Wallkill, Orange County, New York

History

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. Wallkill's claim to fame during the American Revolution was the production of gunpowder in factories in Phillipsburgh and Craigville for American troops by Henry Wisner and his son-in-law Moses Phillips.

Geography

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.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 27,426. The ethnic makeup of the population was 57.8% white (non-Hispanic), 22.5% Hispanic, 16.0% African-American, 3.2% Asian, and 0.5% Native American.

As of the census 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.

Government

The current supervisor of the Town of Wallkill is Dan Depew, the four councilman are Mark Coyne, Eric Valentin, Neal Meyer, and Eric Johnson

Police department

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.

The Department consists of six sergeants, 4 detectives, and 19 patrol officers.

Fire departments

Wallkill is divided into six fire districts: the Circleville, Howells, Mechanicstown, Silver Lake, Pocatello, and Washington Heights Fire Districts and Bloomingburgh

Retail

The town was the site of the first Lloyd's Supercenter. It is home to many retail stores, shopping centers and restaurants, many of which are located along Route 211, in a suburban pattern related to highway development. Both the Galleria at Crystal Run and a Super Wal-Mart are located in the town. (The latter replaced Orange Plaza, the first mall constructed in the area.)

Orange County Fair

The Town of Wallkill is home to the Orange County Fair each summer.

Town of Wallkill Golf Club

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 Festival

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. Ultimately the Woodstock festival was held instead in Bethel NY, 40 miles northwest of Wallkill...

Communities and locations in the Town of Wallkill