Middletown, Orange County, New York
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Middletown is the largest
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...
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.


History


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 Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
plant in
Mahwah, New Jersey Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area () in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,487, a decrease of 403 ...
, and the downsizing of
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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 the Shoppes at Orange Plaza 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 A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...
and WOSR radio stations, Thrall Library and the Van Duzer Historical Society museum downtown. Civic organizations include
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and
Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...
chapters, as well as
Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...
, Elks Club,
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and
Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
. The Rotary Club runs a
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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 Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
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 (41.4458, -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 United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, 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.


Climate


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 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the Grand Army of the Republic, American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbere ...
parallels I-84 to the south. The Middletown-Town of Wallkill station on
Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...
'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 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 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 ...
, 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 Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 10,124 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the city was 68.68%
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 ...
, 15.13%
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 ...
, 0.75% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.03%
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 ...
, 9.33% from other races and 4.40% 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 25.11% of the population. 34.0% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% 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, 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 The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
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 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 ...
was $18,947. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% 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 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 At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
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 school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s covering grade levels from
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
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 school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
s 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 Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...
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 A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...
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"Middletown native signs with Earnhardt team"
'' Times Herald-Record'', January 23, 2016 * 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 Howard D. Mills III (born May 29, 1964) is an American insurance consultant and former politician from Goshen (town), New York, Goshen, New York. He served as New York's Insurance commissioner, Superintendent of Insurance from 2005 to 2006, and p ...
, 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 * Mally Roncal, makeup artist and entrepreneur * 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


References


External links


Middletown official website

Thrall Library website

(New York) Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society, Inc.

Middletown & New Jersey Railway Historical Society

Epodunk profile
{{authority control Cities in New York (state) Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area Cities in Orange County, New York Cities in the New York metropolitan area