Middletown, New York | |
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   From top, left to right: Skyline of Middletown;O&W Station;Gilman Center | |
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 Interactive map of Middletown | |
| Coordinates:41°27′N74°25′W / 41.450°N 74.417°W /41.450; -74.417 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| County | Orange |
| Incorporation asvillage | May 15, 1848; 177 years ago (1848-05-15) |
| Incorporation as city | October 9, 1888; 137 years ago (1888-10-09)[1] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Mayor | Joseph M. DeStefano (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.33 sq mi (13.81 km2) |
| • Land | 5.31 sq mi (13.74 km2) |
| • Water | 0.027 sq mi (0.07 km2) |
| Elevation | 520 ft (160 m) |
| Highest elevation (North boundary along Kennedy Terrace) | 740 ft (230 m) |
| Lowest elevation (Unnamed tributary of Monhagen Brook along south boundary) | 460 ft (140 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 30,345 |
| • Density | 5,719.5/sq mi (2,208.31/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 10940 |
| Area codes | 845 |
| FIPS code | 36-47042 |
| Wikimedia Commons | Middletown, New York |
| Website | www |
Middletown is the largestcity inOrange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York'sHudson Valley region, near theWallkill River and the foothills of theShawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated betweenPort Jervis andNewburgh, New York. At the2020 United States census, the city's population was 30,345, reflecting an increase of 2,259 from the 28,086 counted in the2010 census. TheZIP Code is 10940. Middletown falls within theKiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which belongs to the largerNew York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area.[3]
Middletown was incorporated as a city in 1888. It grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a stop on several lower New York State railroads, attracting several small manufacturing businesses. SUNY Orange, theTimes-Herald Record, U.S. Postal Service, County of Orange,Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine,Orange & Rockland Utilities, and the City of Middletown are major employers in Middletown. Many residents also work at theGalleria at Crystal Run, Walmart, Media Communications Corp, andGarnet Health in the nearby Town of Wallkill.
John Green purchased land from the DeLancey patent and probably settled the area around 1744. Due to its location between other settlements, residents adopted the name of Middletown, changing it later to South Middletown to avoid confusion with a nearby location. Eventually they dropped the word "south", using the current name when the community became a village in 1848. The village was incorporated as a city in 1888.
TheFirst Congregational Church of Middletown, established in 1785, has the highest spire downtown. Construction of its first building was a sign of Middletown becoming established as a village.[4] Its current church building was constructed in 1872.
Middletown grew through the 19th century, stimulated by construction of theErie Railroad and theNew York, Ontario and Western Railway[5] (among others). The city was industrialized, developing factories for various industries, such as shoes, lawnmower blades, and furniture. These did well through the World War II era.
TheWebb Horton mansion and adjoining 18 acres were donated to establishOrange County Community College in 1950.[6]
Due to industrial restructuring, most of the old manufacturing businesses had closed by the 1960s. In 1968, Middletown annexed the adjacent Village of Amchir.[7] In the 1970s, the economy of Middletown and surrounding communities suffered additional blows due to the closing of a largeFord Motor Company plant inMahwah, New Jersey, and the downsizing ofIBM operations in the area.
Responding to higher housing costs in New York City, from the 1970s, New York City police officers, firefighters and other workers began to move to the area, as local housing offered better value. These commuters, who drove two hours each way, helped to bolster the economy of the area. After 1986, however, New York City required its municipal employees to reside in the city,[8] and Middletown lost this source of residential development. The only railroad left in town is theMiddletown and New Jersey Railway, a freight line. The population has continued to grow into the 21st century, while the economy has shifted largely to service and retail, with a regional medical center a major employer in the area.
The downtown business district of Middletown suffered from suburbanization that drew off retail businesses. The "Miracle Mile" shopping strip and Lloyd's Supermarket were developed in the late 1960s and two later shopping malls, all located in nearby Town of Wallkill alongRoute 211, near the intersection ofRoute 17 andInterstate 84. The Orange Plaza mall in the Town of Wallkill drew several of the downtown shops into it by the mid-1970s, weakening the City of Middletown's downtown. Also in the Town of Wallkill, theGalleria at Crystal Run opened in the early 1990s, and in 2001 the Shoppes at Orange Plaza replaced the Orange Plaza mall. Some of the buildings downtown are abandoned or underused, but there has long been an active downtown with small business, professional offices, bars and restaurants.
The downtown area has several historic churches. The Middletown City Hall and City Court are located on James Street.[9] Prosperous neighborhoods include Presidential Heights. Highland Avenue is lined with large Victorian houses, some of the largest of which are now used as nursing homes. Other neighborhoods show the effects of loss of jobs and decline in the economy. The surrounding countryside was devoted partly to small dairy farms, but family farming has waned since the 1980s.
Middletown is the main business address for the newspaperTimes Herald-Record and its owner,Local Media Group.[10]Mediacom Communications Corp, a cable and other pay TV company, is headquartered outside the city in theTown of Wallkill. It is also a manufacturing location forBell Flavors & Fragrances.[11]
The downtown area, particularly North and Main streets, has a variety of ethnic eateries and various small boutiques and thrift shops. Several churches are located in the neighborhood. The city has the single-screen, 1,100-seatParamount Theatre, which also offers stage shows and concerts, a local arts council, a bowling alley,WALL andWOSR radio stations, Thrall Library and the Van Duzer Historical Society museum downtown.[citation needed]
Civic organizations includeBoy Scouts of America andGirl Scouts of the USA chapters, as well asLions Club,Elks Club,Kiwanis andRotary Club. The Rotary Club runs aHorse Show at Fancher Davidge Park each fall. Middletown is the site of theOrange County Fair each summer and theOrange County Fair Speedway.Highland Lakes State Park is the nearest state park. Good choices for hiking, biking and country drives are nearby.
Shopping in the area includes theGalleria at Crystal Run, a mall just east of Middletown, and a long retail strip along Route 211 on the east side of town.
Middletown'sHillside Cemetery was designed by the British architect and landscape designerCalvert Vaux, who worked withFrederick Law Olmsted to designCentral Park in New York City. The J. W. Chorley Elementary School, designed by the American architectPaul Rudolph, was built in the 1960s and demolished in 2013.[12]
Health care services are provided at Garnet Health Medical Center (formerly Orange Regional Medical Center), a hospital located in the town of Walkill.[13] ORMC was completed in 2011, merging the faculties of the former Horton Medical Center and Arden Hill Hospital. It is a major employer in the region.[14]
Middletown is located at41°27′N74°25′W / 41.450°N 74.417°W /41.450; -74.417 (41.4458, -74.4221)[15] inOrange County. The city is nearly surrounded by the town of Wallkill, except for its southernmost section, which is in the town ofWawayanda.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.3 km2), of which 5.1 square miles (13.3 km2) is land and 0.19% is water. The city is drained by Monhagen Brook and theWallkill River.
| Climate data for Middletown, Orange County, New York, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–2011 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 66 (19) | 73 (23) | 85 (29) | 92 (33) | 95 (35) | 97 (36) | 102 (39) | 97 (36) | 100 (38) | 88 (31) | 78 (26) | 71 (22) | 102 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 54.5 (12.5) | 56.6 (13.7) | 67.6 (19.8) | 81.0 (27.2) | 85.6 (29.8) | 89.4 (31.9) | 92.2 (33.4) | 90.4 (32.4) | 86.1 (30.1) | 77.8 (25.4) | 68.8 (20.4) | 56.5 (13.6) | 93.7 (34.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.1 (1.2) | 37.4 (3.0) | 46.8 (8.2) | 59.6 (15.3) | 70.2 (21.2) | 78.0 (25.6) | 82.4 (28.0) | 80.6 (27.0) | 73.4 (23.0) | 62.3 (16.8) | 50.0 (10.0) | 38.7 (3.7) | 59.5 (15.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 26.0 (−3.3) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 36.2 (2.3) | 48.5 (9.2) | 59.3 (15.2) | 67.6 (19.8) | 72.3 (22.4) | 70.5 (21.4) | 63.4 (17.4) | 52.5 (11.4) | 41.4 (5.2) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 49.7 (9.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.8 (−7.9) | 18.0 (−7.8) | 25.6 (−3.6) | 37.5 (3.1) | 48.4 (9.1) | 57.3 (14.1) | 62.2 (16.8) | 60.4 (15.8) | 53.3 (11.8) | 42.6 (5.9) | 32.8 (0.4) | 24.1 (−4.4) | 40.0 (4.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −0.4 (−18.0) | 2.2 (−16.6) | 9.1 (−12.7) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 26.5 (−3.1) | 45.9 (7.7) | 52.5 (11.4) | 50.2 (10.1) | 40.3 (4.6) | 29.6 (−1.3) | 19.9 (−6.7) | 7.7 (−13.5) | −3.0 (−19.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) | −18 (−28) | −7 (−22) | 13 (−11) | 25 (−4) | 38 (3) | 38 (3) | 41 (5) | 27 (−3) | 14 (−10) | 10 (−12) | −21 (−29) | −23 (−31) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.59 (66) | 2.09 (53) | 3.02 (77) | 4.03 (102) | 3.80 (97) | 4.62 (117) | 4.19 (106) | 4.49 (114) | 4.27 (108) | 4.55 (116) | 3.21 (82) | 3.54 (90) | 44.40 (1,128) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 8.9 | 6.2 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 104.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA[16] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 (mean maxima/minima 1981–2010)[17] | |||||||||||||
Middletown can be reached from New York City by bus and is located near the intersection ofInterstate 84 andNY 17 (the future Interstate 86). State routes17M and211 run right through the city, andUS 6 parallels I-84 to the south.
TheMiddletown-Town of Wallkill station onMetro-North Railroad'sPort Jervis line is located nearby, in the Town of Wallkill, and provides rail service toPort Jervis, other communities in Orange and Rockland Counties and Bergen County, New Jersey,Hoboken and New York City viaa transfer atSecaucus, New Jersey.
Randall Airport is about 4 miles (6.4 km) from the center of Middletown. (ID: 06N)
Middletown has a bus service,Middletown Transit, with four routes that connect at the bus station, located on Railroad Avenue, where passengers can connect toCoach USA andShort Line bus service.[18] There is also a"Main Line" bus connecting to surrounding Orange County villages[19] and another route connecting to areas such as Newburgh and Woodbury.[20]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 6,049 | — | |
| 1880 | 8,494 | 40.4% | |
| 1890 | 11,977 | 41.0% | |
| 1900 | 14,522 | 21.2% | |
| 1910 | 15,313 | 5.4% | |
| 1920 | 18,420 | 20.3% | |
| 1930 | 21,276 | 15.5% | |
| 1940 | 21,908 | 3.0% | |
| 1950 | 22,586 | 3.1% | |
| 1960 | 23,475 | 3.9% | |
| 1970 | 22,607 | −3.7% | |
| 1980 | 21,454 | −5.1% | |
| 1990 | 24,160 | 12.6% | |
| 2000 | 25,388 | 5.1% | |
| 2010 | 28,086 | 10.6% | |
| 2020 | 30,345 | 8.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[21] | |||
At the 2010census, the population of Middletown was 28,086. The ethnic make-up was 39.7% Hispanic, 36.6% white (exclusive of Hispanics), 21.0% African-American, 1.9% Asian and 0.8% Native American.[22]
At the 2000 census,[23] there were 25,388 people, 9,466 households and 5,963 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 4,939.5 per square mile (1,907.2/km2). There were 10,124 housing units at an average density of 1,969.7 per square mile (760.5/km2). The racial make-up of the city was 68.68%White, 15.13%African American, 0.75%Native American, 1.69%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 9.33% fromother races and 4.40% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 25.11% of the population. 34.0% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% weremarried 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.
27.8% of the population were 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% 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. Themedian household income was $39,570 and the median family income was $47,760. Males had a median income of $35,990 and females $28,429. Theper capita income was $18,947. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Middletown is governed by a mayor and a city council known as the common council. It consists of nine members: an alderman-at-large, who acts as president of the council, and eight members elected from wards. Each of the city's four wards elects two members.[24] The mayor and the president of the common council are each electedat-large for four-year terms. The other council members have two-year terms. Terms of office begin on January 1.
A fire chief and three assistants are elected every three years by members of the city's engine companies. A corporation counsel, commissioners of public works and of assessment and taxation, a city clerk, registrar and a treasurer and any other officers required are appointed annually by the mayor and confirmed by the common council.[25]
Middletown has threeelementary schools covering grade levels fromkindergarten to fifth grade. Both Truman Moon Elementary School and John W. Chorley Elementary School have made way for Presidential Park Elementary School, the district's newest school, built in 2014. William A. Carter Elementary and Maple Hill Elementary are the district's two other elementary schools. In 2005, the Middletown School District implemented a full day kindergarten program at the request of the Middletown voters. Twomiddle schools in the district,Twin Towers Middle School andMonhagen Middle School, collect the students from the elementary schools.Middletown High School is the only building for high school and includes grades nine to twelve. There is also a Catholic elementary school, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
SUNY Orange, previously known as Orange County Community College, is located in Middletown. Its campus includes the historicWebb Horton House (pictured), more commonly known as Morrison Hall. It also has a campus in Newburgh, and three satellite campuses, but the majority of buildings and students are in Middletown. More than 6100 students attend SUNY Orange. In addition to credit classes, there are a wide variety of classes for lifelong learning.Adelphi University offers a Hudson Valley Center located on the SUNY Orange campus.[26]
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine opened a Middletown Campus, in 2014, located in the former Horton Hospital.[27][28]
The following communities and places are all located adjacent to, or within a few miles of Middletown:[29]
TheTimes Herald-Record, a daily newspaper, is the result of a merger of several newspapers. Its antecedent newspapers date back to the 1850s.[30]
WALL radio (Classic hits format), 1340 AM, has been on-the-air since 1942.[citation needed] WOSR, 91.7 FM, is a repeater of theNPR affiliateWAMC.[31]
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Municipalities and communities ofOrange County, New York,United States | ||
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