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Orange County, New York
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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–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical 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.
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Encyclopedia
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–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical 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 .
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
- George Washington, 1st President of the United States, leader of the American Revolutionary War
- William Seward, U.S. Secretary of State
- Whoopi Goldberg, Academy Award winning actress
- Paul Teutul, Sr., custom motorcycle builder of Orange County Choppers
- Paul Teutul, Jr., custom motorcycle builder of Orange County Choppers
- Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 U.S. Vice-Presidential Candidate, U.S. Congresswoman
- James Patterson, author
- Spencer Tunick, famed photographer
- Noah Webster
- Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage
- Pierre Lorillard, tobacco magnate
- Tony Gilroy, Academy Award nominated director and writer
- James Mangold, film director
- Armand Assante, actor
- Emily Post, author
- Barry Bostwick, actor
- Cyndi Lauper, used to spend summers in Tuxedo Park
- Greg Anthony, former New York Knicks player
- Tim Hummel, former major league baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds.
- Mike Aviles, baseball player for the Kansas City Royals
- Matt Morris, former baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Joe Nathan, baseball player for the Minnesota Twins
- Scott Pioli, Vice-President of Player Personnel for the New England Patriots
- Rose Thompson Hovick, famous stage mother of Gypsy Rose Lee and June Havoc
- Nathaniel White, serial killer
- Solomon Townsend, industrialist and State Legislator
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:
- County Executive: Edward A. Diana (Republican)
- County Clerk: Donna L. Benson (Republican)
- Sheriff: Carl E. DuBois (Republican)
- District Attorney: Francis D. Phillips (Republican)
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. The current legislature consists of 10 Republicans, 10 Democrats and 1 member of the Independence Party of New York State.
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 M. 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 (2,172 km˛), with 816 square miles (2,114 km˛) as land and 22 square miles (58 km˛) as water.
Adjacent counties
Economy
Transportation
The county is served by Stewart International Airport, located two miles west of Newburgh, New York. The airport serves AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Northwest Airlines, and US Airways. 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
As of the census 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/km˛). There were 122,754 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile (58/km˛). 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.
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.
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
- In and Out: Warwick, NY
- Super Troopers: Parts in Newburgh area
- The Sopranos; Season 6 parts of season 6-b, Episode 1: Warwick and Tuxedo http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/ENTERTAIN/70409001
- Michael Clayton: Blooming Grove and Stewart Airport (New Windsor/Newburgh area) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/trivia
- The Human Footprint: parts filmed in the Hudson Valley region; aired on National Geographic Channel in 2008 http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080413/BIZ/804130322/-1/NEWS14
- American Chopper: Montgomery, NY
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, Galleria at Crystal Run, in Wallkill, the Orange County Fair in Wallkill. The only state parks include Goosepond Mountain State Park, Harriman State Park and Sterling Forest State Park. There is also the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. It is also the location of Orange County Choppers, the custom motorcycle shop featured on The Learning Channel television series American Chopper.
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. 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
External links
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