| Wallkill | |
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| — Town — | |
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Wallkill
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| Coordinates: [1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Orange County |
| Area | |
| • Total | 62.8 sq mi (162.7 km2) |
| • Land | 62.2 sq mi (161.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2) 0.92% |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 24,659 |
Wallkill is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 24,659 at the 2000 census.
The Town of Wallkill is centrally located in the county. Interstate 84 crosses New York State Route 17 in the southern part of the town. U.S. Route 6 and New York State Routes 17K, 211 and 302 also cross portions of the town.
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The original land patent for the town was dated 1724, but little was done for decades to develop and settle the region. The town was established in 1772, but part of the town was lost upon the formation of Ulster County, New York.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 62.8 square miles (163 km2) of which 62.2 square miles (161 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (0.92%) is water.
Wallkill is bordered by the towns of Hamptonburgh and Montgomery on the east, Crawford on the north, Mamakating and Mount Hope on the west, and Wawayanda and Goshen on the south. The town almost completely surrounds the city of Middletown.
As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 27,426. The racial makeup of the population was 57.8% white, 22.5% Hispanic, 16.0% African-American, 3.2% Asian, and 0.5% Native American.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 24,659 people, 8,866 households, and 6,330 families residing in the town. The population density was 396.6 people per square mile (153.1/km²). There were 9,283 housing units at an average density of 149.3 per square mile (57.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 80.70% White, 9.34% African American, 0.30% Native American, 2.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.31% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.40% of the population.
36.5% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them; 54.6% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $51,625, and the median income for a family was $57,088. Males had a median income of $40,145 versus $29,788 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,654. About 7.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
The current supervisor of the Town of Wallkill is John Ward. The town also has four councilmen: John King, Eric Valentin, Kevin Mulqueen, and Nina Guenste.
The Town of Wallkill Police Department is a full-time police force led by Chief Robert Hertman.
From 2001 to 2006 the Department was subject to oversight by a Federal Court appointed monitor, the result of a consent decree in a suit brought against the Town by the New York Attorney General's office. The suit was prompted by multiple complaints of harassment of young women and other abuses of police authority.[2]
The Department consists of seven sergeants (one who is in charge of the detectives and no longer is a road sergeant), two detectives, a traffic officer, A Community Policing officers, a DARE officer, a School Resource Officer, and 27 patrol officers.
Wallkill is divided into six fire districts: the Circleville, Howells, Mechanicstown, Silver Lake, Pocatello, and Washington Heights Fire Districts.
The town was the site of the first Lloyd's Supercenter, and is home to many retail stores, shopping centers and restaurants, many of which are located along Route 211. Both the Galleria at Crystal Run and the Orange Plaza are located in the town.
The town owns the Town of Wallkill Golf Club. This 18–hole course opened in 1991 and was designed by landscape architect Steve Esposito.
Woodstock Ventures, a group established to produce the Woodstock Festival in 1969, initially leased a tract of land in an industrial park in Wallkill. Town officials, deeply concerned about the size of crowds expected for the event and the logistics involved in hosting it, disallowed the festival the site through the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Town of Wallkill is home to the Orange County Fair each summer.
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