Middletown, Orange County, New York
Middletown is a city in
Orange County,
New York,
USA. The population was 25,388 at the 2000 census. The "downtown" area of Middletown has suffered from the growth of a shopping strip and malls at the Eastern edge of town, near NYS Route 17 and U.S. Route 84. There are a number of abandoned and underutilized buildings downtown, although there is a bar scene and signs of a growing restaurant scene downtown. The downtown area has a number of historic churches, and Highland Avenue has a number of large Victorian houses. Many of these are occupied by medical doctors and their families, with section devoted to the doctor's office, and some of the largest ones are now used as nursing homes. There are some prosperous neighborhoods, such as Presidential Heights, but there are many less prosperous neighborhoods.
Middletown grew up with the Erie Lakawana railroad and attracted a number of employers, such shoe, lawnmower blade and furniture factories, but most of these businesses had closed by the 1960s. The closing of a large Ford plant in Mahwah, NJ, and the downsizing of IBM operations in the area were a blow to the economy of Middletown and surrounding communities in the 1970s. However, quite a few New York City police officers, firefighters and other New York City workers moved up to the area, especially beginning in the 1970s, to purchase houses that were much less expensive than those nearer the city. These long-distance commuters have helped bolster the economy of the area.
There are two malls (the largest is called Galleria at Crystal Run) and a long retail strip along Route 211 East. The city also has movie theaters, a local arts council, bowling alleys and good choices for hiking, biking and country drives nearby. Middletown is also home to the annual
Orange County Fair (in the summer) and the annual Rotary Club Horse Show at Fancher Davidge Park (in the fall).
Orange County Community College is located in Middletown, as is Horton Memorial Hospital and the Middletown Psychiatric Center. The local newspaper is called
The Times Herald-Record. The surrounding countryside is devoted partly to small dairy farms.
Middletown is located at (41.445754, -74.422066).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.3
km² (5.2
mi²). 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.19% is water.
Middletown can be reached from New York City by bus and is located near the intersection of
Interstate 84 and
NY 17 (the future Interstate 86). State routes
17M and
211 run right through the city, and
US 6 parallels I-84 to the south.
The
Middletown-Town of Walkill station on
Metro-North Railroad's
Port Jervis line is located nearby in the Town of Walkill, and provides rail service to Port Jervis, other communities in Orange and Rockland Counties and Bergen County, New Jersey,
Hoboken and New York City via
a transfer at
Secaucus, New Jersey.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 25,388 people, 9,466 households, and 5,963 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,907.1/km² (4,939.5/mi²). There were 10,124 housing units at an average density of 760.5/km² (1,969.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.68%
White, 15.13%
African American, 0.75%
Native American, 1.69%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 9.33% from
other races, and 4.40% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 25.11% of the population.
There were 9,466 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were
married 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.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% 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% who 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.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,570, and the median income for a family was $47,760. Males had a median income of $35,990 versus $28,429 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,947. About 13.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
In the past 10 years the Middletown public school system has moved away from numerous neighborhood schools and combined more students into fewer
Magnet schools. There are four elementary schools, each covering various grade levels from Kindergarten through fifth grade. Maple Hill Elementary is currently housing grades two through five. Truman Moon Elementary is currently Kindergarten and First Grade. Mechanicstown Elementary is grades two through five. Chorley Elementary houses Kindergarten and First grades. In 2005, the Middletown School District implemented a full day Kindergarten program at the request of the Middletown voters. There are two Middle schools in the District, Twin Towers Middle School and Monhagen Middle School. Middletown High School is the only building for High School grades nine through twelve. There are also a number of Catholic schools.
Middletown High School offers many programs in addition to the basic educational classes found in most schools. The Middletown High School has a large and active sports program including Football, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Track and Field, Soccer, Field Hockey, and various other athletic programs, as well as various other after school academic and social programs and activities. The High School also offers a
Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
*
Goshen, the county seat
*
Slate Hill*
Pine Bush*
Circleville*
Otisville*
Port Jervis*
Monroe*
Wawayanda*
Minisink*
Town of Wallkill*
Newburgh*
City of Middletown Homepage*
Data page
