Goshen (village), New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goshen is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. Goshen is the county seat.
Goshen's current mayor is Scott Wohl; his term expires in April 2007.
The Village of Goshen is about 50 miles northwest of New York City. The village is within the Town of Goshen. Goshen is the home of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, and hosted harness racing's top event, the Hambletonian, from 1930 to 1956, at the former Good Time Park. The village is located on New York State Route 17 in the center of Orange County.
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[edit] History
The village was settled in 1714 and incorporated in 1809.
The village (or the town, which are indistinguishable in old records) was the site of the hanging of the famous outlaw Claudius Smith,a British Loyalist who— along with the Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brandt— raided the countryside surrounding Goshen during the American Revolutionary War.
He and Joseph Brandt are said to have buried their many stolen treasures in the hills surrounding Goshen, and that Claudius is himself buried somewhere on the grounds of the old Presbyterian Church – with his skull having been embedded in the wall.
Smith was hanged on January 22, 1779, and exactly six months later, on July 22, 1779, Brandt raided what is now Port Jervis. A militia from Goshen set out to stop Brandt, engaging in the disastrous Battle of Minisink.
Noah Webster taught here in the 1780s. The local high school's library is named after him, as is Webster Street, where the Town of Goshen's offices are located.
The horse racing industry was probably originally brought to Goshen by the Smith family of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York in the early 18th Century known as the "Horseblock Smith's" after whom one of the main thuroughfares of Central Long Island is named: Horseblock Road.
Goshen was the birthplace of jazz pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith, who is honored every year (beginning in 2004) with the Goshen Jazz Festival, sponsored by the Goshen Rotary Club. In 1950, Goshen had a population of 3,311 people.
Other towns and villages named Goshen include Goshen, Clermont County, Ohio and Goshen, Stark County, Illinois which are populated with many descendants of the original Goshen, Orange County, New York having settled in these villages. (Ultimately, all Goshens— including Goshen, Indiana, the largest with nearly 30,000 people— get their name from the Land of Goshen, referenced in the book of Genesis).
[edit] Geography
Goshen is located at (41.401546, -74.325199)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,676 people, 2,039 households, and 1,227 families residing in the village. The population density was 682.7/km² (1,770.5/mi²). There were 2,150 housing units at an average density of 258.6/km² (670.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 87.53% White, 7.61% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.55% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.26% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.63% of the population.
There were 2,039 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $50,922, and the median income for a family was $66,250. Males had a median income of $41,932 versus $31,711 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,443. About 1.9% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Historic postcards of Goshen on epodunk.com
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Municipalities and Communities of Orange County, New York (County seat: Goshen) |
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|---|---|
| Cities | Middletown | Newburgh | Port Jervis |
| Villages | Chester | Cornwall-on-Hudson | Florida | Goshen | Greenwood Lake | Harriman | Highland Falls | Kiryas Joel | Maybrook | Monroe | Montgomery | Otisville | Tuxedo Park | Unionville | Walden | Warwick | Washingtonville | Woodbury |
| Towns | Blooming Grove | Chester | Cornwall | Crawford | Deerpark | Goshen | Greenville | Hamptonburgh | Highlands | Minisink | Monroe | Montgomery | Mount Hope | New Windsor | Newburgh | Tuxedo | Wallkill | Warwick | Wawayanda | Woodbury |
| Communities/CDPs | Arden | Balmville | Beaverdam Lake-Salisbury Mills | Bullville | Campbell Hall | Circleville | Central Valley | Cuddebackville | Firthcliffe | Fort Montgomery | Gardnertown | Highland Mills | Howells | Little Britain | Mechanicstown | New Windsor | Orange Lake | Pine Bush | Rock Tavern | Scotchtown | Slate Hill | Sugar Loaf | Thompson Ridge | Vails Gate | West Point |
