Middletown is a city in
Orange
County
, New
York
, United
States
. It lies in New York's
Hudson Valley region, near the
Wallkill River and the foothills of the
Shawangunk Mountains.
Middletown
is situated between Port Jervis
and Newburgh, New York
. The city's population was 25,388 at the
2000 census. The
zip code is 10940, and 10941 in some cases.
Middletown
is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie
–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA), which includes all of Dutchess
and Orange counties. The two-county MSA had
a population of 621,517 at the
2000 census. A July 1, 2007
estimate placed the population at 669,915.
The city also lies
along the northern boundary of the New York
metropolitan area
.
History and economy
Early history
John Green purchased land from the DeLancey patent and probably
settled the area around 1744. Due to its location between other
pre-existing locations, the name of "Middletown" was adopted, but
later changed to "South Middletown" to avoid confusion with another
nearby location. Eventually the word "south" was deleted, giving
the current name when the community became a village in 1848. The
village became a city in 1888.
The
First Congregational Church of
Middletown
, established in 1785, has the highest spire
downtown. It can be argued that the construction of the
church marks the beginning of Middletown's existence as a village.
The current building was constructed in 1872.
Growth of Middletown
Erie Railroad, Middletown Station,
James Street, July, 1971.
The tracks have been removed, and the station is now Thrall
Library.
Middletown grew up with the
Erie
Railroad and the
New York, Ontario and
Western Railway (among others) and attracted a number of
employers, such as shoe, lawnmower blade, and furniture factories,
but most of these businesses had closed by the 1960s.
The closing of a large
Ford Motor Company plant in
Mahwah, New
Jersey
, and the downsizing of IBM
operations in the area were a blow to the economy of Middletown and
surrounding communities in the 1970s. However, quite a few
New York
City
police officers, firefighters and other workers
moved up to the area, especially beginning in the 1970s, to
purchase houses that were much less expensive than those nearer the
city. These long-distance commuters have helped bolster the
economy of the area. The only railroad left in town is the
Middletown and New Jersey
Railway.
Modern Middletown
The "downtown" area of Middletown has suffered from the growth of a
shopping strip and malls at the eastern edge of town, along
Route 211, near
Route 17 and
Interstate 84. There are a number
of abandoned and underutilized buildings downtown, although there
has long been an active bar scene, and now there are signs of a
growing restaurant scene downtown. The downtown area has a number
of historic churches, and Highland Avenue has a number of large
Victorian houses. Many of these are occupied by medical doctors and
their families, with a section devoted to the doctor's office. Some
of the largest Victorians are now used as nursing homes. There are
some prosperous neighborhoods, such as Presidential Heights, but
there are many less prosperous neighborhoods.
Middletown is the main business address for
Mediacom Communications Corp
and its related entities, a cable and other pay TV company. Their
headquarters building is actually located outside the city in the
Town of
Wallkill.
Places of interest
There are
two shopping malls (the largest is called Galleria at
Crystal Run
) and a long retail strip along Route 211
East. The city also has movie theaters, WALL
and WOSR
radio
stations, Thrall Library, the historic Paramount
Theatre
, a local arts council, bowling alleys and good
choices for hiking, biking, and country drives nearby.
There is
also active participation in Boy
Scouts of America and Girl
Scouts of the USA, Lions Club,
Elks Club, Kiwanis,
Rotary
Club
and other service clubs. The Rotary Club
runs an annual
Horse Show at Fancher
Davidge Park (in the fall).
Orange County Community
College is located in Middletown (and includes the beautiful
Webb Horton
House
, more commonly known as Morrison Hall), as is
Horton Memorial Hospital and the Middletown Psychiatric Center (a
major employer). The local award-winning newspaper is called
the
Times
Herald-Record, the first
cold
press offset daily in the country. Middletown is also home to
the
Orange County Fair
each summer. The
Highland
Lakes State Park is the nearest State Park.
Another
historic place in Middletown is the Hillside
Cemetery
, which was designed by Calvert Vaux, who designed New York City's
Central
Park
.
Although specific historic locations of the city are not
referenced, general retail businesses in Middletown are often
referenced in the phone calls of
The
Jerky Boys, including a
Taco Bell
("Civil War Memorabilia (Part 2)",
The
Jerky Boys 3), the Middletown Motel and International Golf
Discount ("What's Wrong With This World",
The Jerky Tapes).
The surrounding countryside is devoted partly to small dairy
farms.
Geography
Middletown is located at (41.445754,
-74.422066) in eastern Orange County. The city is nearly surrounded by the Town of
Wallkill, except for its southernmost section, which is in the
Town of
Wawayanda
.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
13.3 km² (5.2
sq mi).
13.3 km² (5.1 sq mi) of it is land and 0.19% is
water.
Transportation
Middletown can be reached from New York City by bus and is located
near the intersection of
Interstate
84 and
NY 17 (the future
Interstate 86). State routes
17M and
211 run right through the city, and
US 6 parallels I-84 to the
south.
The
Middletown-Town of Wallkill
station
on Metro-North
Railroad's Port
Jervis line is located nearby in the Town of Wallkill, and
provides rail service to Port Jervis, other communities in Orange and Rockland Counties
and Bergen County, New Jersey, Hoboken
and New York City via a transfer
at Secaucus, New Jersey
.
Randall
Airport is about 4 miles from the
center of Middletown. (ID: 06N)
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 25,388
people, 9,466 households, and 5,963 families residing in the city.
The
population density was
1,907.1/km² (4,939.5/sq mi). There were 10,124 housing units
at an average density of 760.5/km² (1,969.7/sq mi). The racial
makeup of the city was 68.68%
White, 15.13%
African American, 0.75%
Native American, 1.69%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 9.33% from
other races, and 4.40%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 25.11% of the
population.
There were 9,466 households out of which 34.0% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were
married couples living together, 16.7% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families.
30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age
of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to
64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,570, and the
median income for a family was $47,760. Males had a median income
of $35,990 versus $28,429 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$18,947. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 25.4%
of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
the past 10 years the Middletown public school system has moved
away from numerous neighborhood schools and combined more students
into fewer
Magnet schools. There are
four elementary schools, each covering various grade levels from
Kindergarten through fifth grade. Maple Hill Elementary is
currently housing grades two through five. Truman Moon Elementary
is currently Kindergarten and First Grade. Mechanicstown Elementary
is grades two through five. Chorley Elementary houses Kindergarten
through second grades. In 2005, the Middletown School District
implemented a full day Kindergarten program at the request of the
Middletown voters.
There are two Middle schools in the
District, Twin Towers Middle School
and Monhagen Middle School
. Middletown High School
is the only building for High School and includes
grades nine through twelve. There are also a number of
Catholic schools.
Middletown High School offers many programs in addition to the
basic educational classes found in most schools. The Middletown
High School has a large and active sports program including
Football, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Track and Field,
Soccer, Lacrosse, and various other athletic programs, as well as
various other after school academic and social programs and
activities. The High School also offers a
Naval Junior Reserve Officer
Training Corps program.
Surrounding area
Communities and locations around Middletown
U.S.
The following communities and places are all located within a few
miles of Middletown:
- Baileyville – A hamlet northwest of Middletown
near Howells, located on NY Route 211.
- Crystal Run – A hamlet east of Middletown,
near Interstate 84 at County Road 83.
- East Middletown – A village southeast of
Middletown.
- Fair Oaks – A hamlet north of Middletown on NY
Route 17.
- Howells – A hamlet northwest of
Middletown.
- Mechanicstown
– A hamlet bordering Middletown to its
southeast.
- Michigan Corners
– A hamlet east of Middletown on Route
211.
- Phillipsburg – A hamlet southeast of
Middletown on the Wallkill River and Route 17.
- Pilgrim Corners – A hamlet bordering
Middletown to its west on Route 211.
- Rockville – A hamlet north of Middletown.
- Scotchtown
– A hamlet northeast of Middletown, just across
Route 17 on Route 101.
- Van Burenville – A village
to the north of Middletown near Mount Hope
.
- Town of
Wallkill, the township that nearly surrounds Middletown, most
of which is located to the north and east of Middletown.
- Washington Heights
– A hamlet bordering Middletown to its
northwest.
Notable people from Middletown
References
- Photo and description of the First Congregational
Church
- The first mall in town was the Orange Plaza.
- "Climate, Coal and the Car of the Future",
Address by Joseph Romm at Columbia University's State of the
Planet '06 conference
External links
, the county seat
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