Blooming Grove is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, New York, United States. The population was 18,811 at the 2020 census. It is located in the central part of the county, southwest of Newburgh.

History

Vincent Mathews was likely the earliest settler who purchased the

Rip Van Dam Rip Van Dam ( – 10 June 1749) was the acting governor of the Province of New York from 1731 to 1732. As one of the leaders of the republican liberal (or "country") party, Van Dam confronted the subsequent royal governor William Cosby. Early l ...

in 1721, built a grist mill and named his settlement "Mathewsfield." He is the father of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As New York Cit ...

, a Loyalist who was

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and Fletcher Mathews, also a Loyalist and alleged abettor to schemes against the newly forming republic. The town of Blooming Grove was formed from the town of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in 1799. In 1830, the town of Hamptonburgh was established from part of Blooming Grove. Another part of Blooming Grove was taken to form the town of Chester in 1845. The village of South Blooming Grove was incorporated in July, 2006.

Andrew Jackson Davis Andrew Jackson Davis (August 11, 1826January 13, 1910) was an American Spiritualist, born in Blooming Grove, New York. Early years Davis had little education. In 1843 he heard lectures in Poughkeepsie on animal magnetism, the precursor of hy ...

, the "Poughkeepsie Seer", was born in Blooming Grove in 1826. The

Brotherhood Winery Brotherhood Winery is located in Washingtonville, New York. With its first commercial vintage produced in 1839, it is commonly acknowledged to be the oldest operating winery in the United States. In 2000 it was added to the National Register of Hi ...

in Washingtonville is the oldest continuously operating

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the United States, having been established in 1839.

Geography

According to

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

data, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.42%) is water. Combined New York State Route 17-

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

pass through the south of Blooming Grove.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 18,028 people, 6,284 households, and 4,750 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 510.7 people per square mile (197/km). There were 6,954 housing units at an average density of 197 per square mile (76/km). The racial makeup of the town was 84.5%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 6.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, .5% Native American, 2.2% Asian, .02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.8% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 15% of the population. Of the town's 6,284 households, 39.5% contained children under the age of 18, 62% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. Nearly 20% of households had only one member and 6.4% of households consisted only of someone 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.33. The town's population has a wide age distribution, with 25.3% under the age of 18 and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.8 years. The population was 49.3% male and 50.7% female. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the town was $89,327, and the median income for a family was $100,142. Full-time, year-round male workers had a median income of $65,685 versus $50,835 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $34,472. About 3.2% of families and 6.2% 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 t ...

, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over. For people 5 years of age and older, an estimated 83.7% spoke only

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 12.1% could speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and 21.9% spoke English less than "very well." An estimated 93.4% of people aged five years and older were born in the United States while 1.8% are not citizens. The most common ancestry groups were overwhelmingly estimated to be

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and " American."

Communities and locations within the town of Blooming Grove

* Beaver Dam Lake – A hamlet that is partially located in the towns of New Windsor and

. * Beaverdam Lake – A lake that is surrounded by the hamlet of Beaver Dam Lake. * Blooming Grove – The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Blooming Grove, located on state route 94, south of Washingtonville. * Bull Mine – A hamlet in the southern part of town on state route

208 Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

. * Craigville – A hamlet south of Blooming Grove village on state route 94. * Mountain Lodge Park – a former summer community located on

Schunemunk Mountain Schunemunk Mountain (also spelled Schunnemunk) is the highest mountain in Orange County, New York. The summit is located in the town of Blooming Grove, with other portions in Cornwall and Woodbury. The community of Mountain Lodge Park is bu ...

. * Oxford – a hamlet in the south part of town by state route 17. * Salisbury Mills – a hamlet by the eastern town line on NY-94. The hamlet is also located in the town of Cornwall. * Schunnemunk Mountain – the highest mountain in the county is at the eastern town line. * The village of South Blooming Grove. * Tomahawk Lake – a lake by the western boundary of the town. * Washingtonville – the village of Washingtonville is located at the junction of state highways 94 and 208.

References

External links

Town of Blooming Grove
{{authority control Towns in Orange County, New York Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area Towns in the New York metropolitan area