Highlands, New York
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Highlands is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
on the eastern border of Orange County,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The population was 12,939 at the 2020 census.
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
, including the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
, is located alongside the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
in Highlands.


History

The town was first settled ''circa'' 1725 by John Moore, a patentee for this territory. During the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, colonial forces constructed Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton to obstruct enemy progress on the river. Highlands was created from the town of
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
in 1872, making it one of the last towns formed in the county.


Geography

Highlands is located at (41.3601108, -74.0084276) and its
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
is . According to the 2020 U.S. census, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Part of the southern town line is the border of Rockland County. The eastern town boundary is the border of Putnam County, marked by the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
. US-9W and NY-218 are important north-south highways. NY-293 intersects these, west of the military academy.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 12,484 people, 3,230 households, and 2,322 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,418 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 75.18%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 13.16%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, .49% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.16%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.27% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 9.71% of the population. There were 3,230 households, out of which 43.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.32. The age distribution is 22.8% under the age of 18, 32.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 12.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 147.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 162.2 males. These statistics are consistent with the presence of the West Point military base in general, and the Academy in particular. The median income for a household in the town was $52,816, and the median income for a family was $59,345. Males had a median income of $23,491 versus $27,406 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $17,830. About 2.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.


Communities and locations in the town of Highlands

*
Bear Mountain State Park Bear Mountain State Park is a state park located on the west bank of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York, Rockland and Orange County, New York, Orange counties, New York (state), New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, pic ...
– part of the
state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
is on the southern border of the town. * Crow's Nest – an elevated location near the northern town line. * Fort Montgomery – a hamlet on the bank of the Hudson River. * Gees Point – a projection into the Hudson River by West Point village. * Highland Falls – the village of Highland Falls in the eastern part of the town on the Hudson River. * Palisades Interstate Park – part of the park is by the southern town line. * West Point – a hamlet on the Hudson River north of
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
, the military academy.


Government in Highlands

Highlands is represented in the Orange County legislature by Laurie Tautel ( D).


Education

Most of Highlands is in Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District. A portion to the southwest is in the Haverstraw-Stony Point Central School District (North Rockland). James I. O'Neill High School is the high school of the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery portion while North Rockland High School is the high school for the North Rockland part. The
Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...
(DoDEA) maintains elementary and middle schools for children of military personnel on-post at USMA, but sends high school aged students who are dependents of on-base military personnel to O'Neill. In March 2022 USMA's contract with O'Neill was renewed. There was also a parochial school in Highland Falls, Sacred Heart of Jesus School (of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...
), that served students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight. The school opened in 1930 and closed in 2011. The archdiocese suggested that parents send their children to St. Gregory Barbarigo School in Garnerville.


References


External links


Town of Highlands
official site {{authority control 1872 establishments in New York (state) New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Populated places established in 1872 Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area Towns in Orange County, New York Towns in New York (state) Towns in the New York metropolitan area