal poverty line. A 2011 New York Times report noted that, despite the town's very high statistical poverty rates, "It has no slums or homeless people. No one who lives there is shabbily dressed or has to go hungry. Crime is virtually non-existent."

Transportation
Kiryas Joel has a very high rate of public transportation usage. Local transit within the area is operated by the Village of Kiryas Joel Bus System, and also has service to Manhattan and to the heavily Haredi Jewish-populated Williamsburg and Borough Park sections of Brooklyn.

Friction with surrounding jurisdictions
The village has become a contentious issue in Orange County for several reasons, mainly related to its rapid growth. Unlike most other small communities, it lacks a real downtown and much of it is given over to residential property, which has mostly taken the form of contemporary townhouse-style condominiums. New construction is ongoing throughout the community.

Population growth in Kiryas Joel is strong. In 1990, there were 7,400 people in Kiryas Joel; in 2000, the population was reported as 13,100, nearly double the 1990 population. In 2005, the population had risen to 18,300. The 2010 census showed a population of 20,175, for a population growth rate of 53.6% between 2000 and 2010, which was less than anticipated, as it was projected that the population would double in that time period.

"There are three religious tenets that drive our growth: Our women don't use birth control, they get married young, and after they get married, they stay in Kiryas Joel and start a family. Our growth comes simply from the fact that our families have a lot of babies, and we need to build homes to respond to the needs of our community."

- Gedalye Szegedin, village administrator

Locally
The Town of Monroe also contains two other villages – Monroe, and Harriman. Kiryas Joel's boundaries also come close to the neighboring towns of Blooming Grove and Woodbury.

Residents of these communities and local Orange County politicians view the village as encroaching on them. Due to the rapid population growth in Kiryas Joel, resulting almost entirely from the high birth rates of its Hasidic population, the village government has undertaken various annexation efforts to expand its area, to the dismay of the majority of the residents of the surrounding communities. Many of these area residents see the expansion of the high-density residential-commercial village as a threat to the quality of life in the surrounding suburban communities, due to suburban sprawl. Other concerns of the surrounding communities are the impact on local aquifers and the projected increased volume of sewage reaching the county's sewerage treatment plants, already near capacity by 2005.

On August 11, 2006, residents of Woodbury voted, by a 3-to-1 margin, to incorporate much of the town as a village, to constrain further annexation. Kiryas Joel has opposed such moves in court.

In March 2007, the village of Kiryas Joel sued the county to stop it from selling off 1 e6USgal of excess capacity at its sewage plant in Harriman. Two years earlier, the county had sued the village to stop its plans to tap into New York City's Catskill Aqueduct, arguing that the village's environmental review for the project had inadequately addressed concerns about the additional wastewater it would generate. The village was appealing an early ruling which sided with the county. In its action, Kiryas Joel accused the county of inconsistently claiming limited capacity in its suit when it is selling the million gallons to three communities outside its sewer district.

In 2017, the village proposed to settle a lawsuit over some additional annexations it had proposed by petitioning the county legislature to allow it to become the county's 21st town. It would be named Palm Tree, after the English translation of Joel Teitelbaum's name. In return for the village dropping its request to annex 507 acre, United Monroe and Preserve Hudson Valley, the plaintiffs, agreed to withdraw their appeal of a decision allowing the annexation of a 164 acre parcel. The new town would also be prohibited from filing annexation proposals or encouraging the creation of new villages for 10 years. Two-thirds of the county legislature must approve the creation of the new town, and a vote of Monroe residents may also be required. The referendum passed on November 7, 2017.

Local politics
Critics of the village cite its impact on local politics. Villagers are perceived as voting in a solid bloc. While this is not always the case, the highly concentrated population often does skew strongly toward one candidate or the other in local elections, making Kiryas Joel a heavily courted swing vote for whichever politician offers Kiryas Joel the most favorable environment for continued growth. In the hotly contested 2013 Town Supervisors race, the Kiryas Joel bloc vote elected Harley Doles to the position of town supervisor. Kiryas Joel then sought to annex 510 acre of land into their village and the new Monroe Town Board has had no comment on this issue. In late 2014 village leadership proposed alternatively that a new village, to be called Gilios Kiryas Joel, be created on the 1140 acre south of the village within Monroe, including all the land it had wanted to annex.

Kiryas Joel played a major role in the 2006 Congressional election. The village was at that time in the congressional district represented by Republican Sue Kelly. Village residents had been loyal to Kelly in the past, but in 2006, voters were upset over what they saw as lack of adequate representation from Kelly for the village. In a bloc, Kiryas Joel swung around 2,900 votes to Kelly's Democratic opponent, John Hall. The vote in Kiryas Joel was one reason Hall carried the election, which he did by 4,800 votes.

In the 2020 presidential election, 98.5% of Kiryas Joel voters voted for Trump, one of the highest percentages in the country.

Internal friction
Joel Teitelbaum had no son, and thus no clear successor. His nephew, Moses, was appointed by the community's committee members. But not all Satmar accepted Moses as the community leader, and even some of those who did questioned some of his actions and pronouncements. He responded by running the village in what they called an autocratic manner, through his deputy, Abraham Weider, who also served as mayor and president of the school board, as well as the main synagogue and yeshiva in the village.

In 1989, the village forbade any property owner from selling or renting an apartment without its permission. Teitelbaum elaborated that "anyone that rents without this permission has to be dealt with like a real murderer ... and he should be torn out from the roots".

In the early 1990s, New York State Police responded many times to the village, which has a generally low crime rate otherwise, when self-described dissidents reported harassment such as broken windows and graffiti containing profanity on their property. In one incident, troopers rode a school bus undercover to catch teenage boys stoning it; the boys later stoned a back-up police cruiser when it arrived. One of Weider's nephews was among those arrested. He admitted that some of the village's young men took it upon themselves to act violently against dissidents because they could not bear to hear the grand rebbe criticized, although he said most of them were provoked to do so by dissidents.

"Someone not following breaks down the whole system of being able to educate and being able to bring up our children with strong family values", Weider told The New York Times in 1992. "Why do you think we have no drugs? If we lost respect for the Grand Rabbi, we lose the whole thing."

In January 1990, the village held its first, and, for a decade, only, school board election. "It's like this", Teitelbaum explained when he announced the names of seven hand-picked candidates. "With the power of the Torah, I am here the authority in the rabbinical leadership ... As you know, I want to nominate seven people, and I want these people to be the people."

One dissident, Joseph Waldman, decided nevertheless to run on his own. He was made unwelcome at the synagogue, his children were expelled from yeshiva, his car's tires slashed, and his windows broken. Several hundred residents marched in the streets in front of his house chanting, "Death to Joseph Waldman!", after posters calling for that fate were posted in the synagogue. After the election, in which Waldman finished last, but still won 673 votes, 60 families who were known to have voted for him were barred from visiting their fathers' graves in the village cemetery that was owned by the rabbi, and banned from the synagogue (also, at the time, the village's only polling place). Waldman compared Teitelbaum to Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini.

After the election, a state court ruled that Waldman's children had to be reinstated at the yeshiva, an action that was only taken after the judge held Teitelbaum in contempt and fined him personally. Friction continued as some of the dissidents banned from the synagogue circulated a petition calling for the polls to be moved to a neutral location. It originally drew 150 signatures, but all but 15 retracted their names after being threatened with excommunication by the grand rabbi, signing a document that they had not actually read the petition. One of the dissidents who signed was attacked while praying, and state troopers had to be called in again to disperse a mob that gathered on Waldman's lawn and broke his windows.

In November 2017, a local divorce mediator and an Israeli rabbi with ties to the village were involved in the planning of a contract killing on an estranged husband. They were sentenced to prison.

Electoral fraud allegations
On four occasions since 1990, the Middletown Times-Herald Record has run lengthy investigative articles on claims of electoral fraud in the village. A 1996 article found that Kiryas Joel residents who were students at yeshivas in Brooklyn had on many occasions apparently registered and voted in both the village and in Brooklyn; a year later, the paper reported that it had happened again. In 2001, absentee ballots were apparently cast by voters who did not normally reside in the village. In some cases, ballots were cast by people who seemed to reside in Antwerp, Belgium, without a set date of expected return, and, thus, would not be allowed under New York law to vote in any election for state or local office. That article led to a county grand jury investigation in 2001, which concluded that while procedures were not followed, and many mistakes were made, there was no evidence of deliberate intent to violate the law.

Before the 2013 Republican primary in that year's special election for the state assembly seat vacated by Annie Rabbitt, later elected county clerk, members of United Monroe, a local group that organizes and co-ordinates political opposition to the village and those local officials it believes support it, asked the county's Board of Elections to assign them to Kiryas Joel as election inspectors, who verify that voters are registered before allowing them to vote. The board's Democratic commissioner, Sue Bahrens, initially agreed to appoint six to serve in the village, but later reversed that decision. The six sued the county, alleging religious discrimination; it responded that they had no standing to sue. Village Manager Gedalye Szegedin said the citizens were entitled to have inspectors who spoke Yiddish and understood their culture and customs. A state court justice dismissed the discrimination claim, but ruled that the United Monroe inspectors had been dismissed arbitrarily and capriciously, and were entitled to their appointments, but did not say when or where.

In 2014, the newspaper examined claims by poll watchers from United Monroe that they were intimidated and harassed by other poll watchers sympathetic to the village government when they tried to challenge voters whose signatures did not initially appear to match those on file during the previous year's elections for county offices. They further alleged that election inspectors in the polling place, a banquet hall where 6,000 residents voted, sometimes gave the voters ballots before the signatures could be checked.

Some of the United Monroe poll watchers claimed that Langdon Chapman, an attorney for the Monroe town board, which they believe is controlled by members deferential to Kiryas Joel and its interests, was one of those who intimidated them. Coleman told the Record that while he had been at the banquet hall in question, he had only insisted that poll watchers state the reason for their challenges, as legally required, and had left after two hours. He was subsequently appointed county attorney (the lawyer who represents the county in civil matters) by new county executive Steve Neuhaus, whose margin of victory included all but 20 of the votes from the village.

After the election, United Monroe members found more than 800 voters in Kiryas Joel whose signatures did not match those on file, in addition to 25 they had challenged at the polls, three of whom were later investigated by the county sheriff; the rest were considered unfounded. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, elected along with Neuhaus, told the newspaper it was difficult to investigate the allegations, since they could not verify the identity of either signer, if, in fact, there were two. The Record attempted to contact some of those voters; the only one they reached hung up when asked about the election.

Large families

Women in Kiryas Joel usually stop working outside the home after the birth of a second child. Most families have only one income, and many children. The resulting poverty rate makes a disproportionate number of families in Kiryas Joel eligible for welfare benefits, when compared to the rest of the county. The New York Times wrote,

"Because of the sheer size of the families (the average household here has six people, but it is not uncommon for couples to have 8 or 10 children), and because a vast majority of households subsist on only one salary, 62 percent of the local families live below poverty level and rely heavily on public assistance, which is another sore point among those who live in neighboring communities."

A 60-bed post-natal maternal care center was built with $10 million in state and federal grants. Mothers can recuperate there for two weeks away from their large families.

Hepatitis A and vaccine trial
In the 1990s, the first clinical trials for the hepatitis A vaccine took place in Kiryas Joel, where 70 percent of residents had been affected. This disproportionate rate of hepatitis A infection was due in part to Kiryas Joel's high birth rate and crowded conditions among children, who bathed together in pools and ate from communal food at school. Children who were not infected with hepatitis A were separated into two groups, one receiving the experimental vaccine and the other receiving a placebo injection. Based on this study, the vaccine was declared 100 percent effective. Merck licensed the vaccine in 1995, and it became available in 1996, after which the hepatitis A infection rate fell by 75 percent in the United States.

Litigation
The unusual lifestyle and growth pattern of Kiryas Joel has led to litigation on a number of fronts. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet that the Kiryas Joel School District, which covered only the village, was designed in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because the design accommodated one group on the basis of religious affiliation. Subsequently, the New York State Legislature established a similar school district in the village that has passed legal muster. Further litigation has resulted over what entity should pay for the education of children with disabilities in Kiryas Joel, and over whether the community's boys must ride buses driven by women.

In 2011, a case (Kiryas Joel Alliance v. Village of Kiryas Joel) against the village was heard in federal district court; the plaintiffs, who were followers of competing factions of Satmar to Rebbe Aron Teitelbaum's, argued that the control of the village government by the Aronite faction's supporters was being abused to discriminate against them. However, the case was dismissed, and in 2012 the Second Circuit rejected their appeal of the dismissal.

Education
Most students go to private religious schools; in 2021 there were about 12,000 students attending them. In 2020 the area had almost 24 such schools. In 1994 Kiryas Joel had 5,000 children in the K-12 level with the majority going to private yeshivas and about 200 going to the public special education school.

The public Kiryas Joel School District has a school for special education students. Before 1985, special education students were taught by public school teachers in separate classes within yeshivas, and between 1985 and 1989 special education students were taught in Monroe–Woodbury Central School District facilities. In 2022–2023, the school district had a public school enrolment of 165 students.

title: Kiryas Joel, New York


text:
Maybrook, New York

Maybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

It is located mostly in the town of Montgomery, but a small portion is in the town of Hamptonburgh. It is also defined by the 427 telephone exchange in the 845 area code and the 12543 ZIP code, as well as its own eponymous fire district.

Geography
Maybrook is located at 41.48667°N, -74.21444°W (41.486660, −74.214463).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.3 sqmi, all land. The village is centered on NY 208, which runs through it for the village's two-mile (3.2 km) length in a northeast–southwest orientation, from the small extension in the Town of Hamptonburgh to its northern boundary. By contrast, it is only one mile wide at its widest point, near its south end, and even narrower to the north.

The village is mostly flat, rising up to hills on its western side. The summit of one is its highest elevation, at 520 ft above sea level. Maybrook's lowest point is a swampy, undeveloped area in iterns northeast corner, 360 ft in elevation.

Stewart Dairy Farm
In 1930 Thomas "Archie" Stewart, an early aviation enthusiast and descendant of prominent local dairy farmer Lachlan Stewart, convinced his uncle Samuel Stewart to donate "Stoney Lonesome", split between the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor, to the nearby city of Newburgh for use as an airport.

In the early 1970s, Governor Nelson Rockefeller's administration saw the potential for Stewart Airport to support the metropolitan area. Its long runway made it particularly attractive for intercontinental service via supersonic transport (SST), then under development in the U.S. and elsewhere. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was the first government body to try to convert it into the New York metropolitan area's fourth major airport. It tripled the airport's territory, extending its land well beyond its previous western boundary at Drury Lane, a two-lane rural road. The state government used its eminent domain powers to take 7,500 acres (30 km2) for terminals, runways and a buffer zone expanding the airport from Newburgh into neighboring towns of Montgomery and a small portion of Hamptonburgh. The land was bounded by I-84 to the north, Route 207 along the south and roughly by Rock Tavern and Maybrook in the west.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,084 people, 1,043 households, and 780 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,306.3 PD/sqmi. There were 1,077 housing units at an average density of 805.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 82.81% white, 8.98% African American, .29% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 3.99% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.74% of the population. There were 1,043 households, out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $52,872, and the median income for a family was $56,912. Males had a median income of $40,165 versus $30,385 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,194. About 3.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

History
The hamlet was not incorporated as a village until 1926, making it the last of the town of Montgomery's three villages to be created. Its growth was spurred by the development of Maybrook Yard, an important railroad switching terminal where eastbound traffic from several railroads was funneled across the Poughkeepsie Bridge. At its peak, the yard employed over 1,500 workers. All yards, terminals and roundhouses have since been removed following the closing of the Poughkeepsie Bridge in 1974. There remains freight service to Maybrook via the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad.

Transportation
Maybrook is accessible by Interstate 84, the New York State Thruway and Stewart International Airport. New York State Route 208 is the main north–south road through the center of the village. Yellow Freight operated a center in the village (occupying a large part of the former rail yard) until it ceased operations in 2023.

Campbell Hall station, on the Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line, is 5.4 miles to the southwest. The Beacon station on the Hudson Line is 16.1 miles to the east.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Maybrook, New York


text:
Mechanicstown, New York

Mechanicstown is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 8,065 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

Mechanicstown is in the Town of Walkill, southeast of City of Middletown.

Geography
Mechanicstown is located at 41.44944°N, -74.39417°W (41.449568, -74.394114).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.4 sqmi, of which 3.3 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi  (2.06%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 6,858 people. The racial makeup was 47.1% white, 28.6% Hispanic, 20.9% African-American, 3.1% Asian, and 0.3% Native American.

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,061 people, 2,241 households, and 1,479 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,821.9 PD/sqmi. There were 2,311 housing units at an average density of 694.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 72.41% White, 13.91% African American, 0.45% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 6.90% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.88% of the population.

There were 2,241 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $45,817, and the median income for a family was $51,699. Males had a median income of $35,918 versus $28,640 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,119. About 14.1% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

title: Mechanicstown, New York


text:
Middletown, New York

Middletown is the largest city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. At the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 30,345, reflecting an increase of 2,259 from the 28,086 counted in the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 10940. Middletown falls within the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which belongs to the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area.

Middletown was incorporated as a city in 1888. It grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a stop on several lower New York State railroads, attracting several small manufacturing businesses. SUNY Orange, the Times-Herald Record, U.S. Postal Service, County of Orange, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Orange & Rockland Utilities, and the City of Middletown are major employers in Middletown. Many residents also work at the Galleria at Crystal Run, Walmart, Media Communications Corp, and Garnet Health in the nearby Town of Wallkill.

Early history
John Green purchased land from the DeLancey patent and probably settled the area around 1744. Due to its location between other settlements, residents adopted the name of Middletown, changing it later to South Middletown to avoid confusion with a nearby location. Eventually they dropped the word "south", using the current name when the community became a village in 1848. The village was incorporated as a city in 1888.

The First Congregational Church of Middletown, established in 1785, has the highest spire downtown. Construction of its first building was a sign of Middletown becoming established as a village. Its current church building was constructed in 1872.

Growth
Middletown grew through the 19th century, stimulated by construction of the Erie Railroad and the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (among others). The city was industrialized, developing factories for various industries, such as shoes, lawnmower blades, and furniture. These did well through the World War II era.

The Webb Horton mansion and adjoining 18 acres were donated to establish Orange County Community College in 1950.

Due to industrial restructuring, most of the old manufacturing businesses had closed by the 1960s. In 1968, Middletown annexed the adjacent Village of Amchir. In the 1970s, the economy of Middletown and surrounding communities suffered additional blows due to the closing of a large Ford Motor Company plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, and the downsizing of IBM operations in the area.

Responding to higher housing costs in New York City, from the 1970s, New York City police officers, firefighters and other workers began to move to the area, as local housing offered better value. These commuters, who drove two hours each way, helped to bolster the economy of the area. After 1986, however, New York City required its municipal employees to reside in the city, and Middletown lost this source of residential development. The only railroad left in town is the Middletown and New Jersey Railway, a freight line. The population has continued to grow into the 21st century, while the economy has shifted largely to service and retail, with a regional medical center a major employer in the area.

Modern Middletown
The downtown business district of Middletown suffered from suburbanization that drew off retail businesses. The "Miracle Mile" shopping strip and Lloyd's Supermarket were developed in the late 1960s and two later shopping malls, all located in nearby Town of Wallkill along Route 211, near the intersection of Route 17 and Interstate 84. The Orange Plaza mall in the Town of Wallkill drew several of the downtown shops into it by the mid-1970s, weakening the City of Middletown's downtown. Also in the Town of Wallkill, the Galleria at Crystal Run opened in the early 1990s, and in 2001 a Wal-Mart Supercenter replaced the Orange Plaza mall. Some of the buildings downtown are abandoned or underused, but there has long been an active downtown with small business, professional offices, bars and restaurants.

The downtown area has several historic churches. The Middletown City Hall and City Court are located on James Street. Prosperous neighborhoods include Presidential Heights. Highland Avenue is lined with large Victorian houses, some of the largest of which are now used as nursing homes. Other neighborhoods show the effects of loss of jobs and decline in the economy. The surrounding countryside was devoted partly to small dairy farms, but family farming has waned since the 1980s.

Middletown is the main business address for the newspaper Times Herald-Record and its owner, Local Media Group. Mediacom Communications Corp, a cable and other pay TV company, is headquartered outside the city in the Town of Wallkill. It is also a manufacturing location for Bell Flavors & Fragrances.

Places of interest
The downtown area, particularly North and Main streets, has a variety of ethnic eateries and various small boutiques and thrift shops. Several churches are located in the neighborhood. The city has the single-screen, 1,100-seat Paramount Theatre, which also offers stage shows and concerts, a local arts council, a bowling alley, WALL and WOSR radio stations, Thrall Library and the Van Duzer Historical Society museum downtown.

Civic organizations include Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA chapters, as well as Lions Club, Elks Club, Kiwanis and Rotary Club. The Rotary Club runs a Horse Show at Fancher Davidge Park each fall. Middletown is the site of the Orange County Fair each summer and the Orange County Fair Speedway. Highland Lakes State Park is the nearest state park. Good choices for hiking, biking and country drives are nearby.

Shopping in the area includes the Galleria at Crystal Run, a mall just east of Middletown, and a long retail strip along Route 211 on the east side of town.

Middletown's Hillside Cemetery was designed by the British architect and landscape designer Calvert Vaux, who worked with Frederick Law Olmsted to design Central Park in New York City. The J. W. Chorley Elementary School, designed by the American architect Paul Rudolph, was built in the 1960s and demolished in 2013.

Health care
Health care services are provided at Garnet Health Medical Center (formerly Orange Regional Medical Center), a hospital located in the town of Walkill. ORMC was completed in 2011, merging the faculties of the former Horton Medical Center and Arden Hill Hospital. It is a major employer in the region.

Geography
Middletown is located at 41.45°N, -74.41667°W (41.4458, -74.4221) in Orange County. The city is nearly surrounded by the town of Wallkill, except for its southernmost section, which is in the town of Wawayanda.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.3 km2), of which 5.1 square miles (13.3 km2) is land and 0.19% is water. The city is drained by Monhagen Brook and the Wallkill River.

Transportation
Middletown can be reached from New York City by bus and is located near the intersection of Interstate 84 and NY 17 (the future Interstate 86). State routes 17M and 211 run right through the city, and US 6 parallels I-84 to the south.

The Middletown-Town of Wallkill station on Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis line is located nearby, in the Town of Wallkill, and provides rail service to Port Jervis, other communities in Orange and Rockland Counties and Bergen County, New Jersey, Hoboken and New York City via a transfer at Secaucus, New Jersey.

Randall Airport is about 4 mi from the center of Middletown. (ID: 06N)

Middletown has a bus service, Middletown Transit, with four routes that connect at the bus station, located on Railroad Avenue, where passengers can connect to Coach USA and Short Line bus service. There is also a "Main Line" bus connecting to surrounding Orange County villages and another route connecting to areas such as Newburgh and Woodbury.

Demographics
At the 2010 census, the population of Middletown was 28,086. The ethnic make-up was 39.7% Hispanic, 36.6% white (exclusive of Hispanics), 21.0% African-American, 1.9% Asian and 0.8% Native American.

At the 2000 census, there were 25,388 people, 9,466 households and 5,963 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,939.5 /sqmi. There were 10,124 housing units at an average density of 1,969.7 /sqmi. The racial make-up of the city was 68.68% White, 15.13% African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.33% from other races and 4.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.11% of the population. 34.0% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.27.

27.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64 and 12.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males. The median household income was $39,570 and the median family income was $47,760. Males had a median income of $35,990 and females $28,429. The per capita income was $18,947. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Middletown is governed by a mayor and a city council known as the common council. It consists of nine members: an alderman-at-large, who acts as president of the council, and eight members elected from wards. Each of the city's four wards elects two members. The mayor and the president of the common council are each elected at-large for four-year terms. The other council members have two-year terms. Terms of office begin on January 1.

A fire chief and three assistants are elected every three years by members of the city's engine companies. A corporation counsel, commissioners of public works and of assessment and taxation, a city clerk, registrar and a treasurer and any other officers required are appointed annually by the mayor and confirmed by the common council.

Education
Middletown has three elementary schools covering grade levels from kindergarten to fifth grade. Both Truman Moon Elementary School and John W. Chorley Elementary School have made way for Presidential Park Elementary School, the district's newest school, built in 2014. William A. Carter Elementary and Maple Hill Elementary are the district's two other elementary schools. In 2005, the Middletown School District implemented a full day kindergarten program at the request of the Middletown voters. Two middle schools in the district, Twin Towers Middle School and Monhagen Middle School, collect the students from the elementary schools. Middletown High School is the only building for high school and includes grades nine to twelve. There is also a Catholic elementary school, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

SUNY Orange, previously known as Orange County Community College, is located in Middletown. Its campus includes the historic Webb Horton House (pictured), more commonly known as Morrison Hall. It also has a campus in Newburgh, and three satellite campuses, but the majority of buildings and students are in Middletown. A total of more than 6100 students attend SUNY Orange. In addition to credit classes, there are a wide variety of classes for lifelong learning. Adelphi University offers a Hudson Valley Center located on the SUNY Orange campus.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine opened a Middletown Campus, in 2014, located in the former Horton Hospital.

Surrounding area

 * Circleville
 * Goshen, the county seat
 * Monroe
 * Newburgh
 * Otisville
 * Pine Bush
 * Port Jervis
 * Slate Hill
 * Town of Crawford
 * Town of Greenville
 * Town of Hamptonburgh
 * Town of Mamakating
 * Town of Montgomery
 * Town of Mount Hope
 * Town of Wawayanda
 * Town of Wallkill

Communities and locations adjacent to Middletown
The following communities and places are all located adjacent to, or within a few miles of Middletown:
 * Crystal Run – A hamlet east of Middletown, near Interstate 84 at County Road 83.
 * Fair Oaks – A hamlet north of Middletown on NY Route 17M.
 * Howells – A hamlet northwest of Middletown.
 * Mechanicstown – A hamlet bordering Middletown to its southeast.
 * Michigan Corners – A hamlet east of Middletown on Route 211.
 * Phillipsburg – A hamlet southeast of Middletown on the Wallkill River and Route 17M.
 * Pilgrim Corners – A hamlet bordering Middletown to its west on Route 211.
 * Rockville – A hamlet north of Middletown.
 * Scotchtown – A hamlet northeast of Middletown, just across Route 17 on Route 101.
 * Van Burenville – A village to the north of Middletown near Mount Hope.
 * Town of Wallkill – The township that nearly surrounds Middletown, most of which is located to the north and east of Middletown.
 * Washington Heights – A hamlet bordering Middletown to its north.

Media
The Times Herald-Record, a daily newspaper, is the result of a merger of several newspapers. Its antecedent newspapers date back to the 1850s.

WALL radio (Classic hits format), 1340 AM, has been on-the-air since 1942. WOSR, 91.7 FM, is a repeater of the NPR affiliate WAMC.

Notable people

 * Mike Avilés, shortstop for the Miami Marlins
 * George M. Beakes, surgeon, physician
 * Samuel Beakes, congressman
 * Alan Berkman, physician, activist
 * Bartley Campbell, playwright
 * Little Sammy Davis, blues singer-songwriter
 * Ed Diana, county executive, educator
 * Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta, linguist
 * Cleanthony Early, a former basketball player for the New York Knicks
 * Christian Eckes, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver
 * Linda Fite, writer
 * Benjamin A. Gilman, congressman
 * Loren Grey, author
 * Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck, women's dress reformer
 * Angelo Ingrassia, New York Supreme Court judge
 * Michael Jantze, writer
 * Gerald Kersh, writer
 * Cage Kennylz, rapper
 * Edward M. Madden, New York State Senate

 * Paul B. Malone, Army Major general
 * Scooter McCrae, film director
 * Howard Mills III, politician
 * Matt Morris, baseball pitcher
 * William Murray, congressman
 * Willi Ninja, dancer and choreographer
 * Susan Beth Pfeffer, children's book author
 * Mike Remlinger, baseball pitcher
 * Joe Romm, author, energy and climate expert, editor
 * Jerry Sands, baseball player
 * Cordell Schachter, chief technology officer of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation
 * Bill Schindler, race car driver
 * Kurt Seligmann, painter
 * Frank Shorter, 1972 (Gold) and 1976 (Silver) Olympic marathon medalist
 * Silas Stringham, admiral
 * Dave Telgheder, baseball pitcher
 * Launt Thompson, sculptor
 * Spencer Tunick, artist
 * Aaron Tveit, Broadway, TV and film actor and singer
 * Jimmy Weinert, former motocross national champion

title: Middletown, New York


text:
Minisink, New York

Minisink is a town located in southwestern Orange County, New York, United States, northeast of the New Jersey border between the Town of Greenville and the Town of Warwick. The population was 4,621 at the 2020 census. The town is located near Interstate 84 and New York State Route 17 and lies approximately halfway between New York City and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

History
Historically, the name Minisink, which dates to the mid 17th century, has applied to a much larger area than the current town, running as far north as Minisink Ford, twenty miles northwest of present-day Minisink, south to the Delaware Water Gap, thirty miles southwest of present-day Minisink, and from the Kittatinny Ridge to the east to the Pocono Mountains to the west (See ). The Minisink Patent, granted in 1704, was a somewhat smaller area, but still far larger than the present town, which was given its present boundaries in 1800. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the New York - New Jersey border was previously seven or eight miles north of its present location: Minisink was once in New Jersey.

First settled by Europeans around 1725, the jurisdiction was organized by Americans as a town in 1788 following the Revolutionary War. In the following decades, the Town of Minisink lost territory to newer towns: Deerpark (1798), Wawayanda (1849), and Greenville (1853). In 1871, the community of Unionville set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.2 sqmi, of which 23.1 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi  (0.39%) is water.

The southern town line is the border of New Jersey (Sussex County).

NY-284 is a north–south highway in Minisink.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,585 people, 1,182 households, and 945 families residing in the town. The population density was 155.2 PD/sqmi. There were 1,245 housing units at an average density of 53.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 89.00% white, 1.42% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.60% of the population.

There were 1,182 households, out of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $55,561, and the median income for a family was $58,906. Males had a median income of $36,912 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,967. About 4.5% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Since January 1, 1980, the town is governed by a town board consisting of four councilmen, elected for staggered four-year terms, and a town supervisor, elected every two years. Prior to 1980, the town justices also served on the board, alongside two councilmen, and the supervisor. Minisink is governed under New York town law, by which the board holds executive and legislative powers. The day-to-day operations of the town are administered by the supervisor. The town voters also elect a town clerk, two town justices, a tax collector and a highway superintendent. Town elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered calendar years. Elected officials take office the following January 1. Prior to the 1980s, Minisink also elected three assessors. Those functions are now performed by a sole assessor appointed by the town board.

Federal, state, and county representation
The town of Minisink lies in the 18th Congressional district, the 42nd State Senate district, the 98th State Assembly district, and the 3rd Orange County legislative district.

Education

 * Minisink Valley Central School District

Communities and locations in Minisink

 * Johnson – a hamlet near the northern town line on NY-284.
 * Laurel Hill – an elevation in the eastern part of Minisink.
 * Millsburg – a location near the northern town line.
 * Unionville – village near the New Jersey border on highway NY-284.
 * Waterloo Mills – a hamlet northwest of Westtown.
 * Westtown – a hamlet north of Unionville on NY-284 on County Road 1.

title: Minisink, New York


text:
Mount Hope, New York

Mount Hope is a town in the northwestern part of Orange County, New York, United States, west of Middletown. The northern town line is the border of Sullivan County. The population was 6,537 at the 2020 census.

History
The first known settler of European descent arrived circa 1733.

The town of Mount Hope was created from the towns of Deerpark and Wallkill in 1825.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.5 sqmi, of which 25.2 sqmi is land and 0.3 sqmi  (1.22%) is water.

The Shawangunk Mountains lie on the western town line, and Shawangunk Creek flows through Mount Hope.

Transportation
New York State Route 211 is an east–west highway in the town.

Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line has a station at nearby Otisville.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,639 people, 1,582 households, and 1,218 families residing in the town. The population density was 263.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,714 housing units at an average density of 68.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 78.63% white, 16.51% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.84% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.61% of the population.

There were 1,582 households, out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 42.0% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 186.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 216.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $56,948, and the median income for a family was $65,183. Males had a median income of $36,765 versus $30,208 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,562. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Mount Hope

 * FCI Otisville – a federal prison near Otisville village.
 * Finchville – a hamlet in the southwestern part of Mount Hope on County Road 35, named after the earliest known settler in the town.
 * Guymard – a hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on the town line.
 * Mount Hope – the hamlet of Mount Hope on County Road 11, south of Otisville.
 * Otisville – a village located near the western town line on NY-211.
 * Otisville Correctional Facility – a New York medium-security prison near Otisville village.
 * Shawangunk Lake – a lake at the eastern town line.

title: Mount Hope, New York


text:
Orange Lake, New York

Orange Lake is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 9,770 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

The community of Orange Lake is in the western part of the Town of Newburgh, located on the east side of a lake also called Orange Lake.

Geography
Orange Lake is located at 41.5325°N, -74.09639°W (41.532593, -74.096388). It is along NY 52.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.0 sqmi, of which 5.4 sqmi is land and 0.6 sqmi  (10.67%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,085 people, 2,016 households, and 1,628 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,134.2 PD/sqmi. There were 2,104 housing units at an average density of 392.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 80.30% White, 12.56% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 3.16% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.11% of the population.

There were 2,016 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,321, and the median income for a family was $65,190. Males had a median income of $39,861 versus $30,729 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,351. About 2.1% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

History
The Native Americans called the lake "Oussuk", meaning "stony pond." The Dutch settlers called it "Binnin", meaning "water within land" or "water between other waters". In 1684, Gov. Thomas Donegan purchased the lake and surrounding territory from the Native Americans and divided this patent into numerous farms, most especially dairy farms. At the time of the Revolutionary War, a man named Capt. Thomas Machin owned and operated a saw mill, grist mill, and finally a mint in what is now the hamlet, at the very beginning of the outlet stream. An historical marker marks the site of Machin's Mill on Lakeside Road. At that time, the lake began to be called Machin's Pond. In the 1830s, a local clergyman named James R. Willson began calling the lake Orange Lake. The reasons for this name change remain obscure, but are probably related to its location in Orange County. One source claims that the fact that the lake was round like an orange was also a factor. Local legend states that many residents objected to this name change, but it did stick and remains the name of the lake and the hamlet to this day.

Because the lake is 800 ft above sea level, its outlet stream (sometimes called Bushfield Creek) became a very popular site of mills. The largest was the Newburgh Bleachery, owned and operated by the Chadwick Family.

During the 19th century, the shores of the lake became a popular location for summer cottages. Transportation to the lake and the hamlet was difficult until 1895, when trolley service was established between the City of Newburgh and the Village of Walden, and Orange Lake, approximately the halfway point, became a popular stop. Soon after this Newburgh and Walden Electric Railway initiated service, a highly successful amusement park opened on the south shore of the lake. The trolley line went out of business in 1926. The amusement park went out of business during the Great Depression and was demolished in 1941.

A one-room schoolhouse was built for local children in 1849. The building remained basically unchanged until indoor plumbing was added in 1952. When the Orange Lake school system voted to merge with the Newburgh Enlarged City School District in 1963, the schoolhouse was closed and sold. , a sharp and young couple reside in the schoolhouse.

Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic chapel, a mission church of St. Patrick's parish in the City of Newburgh, was constructed in 1939 and remains in active service today. Prior to the construction of the current chapel, Roman Catholic services were held in the ice house at Lakeview House. The Dan Leghorn Fire Department was organized around 1900.

Pine Point was a highly successful resort on a peninsula off the southern shore of the lake. During the big band era, many nationally known recording acts appeared at the resort, including Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman. It opened for business in 1896, and was closed and demolished in 1953. Lakeview House on Lakeside Road originally opened in 1866 as a boarding house, and did business as O'Malley's Bar for many years. Today, it continues to do business as a restaurant under its original name.

In the late 1940s Mickey Spillane and a friend of his from the Army bought a woodlot on Rock Cut Road and lived in a house they built while he was writing for comic books. During that time he wrote I, The Jury, his first novel.

title: Orange Lake, New York


text:
Otisville, New York

Otisville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 969 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

The village of Otisville is in the town of Mount Hope, located near the western town line.

The mayor of Otisville is Brian Carey.

The name "Otisville" also refers to Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville and Otisville Correctional Facility, a state prison, both located nearby. There is also the station on Metro-North's Port Jervis Line.

History
The community was settled in 1816. The community was named after Isaac Otis, an early settler and local merchant.

A former sanitarium located near the village is now a New York state prison. The sanitarium became a boys' training school for the state, and served as such until some time in the 1970s, when it was transformed into a N.Y. State prison facility. A boys' training school was another name for a reform school for male juvenile delinquents.

Geography
Otisville is located at 41.47083°N, -74.53944°W (41.470714, -74.539463).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.7 sqmi, all land.

Otisville is located at the intersection of New York State Route 211 and County Route 11.

Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 989 people, 356 households, and 250 families in the village. The population density was 1,425.9 PD/sqmi. There were 373 housing units at an average density of 537.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 89.48% White, 5.97% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.67%.

Of the 356 households 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 24.7% of households were one person and 12.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.33.

The age distribution was 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median household income was $49,500 and the median family income was $56,875. Males had a median income of $41,023 versus $31,023 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,752. About 5.7% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 0.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Minisink Valley Central School District operates Otisville Elementary School.

Notable person

 * Dorothy Young, entertainer.

Other locations

 * Dragon Springs is in the area

title: Otisville, New York


text:
Pine Bush, New York

Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the town of Crawford and adjacent to Shawangunk, New York, within Orange and adjacent to Ulster counties in the U.S. It is roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code. These both extend into adjacent regions of the town of Shawangunk in Ulster County. (The Pine Bush Central School District includes part of the town of Mamakating in Sullivan County as well). The population was 1,751 at the 2020 census.

Pine Bush is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

History
The community was one of the four early nineteenth century settlements in the jurisdiction of the town. It has previously been known as "Shawangunk," "Crawford," and "Bloomfield." Another community named "Crawford" is located to the northwest in bordering Ulster County. This hamlet was an early terminus for a short line railroad, the Middletown & Crawford Railroad. This line was bought by the Erie railroad, which served the town until the 1970s.

As a result of reported unusual sightings during the mid-1980s, Pine Bush developed a reputation as the UFO capital of the world. This characterization was supported by Ellen Crystall's book, Silent Invasion: The Shocking Discoveries of a UFO Researcher. The town has held an annual UFO festival for many years.

Geography

Pine Bush is located at 41.6°N, -74.3°W (41.6088, -74.2987). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.1 sqmi, all land.

The hamlet of Pine Bush is in Orange County and near the border of Ulster. The Pine Bush zip code, 12566, spills over into the Town of Shawangunk in Ulster County, but the Hamlet itself is in Orange County only. The Shawangunk Kill, a small river, marks this boundary. New York State Route 52 and New York State Route 302 intersect at this hamlet, which predates the highways.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census and 2013-2017 American Community Survey, there were 1,780 people, 764 households, and 453 families residing in the CDP. There were 757 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.8% White, 2.5% African American, 0.01% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.2% of the population.

There were 764 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 35.9% of all households had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,964, and the median income for a family was $75,357. Males had a median income of $38,203 versus $30,577 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,715. About 17.1% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 27.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The Pine Bush Central School District serves portions of seven townships located in Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties. The system, one of the largest in the area, includes four elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school.

Elementary schools include Circleville Elementary School, Pakanasink Elementary School, Pine Bush Elementary School, and E.J. Russell Elementary School. Middle Schools include Circleville Middle School and Crispell Middle School. The high school is Pine Bush High School.

title: Pine Bush, New York


text:
Port Jervis, New York

Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis. Matamoras, Pennsylvania, is across the river and connected by the Mid-Delaware Bridge. Montague Township, New Jersey, also borders the city. The Tri-States Monument, marking the tripoint between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, lies at the southwestern corner of the city.

Port Jervis was part of early industrial history, a point for shipping coal to major markets to the southeast by canal and later by railroads. Its residents had long-distance passenger service by railroad until 1970. The restructuring of railroads resulted in a decline in the city's business and economy.

In the 21st century, from late spring to early fall, many thousands of travelers and tourists pass through Port Jervis on their way to enjoying rafting, kayaking, canoeing and other activities in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and the surrounding area.

Port Jervis is part of the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. In August 2008, Port Jervis was named one of "Ten Coolest Small Towns" by Budget Travel magazine.

History
The first fully developed European settlement in the area was established by Dutch and English colonists c.1690, and a land grant of 1200 acre was formalized on October 14, 1697. The settlement was originally known as Mahackamack, after a Lenape word. It was raided and burned in 1779 during the American Revolutionary War, by British and Mohawk forces under the command of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant before the Battle of Minisink. Over the next two decades, residents rebuilt the settlement. They developed more roadways to better connect Mahackamack with the eastern parts of Orange County.

After the Delaware and Hudson Canal was opened in 1828, providing transportation of coal from northeastern Pennsylvania to New York and New England via the Hudson River, trade attracted money and further development to the area. A village was incorporated on May 11, 1853. It was renamed as Port Jervis in the mid-19th century, after John Bloomfield Jervis, chief engineer of the D&H Canal. Port Jervis grew steadily into the 1900s, and on July 26, 1907, it became a city.

Coming of the railroad
The first rail line to run through Port Jervis was the New York & Erie Railroad, which in 1832 was chartered to run from Piermont, New York, on the Hudson River in Rockland County, to Lake Erie. Ground was broken in 1835, but construction was delayed by a nationwide financial panic, and did not start again until 1838. The line was completed in 1851, and the first passenger train – with President Millard Fillmore and former United States Senator Daniel Webster on board – came through the city on May 14. The railroad went through a number of name changes, becoming the Erie Railroad in 1897.

A second railroad, the Port Jervis and Monticello Railroad, later leased to the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (O&W), opened in 1868, running northeast out of the city, and eventually connecting to Kingston, New York, Weehawken, New Jersey and eastern connections.

Like the D&H Canal, the railroads brought new prosperity to Port Jervis in the form of increased trade and investment in the community from the outside. However, the competition by the railroad, which could deliver products faster, hastened the decline of the canal, which ceased operation in 1898. The railroads were the basis of the city's economy for the coming decades. Port Jervis became Erie's division center between Jersey City, New Jersey and Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and by 1922, 20 passenger trains went through the city every day. More than 2,500 Erie RR employees made their homes there.

The railroads began to decline after the Great Depression. A shift in transportation accelerated after World War II with the federal subsidy of the Interstate Highway System and increased competition from trucking companies. One of the first Class I railroads to shut down was the O&W, on March 29, 1957, leaving Port Jervis totally reliant on the Erie. A few years later, in 1960, the Erie, also on a shaky financial footing, merged with Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to become the Erie Lackawanna. Railroad restructuring continued and in 1976, the Erie Lackawana became part of Conrail, along with a number of other struggling railroads, such as the Penn Central. Since the breakup of Conrail, the trackage around Port Jervis has been controlled by Norfolk Southern. The decline of the railroads was an economic blow to Port Jervis. The city has struggled to find a new economic basis.

Lynching and Racist incidents
On June 2, 1892, Robert Lewis, an African American, was lynched, hanged on Main Street in Port Jervis by a mob after being accused of participation in an assault on a white woman. A grand jury indicted nine people for assault and rioting rather than Lewis's lynching. Some literary critics argue that this event influenced Stephen Crane's 1898 novella The Monster. Crane lived in Port Jervis from 1878 until 1883 and frequently visited the area from 1891 to 1897.

In the mid-1920s some residents in the area formed a Ku Klux Klan chapter, in the period of the KKK's early 20th-century revival. They burned crosses on Point Peter, the mountain peak that overlooks the city.

Geological history
The city's location at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers has made it subject to occasional flooding. There was flooding during the 1955 Hurricane Diane, and a flood-related rumor started a panic in the population. This incident was studied and a 1958 report issued by the National Research Council: "The Effects of a Threatening Rumor on a Disaster-Stricken Community".

In addition to the rivers having flooded during periods of heavy rainfall, at times ice jams have effectively dammed the Delaware, also causing flooding. In 1875 ice floes destroyed the bridge to Matamoras, Pennsylvania. In 1981 a large ice floe resulted in the highest water crest measured to date at the National Weather Service's Matamoras river gauge 26.6 ft.

Geography
Port Jervis is located on the north bank of the Delaware River at the confluence where the Neversink River – the Delaware's largest tributary – empties into the larger river. Port Jervis is connected by the Mid-Delaware Bridge across the Delaware to Matamoras, Pennsylvania.

From here the Delaware flows to the southwest, running parallel to Kittatinny Ridge until reaching the Delaware Water Gap. It heads southeastward, continuing past New Hope, Pennsylvania and Lambertville, New Jersey; and the New Jersey capital, Trenton; to Philadelphia, and the Delaware Bay.

Port Jervis is also home to the tri-point between New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 mi2, of which 2.5 mi2 is land and 0.2 mi2 (6.64%) is water.

Climate
Port Jervis has a Humid Continental Climate (Köppen Dfb) with relatively hot summers and cold winters. It receives approximately 47.18 inches (1,198 mm) of precipitation per year, most of which occurs in the late spring in early summer. Extremes range from −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 14, 1912, to 105 °F (40.5 °C) on July 9, 1936.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,860 people, 3,533 households, and 2,158 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 3,851 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 82.4% White, 8.2% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.5% of the population.

There were 3,533 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,241, and the median income for a family was $35,481. Males had a median income of $31,851 versus $22,274 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,525. About 14.2% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

State line monuments
Port Jervis lies near the points where the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania come together. South of the Laurel Grove Cemetery, under the viaduct for Interstate 84, are two monuments marking the boundaries between the three states.

The larger monument is a granite pillar inscribed "Witness Monument". It is not on any boundary itself, but instead is a witness for two boundary points. On the north side (New York), it references the corner boundary point between New York and Pennsylvania that is located in the center of the Delaware River 475 ft due west of the Tri-State Rock. On the south side (New Jersey), it references the Tri-State Rock 72.25 ft to the south.

The smaller monument, the Tri-States Monument, also known as the Tri-State Rock, marks both the northwest end of the New Jersey and New York boundary and the north end of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania boundary. It is a small granite block with inscribed lines marking the boundaries of the three states and a bronze United States Coast and Geodetic Survey marker. Both monuments were erected in 1882.

Transportation
US 6, U.S. Route 209, New York State Route 42, and New York State Route 97 (the "Upper Delaware Scenic Byway" ) pass through Port Jervis. Interstate 84 passes to the south.

Port Jervis is the last stop on the 95 mi Port Jervis Line, which is a commuter railroad service from Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City (via a Secaucus Transfer) that is contracted to NJ Transit by the Metro-North Railroad of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The track itself continues on to Binghamton and Buffalo, but passenger service west of Port Jervis was discontinued in November 1966.

Short Line provides bus service between Honesdale, Pennsylvania, Port Jervis, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Government
Port Jervis is governed by a mayor and a city council under a mayor–council government system. The city council has nine members: a councilman-at-large and eight members elected from wards. The city comprises four wards, residents of which elect two council members each for two year terms. The mayor and councilman-at-large are elected at large for two year terms. Elections are held in odd number years. Terms of office begin on January 1.

Representation in the state legislature is split between Democrats and Republicans. The city is located in the 98th Assembly district, currently represented by Republican Karl Brabenec. Democrat James Skoufis represents the city in the state senate as part of the 42nd district.

Port Jervis is a part of New York's 18th congressional district, represented by Democrat Pat Ryan. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand represent all of New York in the U.S. Senate, including the city.

Education
Port Jervis City School District operates public schools serving Port Jervis. The area elementary school, Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School, is in Deerpark but with a Port Jervis postal address. Port Jervis Middle School is in Port Jervis. Port Jervis High School is also in Deerpark but with a Port Jervis postal address. Kuhl and Port Jervis High are on the same property.

Recreation
The Port Jervis Recreation department maintains thirteen parks and squares. The city's largers Parks are Elks-Brox Park and Riverside Park. Elks-Brox Park, which includes Skyline Drive, the Elks-Brox Campground and the overlook at Point Peter, backs up to the much larger Port Jervis Watershed Park and Recreation Area, which together include more than sixty miles of hiking and biking trails. Riverside Park is home to the Riverside Disc Golf Course, the Port Jervis Pump Track, trails, playground equipment, basketball courts, and other facilities. Riverside Park is also home to a summer concert series, as well as movies in the park. The smaller Farnum Park at the end of Ulster Place is also home to a summer concert series and a playground and a basketball court. Basketball Courts can also be found at Church Street Park and West End Beach. West End Beach is a park along the Delaware River that has a bathing beach in the summer, a boat launch, volleyball and basketball and also serves as the city's sledding hill in the winter. Playground equipment is also located at Barkley Street Park (Tri-States) and John Glenn Park on Cahoonzie Street. Other parks and squares in the city are Skinners Park, Orange Square/Veterans Memorial Park, Mothers Park, West End Memorial Park, Chris Marion Park, and Farmer's Market Square.

The Youth Community Center on Pike Street provides after-school activities throughout the year, as well as summer programming.

The Dog Yard, located near the Erie Turntable, is a free dog park open to residents by application.

The Lynx at River Bend Golf Club is located just past city limits on the other side of the Neversink River.

Media
On July 4, 1953, WDLC at 1490 on the AM dial signed-on. Co-owned. The station also can receive WSPK-FM K104.7 and WRRV on 92.7.

Notable people
Notable current and former residents of Port Jervis include:

 * Frank Abbott, Mayor of Port Jervis from 1874 to 1876
 * Ed and Lou Banach, University of Iowa wrestlers, NCAA All-Americans and NCAA Champions, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalists in freestyle wrestling, lived in Port Jervis and graduated from Port Jervis Senior High School.
 * William Stiles Bennet (1870–1962), U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district from 1905 to 1911 and New York's 23rd congressional district from 1915 to 1917.
 * Daniel Cohen, children's book author
 * Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, lived in Port Jervis between the ages 6–11 and frequently visited and wrote there from 1891 to early 1897.
 * William Howe Crane (1854–1926), older brother of Stephen Crane, lived and practiced law in Port Jervis for many years.
 * Stefanie Dolson, basketball player for the New York Liberty and formerly of the Connecticut Huskies Women's Basketball team, was born in Port Jervis. She was a high school standout at nearby Minisink Valley High School, where she was a McDonald's All-American and won multiple National Championships with Connecticut.
 * Samuel Fowler (1851–1919) represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1893 to 1895.
 * E. Arthur Gray (1925–2006) was the longest-serving mayor of Port Jervis and was later a New York State Senator. The Port Jervis United States Post Office building is dedicated in his name.
 * Benjamin Hafner (March 24, 1821–spring 1899), known as "The Flying Dutchman" and "Uncle Ben", was an American locomotive engineer who worked for the Erie Railway.
 * Albert Hammond Jr., (1980–), musician and music producer best known as a guitarist of The Strokes. His One Way Studio in the area is where much of the albums Angles and Comedown Machine were recorded, among others.
 * Bucky Harris, Baseball player/manager and Hall of Famer; born in Port Jervis.
 * The Kalin Twins, Hal (1934–2005) and Herbie (1934–2006), were one hit wonders whose record "When" made the top 5 in the U.S. and was number one for five weeks in the U.K. in 1958.
 * Francis Marvin (1828–1905), U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district from 1893 to 1895.
 * William C. Norris (1926-), a major general who served in the United States Air Force from 1945 to 1980.
 * Amar'e Stoudemire (1982–), former professional basketball player for the New York Knicks. Lived in Port Jervis for a duration of grade school and middle school. It is said that this is where he played basketball at local parks and first fell in love with the sport of basketball.
 * Hudson Van Etten, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Port Jervis.

Sister City
🇮🇹 Lapio, Italy

title: Port Jervis, New York


text:
Scotchtown, New York

Scotchtown is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the Town of Wallkill, in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 10,578 at the 2020 census. It has the ZIP Code 10941. The hamlet is located east of the City of Middletown. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

The Mills Industrial Park at 874 Silver Lake Scotchtown Road (41.47753°N, -74.36358°W) was the original planned location for the 1969 Woodstock Festival; however, after the Town of Walkill's board voted against holding the festival, it was moved to Bethel, where it was held less than a month later.

Geography
Scotchtown is located at 41.46667°N, -74.36667°W (41.4732, -74.3663).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.2 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,954 people, 3,211 households, and 2,334 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,114.6 pd/sqmi. There were 3,345 housing units at an average density of 789.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 76.38% White, 11.48% African American, 0.26% Native American, 3.54% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.65% from other races, and 3.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.71% of the population.

There were 3,211 households, out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $53,460, and the median income for a family was $59,439. Males had a median income of $44,482 versus $29,939 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,282. About 5.3% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Michigan Corners
Michigan Corners (41.46694°N, -74.34778°W) is a hamlet near Scotchtown east of Middletown, located at the corner of New York State Route 211 and Goshen Turnpike (Orange County Route 110).

There is no sign marking Michigan Corners, although it does appear on local maps. (There was a Michigan Corners Deli nearby, but the business was renamed Scotchtown Deli and Catering in 2007.) According to legend, the hamlet got its name from a landowner named Malcolm McLaughlin, who found himself in debt and skipped town around 1825. He was away for some time, and when he returned he told everyone he had gone to Michigan. McLaughlin later opened a tavern at this place, and his neighbors referred to his establishment as "Michigan".

title: Scotchtown, New York


text:
Tuxedo, New York

Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York, United States, along the Ramapo River. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 3,811. The town is in the southeastern part of the county in the Ramapo Mountains. New York State Route 17 and the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) pass through the town. The name is derived from a Lenape word tucseto, which has several known meanings.

History
The historic occupants of what is now the town of Tuxedo were the Lenni-Lenape, a branch of the large Algonquian language family of Native Americans, whose different branches lived along the East Coast from Canada through the Upper South. The Lenape named the largest lake in the area Tucseto, meaning either "place of the bear" or "clear flowing water." European-American colonists later adopted that name for the town they developed.

Some Lenape stayed in villages in the Ramapo Mountains, having migrated west from Connecticut. They gradually intermarried with other ethnic groups in what was long a relatively remote frontier. They maintained a culture and community of their own in this area on both sides of the later border with New Jersey. The Ramapough Mountain Indians have been recognized by New Jersey as a Native American tribe.

1700s

In the 18th century, ethnic English and German colonists settled in the area. The men mostly worked at the nearby Sterling Iron Works in the neighboring Sterling Forest, as did some of the Ramapough Mountain Indians. Several men from the Tuxedo area served in the Revolutionary War.

In 1779 the rebel government built the Continental Road from Eagle Valley through the present-day village of Tuxedo Park to what is now Route 17 near Warwick Brook Road. The first industry in Tuxedo was the Augusta Forge at the falls on the Ramapo River, founded by Solomon Townsend in 1783, soon after the end of the war.

The town of Southfields (now part of the town of Tuxedo) was renamed Monroe in 1808. An iron forge was operated in this area, still known as Southfields; the forge ruins are still visible. The oldest documented structure in Tuxedo is the Adam Belcher house. Dating from 1790, it is located in the Southfields area.

1800s
By 1812, the Augusta Forge went out of business. Townsend sold the 7,000 acre Augusta Tract to Pierre Lorillard II, who was in the tobacco business. Mining continued into the 1840s, until the iron ore was largely depleted. The Lorillards later used the tract for lumbering. It helped supply fuel for the wood-fired Erie Railroad, which was built in 1841.

The southern part of Tuxedo, known as Eagle Valley, was devoted to farming, as were areas just south of Lake Mombasha: Helmsburg and Bramertown were named after early colonial settlers. In the northern part of town, in the area known as Arden, the Greenwood Furnace was established in 1810. During the American Civil War, this forge produced the iron for the famous Parrott rifles, which were built at the West Point Foundry by the Parrott Brothers, then owners of the Greenwood tract.

The Southfields Methodist Church was built in 1848. The Parrotts built St. John's Episcopal Church in Arden in 1863. The cemetery along Route 17 in Arden was associated with St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1867 but later closed due to demographic changes in residents. It was demolished. By the 1890s, the area iron industry had declined due to the decrease in ore and the discovery of the rich surface beds of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota.

The Town of Tuxedo was established twice from the Town of Monroe. First, in 1863 it was founded as the Town of Southfields by the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the legislative body of the county. The supervisors changed their decision in 1865 and the area was returned to Monroe. On December 19, 1889, the Board of Supervisors approved separating the Town of Tuxedo from Monroe. The act was implemented on March 4, 1890.

Tuxedo Park
Pierre Lorillard IV conceived the idea of the planned community of Tuxedo Park. In 1884 he began buying up his siblings' shares in the Augusta tract, with the intention of creating a hunting-and-fishing resort surrounding the 291-acre Tuxedo Lake. The mammoth development project, laid out by the architect Bruce Price and civil engineer Ernest W. Bowditch, was constructed by some 1,800 Italian and Slovak immigrant laborers in about eighteen months. "When the Tuxedo Club opened on June 16, 1886, close to 5,000 acres had been planned, 30 miles [48 km] of macadam roads had been built, and 40 buildings stood complete. These were soon joined by a boathouse, a school, a racetrack, a golf course (possibly the second-oldest in the country), indoor tennis courts, a game preserve and breeding ponds, a swimming pool, an electrified toboggan run, 30 miles of bridle paths, and the first water, sewer, and telephone systems outside a major metropolis." The resort attracted a number of the financial, industrial and social leaders of the day, particularly those who worked in New York City. During the first thirty years, more than 250 houses and stables were built in Tuxedo Park, as well as retail stores and service buildings in the so-called hamlet. Three churches, all still standing (one is used by the Tuxedo Historical Society today), a train station, a library, and a post office were also built, as well as a school and a hospital. Businessmen could commute by rail into New York City.

1900s
By 1915, 3,636 people lived in Tuxedo, about 20% more than were reported in the 1890 Census. A major shift in landholding in Tuxedo started after 1910, when Mrs. W. A. Harriman gave $1 million and 10,000 acre of her family's land to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The state gradually purchased additional farm and forest land from scores of owners, often by eminent domain, resulting in the present Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park, which occupies about 12,500 of Tuxedo's 30,700 acre.

During the 1920s a new hospital and a high school were built by major donations from some residents. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 had a disproportionately negative effect on Tuxedo Park's affluence, as numerous residents lost their financial jobs. A slow but severe decline in the community's fortunes set in, resulting in a population decline and the loss of such amenities as the hospital, the Masonic Temple (now used as the Town Hall), and many retail stores.

In 1956, the Harrimans sold their Sterling Mine and Railroad Company tract to City Investing Company (now Sterling Forest LLC). It developed Maple Brook, Laurel Ridge, Clinton Woods and various offices and research centers on its 8,000 acre in the Town of Tuxedo.

In 1952, the area known as Tuxedo Park became an incorporated village. Today it comprises 2,050 acre, of which 355 acre is three lakes, and about 340 housing units in 320 structures. Other newer housing developments include the Southfields Apartments built in 1971 on the site of a former bed factory, the Mountain View Apartments near the Sloatsburg line, and the Woodlands in Eagle Valley. Non-residential facilities include International Paper's Research Center, the Red Apple Restaurant, and the Sterling Forest Ski Area.

The evening wear known as a "tuxedo", the main component of "black tie" dress, was associated with the wealthy residents of Tuxedo Park.

The area known as Tuxedo Park separated from the Town of Tuxedo and became incorporated in 1952, adopting the village form of government. Today it comprises 2,050 acres (8.3 km2), of which 355 acres (1.44 km2) includes three lakes, and about 330 housing units in 340 structures. In recognition of its historical and architectural significance, the historic district was listed as Tuxedo Park on the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 1980. In 1982 the designation was officially presented to Mrs. Joan Richardsson Alleman, Co-Chairman of the Tuxedo Conservation and Taxpayers Association, at the Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in nearby Newburgh, NY. The designation was presented by Mr. Oren Lehman, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and is proudly displayed at the Tuxedo Park Village Office.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.4 sqmi, of which 47.4 sqmi  is land and 1.9 sqmi  is water, for a total area of 3.89% water.

The eastern town line is the border of Rockland County. The Ramapo River flows through the town, which is situated in the Ramapo Mountains.

The New York State Thruway and NY-17 pass through the town.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,334 people, 1,337 households, and 962 families residing in the town. The population density was 70.3 PD/sqmi. There were 1,457 housing units at an average density of 30.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 92.68% White, 1.23% African American, 0.33% Native American, 3.21% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Entertainment
Tuxedo is the home of the annual New York Renaissance Faire.

Education
The Tuxedo Union Free School District exists as the principal establishment of public education in the area, consisting of the George F. Baker High School and the George Grant Mason School. Tuxedo Park School is located within the village of Tuxedo Park, serving the general area.

Communities and locations in Tuxedo

 * Arden – A hamlet near the northern town line.
 * Eagle Valley – A hamlet in the southern part of the town.
 * Harriman State Park – Part of the state park is in the town.
 * Indian Hill – A hamlet in the northern part of the town.
 * Southfields – A hamlet north of Tuxedo Park on highway NY-17.
 * Sterling Forest – A hamlet north of Tuxedo Park on highway NY-17A. Location of Sterling Forest State Park.
 * Tuxedo Lake – A lake in the southern part of the town.
 * Tuxedo Park – A village in the southern part of the town near highway NY-17.

Notable person

 * Walt Weiss, former MLB player and manager, currently the bench coach for the Atlanta Braves

title: Tuxedo, New York