Newburgh (town), New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Newburgh, New York
J. Malone Bannan Center, the town hall, named for a former (1967-1978) town supervisor
Nickname: Crossroads of the Northeast
Newburgh, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°32′30″N 74°3′47″W / 41.54167, -74.06306
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Orange
Area
- Total	47.0 sq mi (121.7 km²)
- Land	43.7 sq mi (113.2 km²)
- Water	3.3 sq mi (8.6 km²)
Elevation	423 ft (129 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	27,568
- Density	631.0/sq mi (243.6/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	845
FIPS code	36-50045
GNIS feature ID	0979259

Newburgh is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 27,568 at the time of the 2000 census. Estimated census figures released in 2005 set the population at 30,508, making the Town of Newburgh, for the first time ever, more populous than the adjacent City of Newburgh.^[1]

Contents 1 The Crossroads of the Northeast 2 Geography 3 History 4 Topography 5 Demographics 6 Government 7 Public Officials 8 School Districts 9 Fire Departments 10 Ambulance Corps 11 Zip Codes 12 Communities and locations in the Town of Newburgh 13 Famous residents 14 References

[edit] The Crossroads of the Northeast

The Town of Newburgh is in the northeast corner of the county and abuts the City of Newburgh on both the City's north and west borders. The City of Newburgh is a totally separate municipality which was a part of the Town of Newburgh prior to 1865.

The Town of Newburgh sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, at the northernmost point of that portion of the river known as Newburgh Bay.

Stewart International Airport is partially located in the Town of Newburgh, and is hoped will someday decongest the major airports of New York City.

The Town of Newburgh is known as the "Crossroads of the Northeast", not only because of Stewart Airport and the Hudson River, but also because two major Interstate highways cross the Town: Interstate 84 (east and west) and Interstate 87, also known as the New York State Thruway (north and south). Currently, the highways are accessible to each other via a short stretch of New York State Route 300 (a major north-south thoroughfare and the main commercial corridor in the Town) but a direct connection between I-84 and the Thruway is currently under construction. It is scheduled to open for traffic during the spring of 2009.

Other through routes which traverse the Town are U.S. Route 9W and New York State Route 32 (both north and south) as well as New York State Route 17K and New York State Route 52 (both east and west). A small portion of New York State Route 207 skirts the extreme southeast corner of the Town for a very short distance.

The newest New York State highway, New York State Route 747, is partially in the Town of Newburgh, in the extreme southwest corner of the Town. It opened for traffic in late 2007. It begins at Route 207 in the Town of New Windsor and terminates only 3.4 miles (5.5 km) to the northwest at Route 17K in the Town of Montgomery. However, its central portion is in the Town of Newburgh, and it is here that Route 747 interchanges with Interstate Route 84. This new Exit 5A from Interstate 84 is the easternmost of five Interstate 84 interchanges within the Town of Newburgh.

Route 747 provides a direct access to Stewart International Airport. Now, for the first time, motorists on the Interstates may enter Stewart Airport at the terminal building without travelling on Routes 300 and 207, both local roads. This new access road intersects with Route 747 in the Town of Newburgh, just south of the I-84 interchange.

Exit 17 from the New York Thruway (Interstate 87) is in the Town of Newburgh.

The western terminus of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, which carries Interstate 84 and New York State Route 52 across the Hudson River, is in the Town of Newburgh. This span, which was initially opened in 1963 with a twin span opened in 1980, is the only Interstate crossing of the Hudson River between the Tappan Zee Bridge just north of New York City, and the Berkshire Thruway connector just south of Albany.

The Orange Mill Historic District is located in the Town of Newburgh. It is the only historic district within the Town.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 47.0 square miles (121.7 km²), of which, 43.7 square miles (113.2 km²) of it is land and 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²) of it (7.04%) is water.

The north town line and about one third of the west town line is the border of Ulster County, New York, and the east town line, marked by the Hudson River, is the border of Dutchess County, New York.

The Town of Newburgh is bordered on the north by the Town of Plattekill (Ulster County) and the Town of Marlborough (Ulster County), which includes the hamlet of Marlboro. It is bordered on the west by the Town of Shawangunk (Ulster County) which includes the Hamlet of Wallkill and by the Town of Montgomery (Orange County), which includes the Villages of Walden, Montgomery and Maybrook. The entire southern boundary is with the Town of New Windsor (Orange County) with the exception of a 4.8-square-mile (12 km²) quadrant, nearly a perfect quadrilateral in shape, adjoining the Town at its southeast corner. This is the City of Newburgh. The eastern boundary of the Town of Newburgh is the Hudson River, which separates it from the Dutchess County Towns of Poughkeepsie, Wappinger, and East Fishkill.

[edit] History

Newburgh was originally settled in 1709 by German Palatine refugees, who were soon supplemented by a significant number of Scottish immigrants. It was chartered as a Precinct in 1762 and as a Town in 1788. At that time, it was a part of Ulster County. In 1798, the Town of Newburgh and several other Towns in southern Ulster County were transferred to Orange County, to compensate for the southernmost part of Orange County being cut away to form Rockland County. The Town of Newburgh has remained a part of Orange County ever since. The Village of Newburgh was incorporated in 1800. Then as now, Villages remained a part of their parent Towns. However, when the Village was chartered as the City of Newburgh in 1865, it became totally independent of the Town.^[2]

The Town of Newburgh remained overwhelmingly rural and sparsely populated until well into the 20th Century. There were many apple orchards in the northern part of the Town, and dairy and vegetable farms in the remainder of the Town. It is believed the largest farm was Brookside farm, just west of the City of Newburgh on the north side of the old Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike (now Route 17K). The population of the Town of Newburgh was only 4,246 in 1900 and 6,092 in 1940, on the eve of World War II. However, after World War II the population skyrocketed as more and more farmland and forestland was converted to housing developments. In 1960, the population was 15,547. It went over 20,000 by 1970, and exceeded 30,000 in the 21st century.^[3]

[edit] Topography

The Town of Newburgh has a hilly terrain. Although bounded on the east by the Hudson River, access to that river is severely limited from the Town because most of the shoreline is typified by steep bluffs.

Several hills in the Town of Newburgh exceed 750 feet (230 m) above sea level. The southern tip of Marlboro Mountain, most of which including the summit is located in Ulster County, extends southward into the Town of Newburgh east of Pressler Road and west of Frozen Ridge Road. While the peak of the mountain in Ulster County is over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, the southernmost extremity of the mountain in the Town of Newburgh is over 750 feet (230 m). Fox Hill, in the northwestern corner of the Town near the boundary with the Town of Shawangunk, also exceeds 750 feet (230 m). Its sister peak of Kings Hill, across Route 300, is also over 750 feet (230 m) high. Straddling the border with the Town of Shawangunk, it is dominated by a large Christian cross, lit at night, erected and maintained at the summit by the private property owner.

The most prominent elevation in the Town, due to its central location, is Cronomer Hill. The summit of Cronomer Hill, the name of which derives from an Indian chief who allegedly lived atop the hill during Revolutionary War times, is 725 feet (221 m) above sea level. Most of Cronomer Hill is now a park owned and maintained by Orange County and remains heavily forested. The summit, accessible by auto via a road intersecting with Route 32, features an observation tower from which can be seen breathtaking views of major portions of the mid Hudson Valley, including the Newburgh Beacon Bridge in its entirely, much of Dutchess County across the Hudson, and major portions of Stewart Airport to the southwest, as well as much of the City of Newburgh and Town of New Windsor. A cell phone tower is at the summit of Cronomer Hill.

Another prominent elevation in the Town is Prospect Hill, behind Fostertown School, about 710 feet (220 m) above sea level. Prospect Hill is traversed on its eastern side by Frozen Ridge Road, so called due to the name popularly given to the steep ridge north of Prospect Hill.

The two Rossville hills flank either side of New York Route 32 just south of the Town border, near the intersection with East Road. They are each about 600 feet (180 m) above sea level. Other elevations in the Town of Newburgh worthy of mention are Soap Hill and Cedar Cliff, each overlooking the Hudson in the extreme northeast corner of Town. Although each are less than 400 feet (120 m) above sea level, their close proximity to the Hudson River renders them picturesque.^[4]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 27,568 people, 9,765 households, and 7,519 families residing in the town. The population density was 631.0 people per square mile (243.6/km²). There were 10,122 housing units at an average density of 231.7/sq mi (89.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.08% White, 7.56% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.07% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.59% of the population.

There were 9,765 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,017, and the median income for a family was $66,706. Males had a median income of $45,398 versus $32,432 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,749. About 2.4% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

Like all of the 932 Towns within New York State, the Town of Newburgh is governed by a Town Board. In Newburgh, the Board consists of four Councilpersons, and a Town Supervisor who presides and exercises limited executive authority. The Supervisor is elected to a two year term, in odd numbered years. The four Councilpersons are elected to four year terms, but are staggered so that two are elected in each odd numbered year. A Town Clerk is also elected to a two-year term, concurrent with the Supervisor, and a Receiver of Taxes is elected to a four-year term. Unlike most Towns in New York State, the Assessor of Real Property is not an elected official, but is appointed by the Town Board. Likewise the Superintendent of Highways is appointed, not elected. Two Town Justices are elected to four year terms: one in odd numbered years; the other (due to a midterm death in 1997) in even numbered years. The Town Justices (formerly called Justices of the Peace) are the chief judicial officials of the Town, and since 1963 no longer sit as members of the Town Board, as had previously been the case. A list of current "Public Officials" follows.^[6][7]

[edit] Public Officials

The following are the public officials of the Town of Newburgh, in the wake of the November 6, 2007 elections^[8]:

• Town Supervisor: Wayne C. Booth (expires Dec. 31, 2009)
• Town Clerk: Andrew J. Zarutskie (expires Dec. 31, 2009)
• Town Councilman & Deputy Supervisor: Derek N. Benedict (expires Dec. 31, 2009)
• Town Councilwoman: Elizabeth J. Greene (expires Dec. 31, 2009)
• Town Councilman: George A. Woolsey, Sr. (expires Dec. 31, 2011)
• Town Councilman: Gil Piaquadio (expires Dec. 31. 2011)
• Town Justice: Jude T. Martini (expires Dec. 31, 2010)
• Town Justice: Richard Clarino (expires Dec. 31, 2011)
• Receiver of Taxes: Mary Lou Venuto (expires Dec. 31, 2009)
• Assessor: Michael J. Fogarty, IAO (appointed)
• Highway Superintendent: Darrell Benedict (appointed) ^[9]

[edit] School Districts

As was the case with most rural upstate Towns in New York State, a series of schoolhouses (in most cases, one room) sprang up throughout the Town of Newburgh in the 19th century, in response to the state laws of 1812 and 1814 requiring the establishment of such schools and school districts. The number of these rural school districts in New York State peaked statewide at 11,750 in 1865.^[10]

New York State legislation required that the administration of schools would be in the hands of school districts --- not the counties or Towns, as is the case in most other states. This system of school districts totally independent of municipal or county governments remains in place throughout all of New York State (except for New York City) today.^[11]

An 1875 map on display at Town Hall indicates that at that time 14 different school districts existed in the Town of Newburgh, each of which had its own schoolhouse.^{[12] [13]} As late as the mid 1950's, it was common in the Town of Newburgh for one teacher to teach more than one grade in one classroom.

In the post World War II era, with the first explosion in population in the Town of Newburgh (as the Town began the transition from rural to suburban) as well as with "Baby boomers" beginning their schooling, the need came about for larger and more modern school buildings. During the 1950s, new elementary schools were built in Balmville, Gardnertown, East Coldenham, Leptondale and Union Grove. Fostertown School retained its older building, but the first of several modern additions was constructed in 1957.

Each of these elementary schools had their own locally elected school boards. Each had clearly defined boundaries which determined which elementary school each student would attend. Attendance at high school was not universal prior to World War II, but after that time most Town of Newburgh students attended the two junior high schools (North Junior High and South Junior High) and one high school (Newburgh Free Academy) in the City of Newburgh.

From 1925 on, New York State encouraged school districts to consolidate and approved legislation, featuring the incentive of state financial aid, to facilitate this.^[14] However, as late as 1960, there were still nine elementary school districts, and nine elementary schools, in the Town of Newburgh.^[15] (The missing District numbers on the following chart are those of school districts previously consolidated with neighboring Districts.)

The following are the nine school districts as they existed in 1960:

• District One: Balmville
• District Three: Orange Lake
• District Four: Fostertown
• District Five: Roseton
• District Eight: Gardnertown
• District Nine: Middle Hope
• District Ten: East Coldenham
• District Eleven: Union Grove
• District Fourteen: Leptondale

In 1963, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District was formed. It consisted of the entire City of Newburgh and most of the Town of New Windsor. In addition, it absorbed the following school districts within the Town of Newburgh: Balmville (District One), Orange Lake (District Three), Fostertown (District Four), Gardnertown (District Eight), and Union Grove (District Eleven).

Roseton (District Five) and Middle Hope (District Nine) joined the Unified Marlboro School District in Ulster County, much to the distress of the Newburgh School officials, who were counting on the tax revenue from the Central Hudson power plants in Roseton, which at the time consisted of about 55% of the total tax base in the Town of Newburgh (today that ratio is about 32%).

East Coldenham (District Ten) joined the Valley Central School District, centered in the Town of Montgomery.

Leptondale (District Fourteen), due to physical proximity, always sent its students to Wallkill High School, in Ulster County, which is much closer than Newburgh Free Academy. That high school was donated by the Borden family, of dairy fame. For this reason, Leptondale is a part of the Wallkill Central School District.

This is why, to this day, there are four different school districts in the Town of Newburgh -- each of them headquartered in a different surrounding municipality.

The new Meadow Hill Elementary School, built in what was at that time the fastest growing portion of the Town, eventually replaced Union Grove school, which was demolished.

In the early 1970s, the courts mandated busing to achieve racial balance. In response, the elementary schools in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, including those within the Town of Newburgh, became magnet schools. Geography no longer determines which elementary school each student attends.

School taxes in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and in the Wallkill School District are still collected by school district tax collectors who are employees of those school districts. School taxes in these districts cannot be accepted by the Receiver of Taxes at Newburgh Town Hall. School taxes in the Marlboro and Valley Central School Districts, on the other hand, must be paid to the Town of Newburgh Receiver of Taxes because these school districts do not have their own tax collectors on their payrolls.^[16]

[edit] Fire Departments

The Town of Newburgh has never had a municipal, paid fire department. Fire fighting services have always been provided by Volunteer fire departments (VFDs).

Currently, the Town of Newburgh is divided into four fire districts located entirely within the Town boundaries, and two others which overlap into surrounding municipalities.

They are:

• Cronomer Valley Fire Department
• Good-will Fire Department Inc.
• Middlehope Fire Company
• Orange Lake Fire District, in turn subdivided into the Dan Leghorn Engine Company and the Winona Lake Engine Company
• Coldenham Fire Company overlaps into the Town of Montgomery where the sole fire house is located
• Plattekill Fire Department overlaps into the Town of Plattekill, with a substation recently constructed within the Town of Newburgh

These fire companies provide not only fire protection to the residents and businesses of the Town with a high degree of professionalism and expertise, but also serve as focus points of social and cultural activities in the community.

A monument honoring the volunteer fire fighters of the Town of Newburgh was erected on the grounds of Town Hall in 1985.^[17]

[edit] Ambulance Corps

A Volunteer Ambulance Corps for the Town of Newburgh (TONVAC) was incorporated in October 1967. The first vehicle used was a 1965 Cadillac purchased for $5000.00. Emergency phones were situated in three private homes of Corps members who dispatched members 24/7.

The necessity for a volunteer ambulance corps was brought about by the cessation of ambulance service by St. Luke's Hospital (today St. Luke's-Cornwall Hospital) in the City of Newburgh, the primary health care giver for the greater Newburgh region.

The Corps' actual first "day on the road" was February 1, 1968. In the first year of service, TONVAC responded to 550 calls. In 2007, the ambulance corps responded to over 2200 calls. In 1991 the Town of Newburgh Volunteer Ambulance Corps became NYS Certified, which means a Emergency Medical Technician has to be on the ambulance and in 1992 TONVAC became the 2nd volunteer ambulance corps in Orange County to have Automatic External Defibulators on each ambulance for cardiac emergencies.

The first operating budget was $5,993.00 which was garnered solely from the kindness of donations. For 2007 the budget was $409,500.00 funded through third party billing, donations, small grants and a small subsidy from the Town of Newburgh itself. The Town of Newburgh Volunteer Ambulance Corps is still a volunteer organization. However, during the day time , Monday - Friday, it has become necessary to engage the services of paid EMT's and drivers to continue its coverage of the increasing number of emergency calls in the rapidly growing municipality.^[18]

The Town of Newburgh Ambulance Corps is headquartered in a modern building built in 1973 at 97 South Plank Road (Route 52), at the western intersection with Wintergreen Avenue. ^[19]

[edit] Zip Codes

Maps from the 19th century indicate that most hamlets in the Town of Newburgh had post offices of their own, including Middle Hope, Balmville, Cronomer Valley, Fostertown, Gardnertown and Savilton (which kept switching with Rossville). Most of these post offices were located in the homes of the postmasters (who were all political appointees) or in a local general store. Patrons reported personally to pick up their mail and leave outgoing mail. These post offices gradually disappeared one by one after the introduction of Rural Free Delivery (RFD), which was formally adopted nationwide in 1902. The last local post office in the Town of Newburgh to disappear was Roseton (zip code 12576) in the mid 1970's.^[20]

Today, there is no main post office located anywhere in the Town of Newburgh. Accordingly, all home and business mail delivery in the Town originates from post offices located in surrounding municipalities. For this reason, five different zip codes cover mail delivery in the Town of Newburgh. Two additional zip codes cover post office box service, for a total of seven zip codes for the Town of Newburgh.

The top priority of the United States Postal Service nationwide is to provide as efficient and prompt mail delivery as is possible. When Rural Free Delivery came into being, in order to achieve this goal, the U.S. Postal Service could and did often ignore municipal and governmental boundaries when establishing delivery routes. This carried over with the establishment of zip code zones in the 1960s. Throughout the nation it is not at all uncommon for an address to be assigned a zip code which does not match the municipality in which it is located.

These currently are the mail delivery (zip code) zones in the Town of Newburgh:

• Most of the Town of Newburgh receives its mail delivery from the main Newburgh Post Office located at 215-217 Liberty Street in the City of Newburgh, zip code 12550. While all mail delivery originating in this post office carries a 12550 zip code, post office boxes rented at this location have a zip code of 12551.

• Most of the northwestern quadrant of Town (roughly defined as the area north of Route 300 but west of Route 32) receives its mail delivery from the Hamlet of Wallkill post office in Ulster County, zip code 12589.

• The western part of Town, along the Rock Cut Road corridor and the western side of Orange Lake, receives mail delivery from Walden, New York 12586.

• The extreme southwestern corner of the Town, including Drury Lane and the International Drive corridor, is serviced by the Rock Tavern, New York, post office, zip code 12575, which is located in the Town of New Windsor.

• Finally, the extreme northeast section of Town, from approximately Cedar Hill Cemetery north to the Town line, is serviced by the Post Office in the Hamlet of Marlboro, with a zip code of 12542.^[21]

Difficulties and confusion have arisen for businesses, individuals and even governmental agencies that are not aware that the Newburgh zip code does not cover the entire Town of Newburgh. ^[22]

There are two post office facilities physically located within the Town of Newburgh. One is a contract station located in a strip mall at 190 South Plank Road (Route 52) in the Hamlet of Gardnertown immediately east of Route 300. A contract station is a postal facility owned and operated by a private individual or corporation under the terms of a contract negotiated with the Postal Service. The facility is privately owned, and is not owned by the Postal Service or the government. The employees are hired privately and are not postal employees. They are privately paid and not paid by the Postal Service or the taxpayers. This Town of Newburgh contract station is a branch of the Newburgh post office (with a zip code of 12550), and offers most of the services provided at main post offices, including post office box rentals, and is open for business five and a half days a week (half days Saturday). This branch post office, however, will not accept payment by credit card or debit card and only recently began accepting payment by check. Also, they claim they don't accept mail addressed to international addresses.^[23] Mail delivery does not originate from this branch post office. Outgoing mail is picked up from this post office twice a day weekdays and once on weekends and taken to the Sectional Center Facility on Enterprise Drive for further processing.^[24]

The U. S. Postal Service Mid Hudson Sectional Center Facility, which is the processing and regional distribution center for all zip codes which begin with "124", "125", "126" and "127", is located on Enterprise Drive in the southwest corner of Town, within the boundaries of Stewart Airport. It is easily accessible from Route 17K via Governor Drive immediately east of the exit 6 interchange with Interstate 84. It contains the only bulk mail postal facility within the region. It opened on May 7, 1991, in a modern newly constructed building,^[25] replacing a previous, smaller sectional center facility located in Wappingers Falls. A post office on premises offers the full range of postal services, but is open only five days a week. Post office boxes are available and accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The zip code for post office boxes at this facility is 12552.^[26] The zip code 12555 is prominently displayed on the outside of the building but apparently has never been actually put into use.

[edit] Communities and locations in the Town of Newburgh

• Algonquin Park -- Although completely surrounded by the Town of Newburgh, this parkland was donated by private developers (who had purchased the property with the intent of building homes on it) to the City of Newburgh for use as a park. The Newburgh Lion's Club added land to the donation in the 1930s, and it remained a City of Newburgh park until the mid 1970's, at which time the City could no longer maintain its upkeep. After laying idle for several years, Orange County took it over and today it remains a part of the County Parks & Recreation Department. The ruins of the old powder mill on the parkland is one of only two such reminants in the United States, and is part of the Orange Mill Historic District, the only Historic District within the Town.^[27]

• Amber Fields -- A development built in the late 1980s on the west side of Fletcher Drive North just north of Interstate 84.^[28]

• Balmville -- A hamlet in the eastern part of the town, immediately north of the City of Newburgh. Overlooks the Hudson River. Long known as a home for upper income residents, it is the site of the Powelton Club, an exclusive country club. It was the birthplace and home of Sara Delano, the mother of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The current Balmville Elementary School, originally constructed in 1953-54 and expanded several times since, is on the southeast corner of Route 9W and Fostertown Road. An older school building, built in 1897 but vacant for many years, is immediately north of the current elementary school, at the northeast corner of 9W and Fostertown Road. ^[29] This older school building was built on property donated by Warren Delano, the grandfather of the future President. The construction funds were donated by his daughter, Annie Delano-Hitch, a lifelong Balmville resident and the aunt of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 2007, the Board of Education of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District voted to demolish the older school building at a price tag of $375,000.^[30] Local civic and historic groups protested the demolition of this historically and architecturally significant building. Two local developers offered buy the building, restore it, and lease it back to the school district.^[31] The Board of Education relented and tabled its demolition order.^[32] The Balmville Grange Hall is located on Fostertown Road 2/10 of a mile west of the intersection with Route 9W and is the last remaining grange in the Town of Newburgh. It celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 28, 2003.^[33] The western terminus of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is in Balmville. The New York State Bridge Authority recently constructed parking lots on Grand Avenue at this terminus for hikers who utilize the pedestrian crosswalk on the Bridge.

• Brighton Green -- a condominium townhouse complex on the north side of Meadow Hill Road, opposite the end of Fletcher Drive North, opened to occupancy in 2007.

• Candlestick Hill -- An area along the northern border which until recent years was still completely rural with apple orchards. Since 2000, the site of explosive new home building. A large mobile home park has been located here since the mid 1960's.

• Cedar Cliff -- Was a hamlet in the extreme northeast corner of Town, at the point where the Orange-Ulster County border meets the Hudson River. According to old maps, in the late 19th century it had its own post office and school, but today exists only as the name of a hill and of a short dead end road which runs perpendicular to Old Post Road and the river.^[34]

• Cedar Hill Cemetery -- an interdenominational cemetery, is the largest cemetery in the Town of Newburgh. It is on the east side of Route 9W, just north of Middle Hope, west of Roseton, and southwest of Cedar Cliff.

• Chadwick Lake-- A manmade lake in the northwestern part of the town, owned and maintained for recreational purposes by the Town government. It is surrounded by Chadwick Lake Park, a Town park. It is also the secondary water supply for the Town, the first being the Delaware Aqueduct (New York City). Big playground off the lake. The lake was created when the property owners, the Chadwick family, constructed a dam across Quassaick Creek in 1926. For this reason, the lake does not appear on any 19th century maps. The Town purchased the lake from the Chadwick Family in 1962 with the intent of using it as a water supply. ^[35] Older commercial maps erroneously label the lake "Cronomer Lake" probably due to its proximity to the hamlet of Cronomer Valley, but there is no evidence that this name was ever used for the lake either officially or informally.

• Cronomer Hill Park -- owned and maintained by the Orange County Parks and Recreation Department, the portion near the summit of the hill is richly forested. The portion of the park which extends down the southwest slope includes soccer and baseball fields, and tennis courts.

• Cronomer Valley -- Adjacent to Fostertown. Named after Cronomer Hill, which in turn was named after an Indian chief who thrived at the time of the American Revolution. The confusing, unusual junction of New York State Routes 32 and 300 is in the hamlet and has locally been known as Holt's Corner in honor of the family which has long owned property and businesses at the location. The Cronomer Valley Fire Department is located on Route 32 about 2/10 mile southeast of Holt's Corner.

• Danskammer Point -- is a small peninsula which juts into the Hudson River north of Roseton and south of Cedar Cliff, at the base of Soap Hill. "Danskammer" is Dutch for "dance chamber" and was so named by the earliest Dutch settlers because the Native Americans would conduct ritual dances by firelight at this point. In the 1930s, the Central Hudson company built an electric generating place at this site. The plant was expanded in the 1970s to encompass most of the Hamlet of Roseton. Today, the power complex is owned and operated by the Dynegy company.^[36] The Roseton plant is oil generated, and the oil crisis of the mid to late 2000s rendered the plant uneconomical to operate. Accordingly, as of 2008, it is off line all but a handful of days a year.

• DuPont Park -- an old subdivision laid out in the 1920s, but due to the Great Depression of the 1930s, most of the houses weren't built until the mid 1940's, immediately after the end of World War II. The east-west street is Waring Road (named after the original property owners) and the north-south streets were named Innis Avenue and DuPont Avenue. The original subdivision map indicated extremely small building lots by today's standards, but when actual home construction began, larger, more conventional size lots were utilized. Both the original lots and the lots actually used are indicated on the tax maps on file in the Town Assessor's office. An intersting facet of the subdivision is that the original plans called for a canal to be built equidistant between Innis Avenue and DuPont Avenue, between the back yards of the homes. The canal never came to be. In the early 1960s, the Town changed the name of DuPont Avenue to Algonquin Drive, to end confusion with the DuPont Avenue in the City of Newburgh. The subdivision is immediately across Powder Mill Road from Algonquin Park, and the original developers intended to extend the subdivision through that land, but instead donated it to the City of Newburgh for use as a park. ^[37]

• East Coldenham -- A hamlet and the site of the East Coldenham Elementary School disaster in 1989. Residents of this community do not attend NFA, but Valley Central High School. Named after Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776), last Royalist Lieutenant Governor of New York Province prior to the Revolutionary War, and an author, botanist, surveyor and farmer. His home was in the Town of Montgomery a few hundred feet west of the current Town of Newburgh boundary. The large Colden Park housing development, built in the mid 1950's on the south side of Route 17K, and the smaller Fleetwood Development on the opposite side of 17K, are located here. In recent years, the former Colden Park Homeowners Association has encouraged the use of East Coldenham as the name for the entire area. Although Colden Park is an extremely large development, Arbor Drive is the only entrance and exit.

• East Leptondale -- A vaguely defined region east of Leptondale and west of Cronomer Valley.

• Fenlo Park -- one of the first post-World War II developments in Town, it consisted of Noel Drive, Stanley Place, Roy Place, Helene Terrace, and the westernmost part of Chestnut Lane. The homes were built 1953-59. The designation fell into disuse as newer, contiguous developments were built. Noel, Stanley, Roy and Helene were the children of the developer.

• Folin Heights -- the old name (which has fallen into disuse) for the Carter Avenue corridor, has majestic views of the Hudson and the valley.

• Fostertown -- A former farming hamlet, based on the intersection where Fostertown Road, North Fostertown Drive, New Road, Owens Road, and Weyants Lane meet. Through the 1950s, a farming community. Gidneytown Creek flows under North Fostertown Drive just north of this intersection, and under Fostertown Road (also known as County Road 86) just east of it. An extensive development, with streets named after Revolutionary War battles (Saratoga Drive, Valley Forge Dr., etc.) was built in the 1960s behind Fostertown School to the northeast, going up the side of Prospect Hill. A more recent development, Fostertown Crossing, is directly in back of Fostertown School. The central part of Fostertown School is believed to be the oldest school building still in use in the Town of Newburgh for educational purposes, although additions were built in 1957, 1961, and 1988. Trinity United Methodist Church, at the intersection of Fostertown Road and North Fostertown Drive, formerly called Fostertown Methodist, is believed to be the oldest church building still in use for religious purposes in the Town of Newburgh. An old cemetery connected with the church is north of the church building, next to a modern entrance to Fostertown Crossing.

• Fostertown Heights -- The region up on the ridge west of Fostertown. Majestic panoramic views are still available from along Fostertown Road, just south of the Sarvis Lane intersection.

• Frozen Ridge -- a bluff with majestic views of the Fostertown valley and the southern tip of Marlboro Mountain, was apple orchards and forest until the late 20th century, and is now experiencing explosive home building.

• Gardnertown -- A hamlet named after the Silas Gardner family, whose home is still standing and in private use. Gardnertown Road was cut in half to make way for the NYS Thruway in the mid 1950s (as was Orr Avenue in the southern part of the Town). Site of the gunpowder mill, on Powder Mill Road, which is the centerpiece of the Orange Mill Historic District, the only historic district within the Town. The ruins of the mill are now part of Algonquin Park, owned and maintained by the Orange County Department of Parks and Recreation. The current Gardnertown Methodist Church building was constructed at its current location, the intersection of Gardnertown Road and Union Avenue, in 1858, replacing an earlier church built in 1825. The fellowship hall was built in 1957.^[38] Gardnertown Elementary School was located on Gardnertown Road. A new school was built on Plattekill Turnpike in the mid 1950's, where it remains today. The former schoolhouse then became Newburgh Town Hall. When the current Town Hall was constructed and opened next door in 1973 (at 1496 Route 300), it became police headquarters. When the current police headquarters was built and opened next door in the other direction in 1989 (at 300 Gardnertown Road), the former elementary school building became a secondary Town Hall, housing the Code Compliance, Planning and Zoning Departments. ^[39]

• Gidneytown -- a once prosperous hamlet located at what is now the intersection of Gidney Avenue and Route 32. A grist mill, thriving in the late 18th and throughout the 19th centuries and owned by the Gidney family,^[40] was located here on the banks of Gidneytown Creek. Only the brick chimney remains, an historic site which stands on Town owned property.^[41] This property was the site of a controversial wastewater treatment plant which operated from 1963 until the sewer lines were consolidated and the plant demolished in 1989. ^[42] This plant was one of several in the Hudson valley targeted by the Riverkeeper organization. The Town of Newburgh Animal Shelter is currently located on this town-owned property. Until the late 1950s, a body of water known as Gidney Pond was a popular local swimming, fishing and ice skating hole. It was filled in after a child drowned. A shopping mall anchored by a Shop Rite supermarket, two banks, and other commercial and retail establishments are now on the site of Gidney Pond. Another, much smaller, body of water which appears on old Town maps was Grimm's Pond, a popular fishing hole on the southwest corner of Gidney Avenue and Gardnertown Road. This former body of water is now marshland traversed by Gidneytown Creek.

• Glenwood Park -- A former hamlet which was located around the current site of the Good Will Fire Department.

• Gomez Mill House -- the earliest known surviving Jewish residence in the country and the oldest home in Orange County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Hy Vue Terrace -- a development built in the mid 1950's on the northeast side of North Plank Road, originally received a great deal of publicity because all the houses were brick. The original streets in the development were Hy Vue Drive, Hy Vue Court, and Hy Vue Circle. Later, Hy Vue Drive was extended up the hill where additional homes were built.

• Leptondale -- Northwest corner of the Town. Leptondale is also not a part of the Enlarged Newburgh City School District, but in fact is part of the Wallkill School District. Today it remains the most rural part of the Town, although much new housing construction has taken place since 2000. The zip code for the area is 12589. Much of Leptondale is in the Plattekill Fire District. While the main Plattekill fire house is in Ulster County, a substation has recently been built on Forest Road to service Leptondale.

• Meadow Hill -- Largest development within the town boundaries and continually growing. Divided into North, South, East and West quadrants. (Meadow Hill East is actually Gardnertown) All street names in Meadow Hill South are related to horses (Pommel Drive, Paddock Place, Coach Lane, etc.) All street names in Meadow Hill North but one are related to royalty or diplomacy (Monarch Drive, Ambassador Lane, Royal Circle, etc.) All street names in Meadow Hill West are British (Victoria Drive, Picadilly Circle, etc.) Was farmland prior to the 1960s. Meadow Hill North is located on property which was a dairy farm owned by the Patton family. It was traversed by an unpaved dirt road known as Patton Road. Today, Patton Road -- which follows the exact route of the old unpaved dirt road -- is the only thoroughfare in Meadow Hill North not having a royalty or diplomacy related street name.

• Meadow Winds -- A new development built in the late 1990s and early 2000s on a hill on the south side of Route 52 immediately west of the New York Thruway. It was built on property formerly known as Lawrence Farms. It consists of both free standing one family homes and attached town houses, and has majestic views of most of the Town.

• Middle Hope or Middlehope -- A hamlet in the northeast part of the town, a part of the Marlboro School District. Formerly called Middletown, because it was halfway between the City of Newburgh and the Town of Marlborough, the Post Office asked for a name change in the 19th century to avoid confusion with another Middletown in Orange County.^[43]

• Newburgh -- The City of Newburgh. It is not a part of the Town of Newburgh, but is a separate municipality.

• Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike -- one of the oldest roads in the state (1801), it is today New York State Route 17K.^[44]

• Newburgh Gardens -- an area just north of the Hamlet of Glenwood Park, almost completely residential, is believed to be the oldest subdivision in the Town of Newburgh. The building lots are much smaller than in the rest of the Town, streets are narrower, and tax maps indicate many "paper" streets. The older homes are extremely small, although more recently constructed houses can be quite large.^[45]John Alden Dix was governor of New York in 1912, the same year that Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt ran against each other for President. ^[46] These are the names of four of the five north-south thoroughfares (the fifth being Fifth Avenue), so it is assumed by Town officials that the subdivision was laid out in or soon after 1912. Dix Avenue was divided into a north section and a south section by the construction of Interstate 84 in 1963, which bisects the neighborhood. Wilson Avenue is today truncated to one block long, Roosevelt Avenue was renamed Schulman Lane to avoid confusion with a Roosevelt Place in the City of Newburgh, and Taft and Fifth Avenues remain today as major, heavily trafficked north-south thoroughfares.^[47]

• North Plank Road and South Plank Road were two plank roads, roughly parallel and approximately two miles apart, constructed by competing turnpike companies in the 1840s. Tolls were charged on both of these roads. Both began at what is now the City of Newburgh limits and extended westward into the Shawangunk and eventually Catskill Mountains. Today, North Plank Road is designated as New York State Route 32 from Route 9W as far as Holt's Corner in Cronomer Valley, after which it is designated Route 300. South Plank Road is New York State Route 52 its entire length. The U.S. Postal Service still recognizes North Plank Road as the official address for all mail along the Route 32 portion of the highway, as do the local government and emergency services. This is despite the fact that there is not one single sign identifying the thoroughfare as North Plank Road anywhere on its entire length. Mail addressed to recipients beyond Cronomer Valley must be addressed to Route 300, and will be returned to sender if addressed North Plank Road. (This determination was made as a part of the "911" emergency renumbering in the mid-1990s.) The Postal Service, local government, and emergency services recognize South Plank Road as the official designation for that entire road, even though, just as is the case with North Plank Road, there is no signage whatsoever the entire length of the highway identifying it as such. From 1895 until 1926, an electric railway ran along South Plank Road from downtown City of Newburgh through the entire length of the Town of Newburgh to the Village of Walden to the west. This electric railway (popularly referred to as the trolley) was a major factor in the success of the amusement park at Orange Lake.^[48] There are three side roads designated as Old South Plank Road---one in Gardnertown, one in Orange Lake, and one at the Montgomery Town line. Contrary to local belief, these are not shunpike roads but were the location of South Plank Road prior to the state takeover and paving in the 1920s. Likewise there is an Old North Plank Road. A tavern located on that road claims to be a former toll house from the turnpike days. Another side road, Paffendorf Drive, was known as Old North Plank Road until the early 1960s, when the name was changed to avoid confusion.

• Orange Lake -- A lake in the western part of the town. At 440 acres (1.8 km²), it is believed to be the largest lake located entirely within Orange County.

• Orange Lake -- A hamlet east of Orange Lake. It was a resort area prior to World War II.

• Plattekill Turnpike -- One of the oldest roads in the Town of Newburgh, appearing on the earliest available maps, it began in the hamlet of Gardnertown just east of the point where Gardnertown Road crosses Quassaick Creek. It proceeded north parallel to the creek, and intersected with North Plank Road in the hamlet of Cronomer Valley at what later became known as Holt's Corner. It then continued north, still parallel to and east of Quassaick Creek, through the hamlet of Savilton (Rossville) and across the Ulster County line into the Town of Plattekill. In the 1920s, the portion north of North Plank Road was designated New York State Route 32. Because Plattekill Turnpike terminated at Gardnertown Road, it could not be used as a cross-town north-south thoroughfare. Union Avenue, however, did extend south into the Town of New Windsor. In order to proceed from Plattekill Turnpike southbound onto Union Avenue southbound, it was necessary to make a sharp right onto Gardnertown Road, continue for half a mile northwest to Gardnertown Church, and then make a sharp left onto Union Avenue. Sometime between 1935 and 1946, Orange County constructed a new road, designated as Union Avenue Extension, as a short cut to eliminate those sharp turns and cut the travel distance in half. The County took over this entire Plattekill Turnpike-Union Avenue Extension-Union Avenue thoroughfare and designated it County Route 28. It quickly became a major north-south thoroughfare. In the early 1980s, the state took over County Route 28 (as well as all of Union Avenue south of Route 52) and redesignated it New York Route 300. Finally, with the adoption of the 911 Emergency renumbering system in the mid-1990s, the name Plattekill Turnpike was totally discontinued and suppressed for all official and postal purposes, with the exception of the small stub south of the former Union Avenue Extension. This small Town road, on which are located Gardnertown Elementary School and about half a dozen houses, is still called Plattekill Turnpike to the consternation of newer residents, since it is not located near, nor does it go to, the Town of Plattekill. It also has caused difficulty for persons seeking the Town of Newburgh Justice Court Building, which used to be 105 Plattekill Turnpike. The same building is now designated 311 Route 32.^{[49] [50][51][52]}

• Powelton Club -- an exclusive private country club in the Hamlet of Balmville, it is one of the ten oldest country clubs in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Quassaick Creek -- Although mostly known locally as the boundary between the City of Newburgh and Town of New Windsor, actually most of the flow of Quassaick Creek is in the Town of Newburgh. Made national headlines in the 1980s due to the anti-pollution efforts of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his Riverkeeper organization.

• Roseton -- no longer exists. It was for many years a thriving community anchored around the highly successful brick yards (The Rose Brick Company and The Jova Brick Company) along the banks of the Hudson. It had its own elementary school, grocery store and post office, and even had its own zip code (12576) until the mid 1970's. After the brick yards shut down, the Central Hudson Gas and Electric Company purchased them and most of the private property for expansion of its power plants, and demolished all of the homes east of River Road -- almost the entire community. Those power plants were sold to the Dynegy energy company in the late 1990s. Our Lady of Mercy chapel, a mission church of St. Mary's Parish in Marlboro, long served the Roman Catholic community in Roseton. It is still in service, and while it has offered only one Mass per week since the expansion of the power plants, most times the Mass is standing room only. It is one of two Roman Catholic Mission Churches in the Town of Newburgh, the other being Our Lady of the Lake at Orange Lake. New York State DOT directional signs still point to the hamlet for southbound traffic on Route 9W, indicating it is one mile (1.6 km) to the east. Northbound traffic, on the other hand, views signage which erroneously identifies the intersection of 9W and Old Post Road to be the hamlet of Roseton.

• Rossville -- Rossville is a former hamlet on what is now New York Route 32, just south of the Ulster County border, around the intersection with East Road. All that remains of Rossville as a place name are the building of the former Rossville Methodist Church, now maintained as The Rossville Library Museum, ^[53] and the Rossville Cemetery, formerly maintained by the church.

• Savilton -- Savilton and Rossville are the same place. In the 19th century, when postmasters were allowed to choose their own names for post offices, the names switched back and forth as two different postmasters each named the community after their sons.

• Sherwood Forest -- a small development laid out in the late 1950s but built in the early 1960s. The original streets all have names taken from the Robin Hood legend (Nottingham Road, Archery Road, Little John Lane, Yeoman Road), as is the name of the development itself. The only outlet from the subdivision is via Innis Avenue and Algonquin Drive, which merge at the entrance to the subdivision.

• Union Grove -- also no longer exists. It was a rural hamlet near the junction of Routes 17K and 300 (formerly known as Union Avenue). Today it is wholly commercial. The former Fleet Bank Building, housing commercial offices and the tallest commercial building in the Town of Newburgh, now stands on the site of the Union Grove Elementary School, demolished in the early 1980s.

• Wedgewood Park -- a development just south of Brewer Road, was planned since the early 1960s but was not finally built until the late 1980s. All of the streets are named after states (Ohio Drive, Vermont Drive, Maine Drive, etc.) The development is prominently visible from the summit of Cronomer Hill.

• Winona Lake -- an area around upper and lower Winona Lake along Route 52. The upper lake dried out and became a marshland in the 1960s. The lower lake has also fallen into disrepair due to the failure of a man-made dam built in the 1930s.^[54] The local homeowners association is debating what action to take towards restoring the lake and is seeking governmental assistance in doing so. The Winona Lake Fire Engine Company is actually located west of the hamlet, closer to Gardnertown. For this reason some commercial maps mislabel the small lake in Algonquin Park as Winona Lake. An elementary school formerly stood on Winona Avenue. Today, this building is occupied by the Penuel Pentecostal Tabernacle.

[edit] Famous residents

• Thomas Charles Desmond (1887-1972) made a fortune as a shipbuilder during World War I. He founded the Newburgh Ship Yards in the City of Newburgh which built many of the transport ships vital to the American Expeditionary Force. Later, he served in the New York State Senate (1930-1958). He lived in a palatial estate in Balmville, located between Albany Post Road and River Road. After his death, his widow Alice Curtis Desmond married former U.S. Congressman Hamilton Fish III. When she died in 1991, she left the estate to Mount Saint Mary College. ^[55][56]

• John J. Flemming (1923-1988), the well-known local architect (a principal in the Flemming & Silverman firm) and water-colorist of Powelton Circle in Balmville, who designed many of the school buildings (as well as commercial buildings and private homes) in Newburgh and Orange County built during the 1960s and 70's.

• William S. Hart (1864-1946), a classically trained Shakesperean actor, parlayed his fame on the Broadway stage to become a movie star of the silent screen. He was the first motion picture cowboy star, famous for insisting on authenticity, and retired as a millionaire to his ranch outside Hollywood before the dawn of the talkies. No one knows the exact location of Hart's birth within Newburgh, but at the time of his birth the City of Newburgh had not yet separated from the Town.

• George Inness (1825-1894), famous painter, was born on a farm in the Town of Newburgh.

• Joseph John Jova (1916-1993), a member of the family who owned the Jova Brick Yards in Roseton, was a professional diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras (1965-1969), U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States (1969-1973) and U.S Ambassador to Mexico (1973-1977). After he retired, he was President of Meridian International Center (1977-1989).^[57]

• Margaret Leech (1893-1974), winner of two Pulitzer Prize awards for history, was born and raised in the Town of Newburgh, and maintained a home there throughout her life.

• Sara Delano Roosevelt (1854-1941), the mother of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was born and raised at the Delano Estate, which was located between what are now River Road and Commonwealth Avenue.

• Mickey Spillane (1918-2006), the best selling author, built a house off of Rock Cut Road soon after World War II. It was there that he wrote the first of his crime novels, and he continued to reside there well into the 1950s.^[58]

• Orange County Choppers The headquarters of the custom motorcycle manufacturer which is the centerpiece of the nationally broadcast reality TV show American Chopper is on Route 17K, about 4/10 of a mile west of Route 300. The new building is clearly visible from the New York State Thruway and is readily accessible via Exit 17 of that superhighway. Paul Teutul, Sr., Paul Teutul, Jr., and Michael Teutul are combining and relocating their production facility and retail store from the adjacent Town of Montgomery. The grand opening of the new International Headquarters of Orange County Choppers took place April 24 to 27, 2008.^[59]

[edit] References

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Orange County, New York County seat: Goshen Cities Middletown | Newburgh | Port Jervis Towns Blooming Grove | Chester | Cornwall | Crawford | Deerpark | Goshen | Greenville | Hamptonburgh | Highlands | Minisink | Monroe | Montgomery | Mount Hope | New Windsor | Newburgh | Tuxedo | Wallkill | Warwick | Wawayanda | Woodbury Villages Chester | Cornwall-on-Hudson | Florida | Goshen | Greenwood Lake | Harriman | Highland Falls | Kiryas Joel | Maybrook | Monroe | Montgomery | Otisville | South Blooming Grove | Tuxedo Park | Unionville | Walden | Warwick | Washingtonville | Woodbury Communities and CDPs Arden | Balmville | Beaverdam Lake-Salisbury Mills | Bullville | Central Valley | Circleville | Firthcliffe | Fort Montgomery | Gardnertown | Highland Mills | Howells | Little Britain | Mechanicstown | Mountain Lodge Park | Mountainville | New Hampton | New Windsor | Orange Lake | Pine Bush | Pine Island | Scotchtown | Slate Hill | Sugar Loaf | Thompson Ridge | Vails Gate | West Point | Westbrookville