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Orange County, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Orange County, New York | |
 |
|
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New York |
|
 New York's location in the USA |
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| Statistics | |
| 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.co.orange.ny.us | |
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. At the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area, it 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 seat is Goshen. The center of population of New York is located in Orange County, in Deerpark [1].
Contents |
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.
It is best known as the location of:
- The United States Military Academy at West Point
- Brotherhood Winery, America's oldest winery, in Washingtonville
- The birthplace of William H. Seward in Florida
- Orange County Choppers, the popular custom motorcycle shop featured on The Learning Channel television series American Chopper (it is commonly mistaken that the shop is based in the more well-known Orange County, California)
- Monroe, the home and birthplace of Velveeta Cheese
- 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 Middletown
- The Orange County Fair in Middletown
- Harriman State Park
- Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
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 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 km²), with 816 square miles (2,114 km²) as land and 22 square miles (58 km²) as water.
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, ShortLine, and Metro-North Railroad.
As of the census² 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. 9.23% reported speaking Spanish at home, 3.29% Yiddish, and 1.20% Italian.[2]
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.[1]
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.
- Blooming Grove (town)
- Chester (village)
- Chester (town)
- Cornwall on Hudson (village)
- Cornwall (town)
- Crawford (town)
- Deerpark (town)
- Florida (village)
- Goshen (village)
- Goshen (town)
- Greenville (town)
- Greenwood Lake (village)
- Hamptonburgh (town)
- Harriman (village)
- Highland Falls (village)
- Highlands (town)
- Kiryas Joel (village)
- Maybrook (village)
- Middletown (city)
- Minisink (town)
- Monroe (village)
- Monroe (town)
- Montgomery (village)
- Montgomery (town)
- Mount Hope (town)
- New Hampton (hamlet)
- New Windsor (town)
- Newburgh (town)
- Newburgh (city)
- Otisville (village)
- Port Jervis (city)
- Slate Hill (hamlet)
- Sugar Loaf (village)
- South Blooming Grove (village)
- Tuxedo Park (village)
- Tuxedo (town)
- Unionville (village)
- Walden (village)
- Wallkill (town)
- Warwick (village)
- Warwick (town)
- Washingtonville (village)
- Wawayanda (town)
- Woodbury (town)
- Labels in parentheses refer to official political designation.
| North: Sullivan and Ulster Counties | ||
| West: Sullivan County and Pike County, Pennsylvania | Orange County | East: Hudson River Dutchess and Putnam Counties |
| South: Rockland County Passaic and Sussex Counties in New Jersey |
- Orange County, New York government
- Orange County, New York information and website directory
- Orange County tourism information
- Orange County, New York, Chamber of Commerce
- Orange County at the Open Directory Project
- Early summary history of Orange County
- Wawayanda Democratic Committee
