Orange County, New York

Orange County, New York
Seal of Orange County, New York
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Orange County
Location in the state of New York
Map of the U.S. highlighting New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded 1683
Seat Goshen
Largest city Newburgh
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
839 sq mi (2,173 km²)
816 sq mi (2,113 km²)
22 sq mi (57 km²), 2.72%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
341,367
417/sq mi (161/km²)
Website www.orangecountygov.com

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. Its name is in honor of William III of Orange, who was greatly esteemed by the original settlers of the region. As of the 2000 census, the population was 341,367. The County Executive is Ed Diana, and the county seat is Goshen. The center of population of New York is located in Orange County, in Deerpark.[1]

Contents

History

Orange County was one of the first twelve counties established by the Province of New York in 1683. Its boundaries at that time included present-day Rockland County, which split from Orange County in 1798. Due to its small population, the original Orange County was not fully independent and shared government functions with other counties. The first public buildings were erected in Orangetown in 1703, and the first court was established in 1801.

Due to a boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey, the extant of many of the southern towns of the county was not established until the 19th Century.

Notable Orange County residents, past and present

Law and government

Originally, like most New York counties, Orange County was governed by a 37 member Board of Supervisors consisting of the 20 town supervisors, 9 city supervisors elected from the 9 wards of the City of Newburgh and four each elected from the wards of the Cities of Middletown and Port Jervis. In 1968, the board adopted a county charter and a reapportionment plan that created the county legislature and executive. The first county executive and legislature were elected in November, 1969 and took office on January 1, 1970. Today, Orange County is still governed by the same charter calling for an elected county executive and a 21 member county legislature elected from 21 single member districts. There are also several state constitutional positions including a Sheriff, County Clerk and District Attorney. Prior to January 1, 2008 four coroners were also elected, however on the aforementioned date, the county switched to a medical examiner system.

The Current County Officers are:

The County Legislature and its previous board of supervisors were long dominated by the Republican Party. However, in past years the Democrats have closed the gap. During 2008 and 2009 the legislature was evenly split between 10 Republicans, 10 Democrats and 1 Independence Party member. In 2009, the legislature had its first Democrat chairman elected when one member of the Republican caucus voted alongside the 10 Democrat members to elect Roxanne Donnery (D)-Highlands/Woodbury to the post. However, at the November 2009 election several Democrat incumbents were defeated. As of the convening of the current legislature on January 1, 2010 there are 13 Republicans, 7 Democrats and 1 Independence member.

Orange County Executives
Name Party Term
Louis V. Mills Republican January 1, 1970 – December 31, 1977
Louis Heimbach Republican January 1, 1978 – December 31, 1989
Mary McPhillips Democrat January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1993
Joseph G. Rampe Republican January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2001
Edward A. Diana Republican January 1, 2002 – present

Geography

Orange County is in southeastern New York State, directly north of the New Jersey-New York border, west of the Hudson River, east of the Delaware River and northwest of New York City. It borders the New York counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester, as well as Passaic and Sussex counties in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Orange County is the only county in New York State which borders both the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.

Orange County is where the Great Valley of the Appalachians finally opens up and ends. The western corner is set off by the Shawangunk Ridge. The area along the Rockland County border (within Harriman and Bear Mountain state parks) and south of Newburgh is part of the Hudson Highlands. The land in between is the valley of the Wallkill River. In the southern portion of the county the Wallkill valley expands into a wide glacial lake bed known as the Black Dirt Region for its fertility.

The highest point is Schunemunk Mountain, at 1,664 feet (507 m)) above sea level. The lowest is sea level along the Hudson.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 839 square miles (2,170 km2), with 816 square miles (2,110 km2) as land and 22 square miles (57 km2) as water.

National protected areas

Adjacent counties

Economy

Transportation

Short Line Bus provides most local and commuter bus service.

The county is served by Stewart International Airport, located two miles west of Newburgh, New York. The airport serves Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Northwest Airlines, and US Airways. AirTran Airways stopped providing service to the airport in late 2008. Ground transportation within Orange County is provided primarily by New Jersey Transit, Short Line Bus, and Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line, as well as amenities such as senior citizen bussing and car services, which usually restrict themselves to their respective town or city.

Demographics

The Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y., designed by Paul Rudolph.

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 341,367 people, 114,788 households, and 84,483 families residing in the county. The population density was 418 people per square mile (161/km²). There were 122,754 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile (58/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.70% White, 8.09% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.51% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.09% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 11.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.3% were of Italian, 17.4% Irish, 10.2% German and 5.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 9.23% reported speaking Spanish at home, 3.29% Yiddish, and 1.20% Italian.[7]

By 2005, census estimates placed Orange County's non-Hispanic white population at 72.4%. African Americans were now 10.2% of the population. Native Americans were at 0.4%, a change that was less than can be measured by the precision of the 2005 estimates being used for these figures. Asians were up to 2.2% of the population. Latinos had however made the largest gain as an increase in their percentage of the population, and now constituted 14.9% of the counties population.[8]

There were 114,788 households out of which 39.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,058, and the median income for a family was $60,355. Males had a median income of $42,363 versus $30,821 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,597. About 7.60% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Despite its rural roots, Orange County is considered to be among the fastest growing suburb/exurb regions of the New York City Metropolitan Area.

Cities and towns

Cities

Villages

Towns

Hamlets

There are many hamlets (unincorporated communities) in Orange County. See the town listings.

Movies/TV Filmed In Orange County

Points of interest

Points of interest in Orange County include the United States Military Academy at West Point; Brotherhood Winery, America's oldest winery, in Washingtonville; the birthplace of William H. Seward in Florida; the home and birthplace of Velveeta and Liederkranz Cheese in Monroe; the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen; the Times Herald-Record newspaper, the first cold press offset daily in the country, in Middletown; the Galleria at Crystal Run, in Wallkill; the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Monroe; and the Orange County Fair in Wallkill. The only state parks include Goosepond Mountain State Park, Harriman State Park and Sterling Forest State Park. It is also the location of Orange County Choppers, the custom motorcycle shop featured on The Learning Channel television series American Chopper.

Middletown
Newburgh
Port Jervis
Florida
Goshen
Maybrook
Monroe
Montgomery
Walden
Warwick
Washingtonville
Woodbury

Sports in Orange County

Orange County Youth Football League (OCYFL)

The Orange County Youth Football League (O.C.Y.F.L.) is a non-profit organization that allows youth age 6 through 14 to play competitive American football. The League encompasses 15 towns with over 100 teams in Orange County and surrounding areas including Chester, Cornwall, Goshen, Highland Falls, Marlboro, Middletown, Minisink Valley, Monticello, Newburgh, New Windsor, Pine Bush, Valley Central, Wallkill, Warwick and Washingtonville.[12] It is composed of 4 Divisions, divided by weight restrictions, and a "Mighty Mite" Flag Football division for 6 & 7 year olds. In each division, there is additionally a complete cheerleading program for each team. There is a comprehensive annual schedule of play within each division for all teams, culminating in a divisional Championship game, often played in Michie Stadium or Shea Stadium at the historic United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt
  2. ↑ "Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site". New York State Parks Department. http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteId=32. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Washingtonville Grads at Oscars
  4. ↑ Scott Pioli Bio
  5. ↑ "Hudson Valley Magazine". http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/February-2010/Making-the-Grade-Examining-the-Valley-rsquos-High-Schools/index.php?cparticle=3&siarticle=2#artanc. 
  6. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  7. ↑ http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=36&county_id=71&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r
  8. ↑ Orange County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
  9. ↑ http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/ENTERTAIN/70409001
  10. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/trivia
  11. ↑ http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080413/BIZ/804130322/-1/NEWS14
  12. ↑ OCYFL

External links

Sullivan County Ulster County Dutchess County
Putnam County
   Orange County, New York    
Pike County, Pennsylvania Sussex County, New Jersey and Passaic County, New Jersey Rockland County
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
CDPs

Balmville | Beaverdam Lake-Salisbury Mills | Firthcliffe | Fort Montgomery | Gardnertown | Mechanicstown | New Windsor | Orange Lake | Pine Bush | Scotchtown | Vails Gate | Walton Park | Washington Heights | West Point
Other
hamlets

Amity | Arden | Bellvale | Bullville | Circleville | Howells | Little Britain | Michigan Corners | Mountain Lodge Park | Mountainville | New Hampton | Pine Island | Ridgebury | Slate Hill | Sugar Loaf | Thompson Ridge | Westbrookville
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