The Orange Mill Historic District is the only

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

in the Town of Newburgh in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

. It encompasses the of county-run Algonquin Park and many of the surrounding lands. It is centered along Powder Mill Road just off

NY 52 New York State Route 52 (NY 52) is a state highway in the southeastern part of the state. It generally runs from west to east through five counties, beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Delaware River near Narrowsburg, cro ...

, a mile northwest of the city of Newburgh, at the edge of the suburban hamlet of Gardnertown. The district takes its name from the old

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

mill complex, built by Asa Taylor in 1816 and operated by the

Laflin & Rand Powder Company Laflin & Rand Powder Company was a gunpowder and early smokeless powder manufacturer notable for producing the smokeless powder used by United States Army infantry rifles from 1896 to 1908, which included the period of development of the M1903 Spri ...

after 1869.Sharpe, Philip B. ''Complete Guide to Handloading'' 3rd Edition (1953) Funk & Wagnalls pp.147-149 It is located along the unnamed Orange Lake outlet brook which flows through the park just above its outlet at

Quassaick Creek Quassaick Creek (Quassaic Creek on federal maps; also once known as Chambers Creek) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River in ...

.Ruttenber, Edward and Tice, Charles, ''History of the Town of Newburgh''; 1859, E.M. Ruttenber & Co., 133. While it primarily produced powder for local residents' use in

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and

shooting sports Shooting sports is a group of competitive sport, competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airgun ...

, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

procured some higher quality material. In the years before that conflict, local historian Edward Ruttenber claimed the mills were "the most complete and extensive works in the country" when they were under the ownership of a man named Daniel Rodgers. After production stopped in the early 20th century, developers began building on houses on some of the property. Col.

Frederic Adrian Delano Frederic Adrian Delano II (September 10, 1863 – March 28, 1953) was an American railroad president who served as the first Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1914 to 1916. After his term as vice chairman, Delano continued to serve as a membe ...

(1863–1953), uncle of future President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, purchased the remaining land, which included the core of the manufacturing operation, for use as a public park. Originally it was to have belonged to the City of Newburgh and in fact was deeded to the city, even though it was not contiguous with the city and is over a mile outside the city limits. The City of Newburgh maintained the park until the mid-1970s, at which time it became cost prohibitive and it gave up ownership. Eventually, Orange County purchased the property and it remains a part of the Orange County Parks and Recreation system to this day. It is adjacent to Cronomer Hill Park, which borders it across Powder Mill Road to the northwest. Cronomer Hill Park is a separate Orange County Park. Today the historic district includes 14 of these buildings which had been the core of the manufacturing operation as

contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. It was designed to incorporate the old buildings as an essential feature, and many of the roofless stone structures still stand next to the park's barbecue pits and picnic grounds. It is the only remaining 19th-century gunpowder production facility in New York.Cornell, Les; 2005
Town of Newburgh - Town history
retrieved June 6, 2007. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1997.

References

External links

Algonquin Park official site
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York New York (state) in the American Civil War Newburgh, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Historic districts in Orange County, New York Buildings and structures in Newburgh, New York