Monroe (town), New York
Encyclopedia
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Orange County
Orange County, New York
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...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 31,407 at the 2000 census. The town is named after President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
.
The Town of Monroe contains three villages: Monroe
Monroe (village), New York
Monroe is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical...
and Kiryas Joel
Kiryas Joel, New York
Kiryas Joel is a village within the town of Monroe in Orange County, New York, United States...
, as well as the majority of the Village of Harriman
Harriman, New York
Harriman is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, which it shares with the Town of Woodbury
Woodbury, Orange County, New York
Woodbury is a town and village in Orange County, New York, United States. The town population was 9,460 at the 2000 census. The village was incorporated in 2006 and comprises all of the town that is not part of the village of Harriman. The region was once called Woodbury Clove...
. The town is also home to the original Velveeta Cheese factory, now tightly located next to Monroe 6 Cinemas in the village, it stands as a historic landmark as the small building that started the now highly popular "cheese food".
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 21.3 square miles (55.1 km²), of which, 20.1 square miles (52.0 km²) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it (5.55%) is water.
The town is located in the Southern Region of the county, bordered on the northwest by the Town of Chester
Chester (town), New York
Chester is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 12,140 at the 2000 census. The town is named after another city in Great Britain...
, on the north by the Town of Blooming Grove
Blooming Grove, New York
Blooming Grove is a town in Orange County, New York, USA. The population was 17,351 at the 2000 census.The Town of Blooming Grove is in the central part of the county, located southwest of Newburgh.- History :...
, on the east by the Town of Woodbury
Woodbury, Orange County, New York
Woodbury is a town and village in Orange County, New York, United States. The town population was 9,460 at the 2000 census. The village was incorporated in 2006 and comprises all of the town that is not part of the village of Harriman. The region was once called Woodbury Clove...
, on the south by the Town of Tuxedo
Tuxedo, New York
Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,334. The town is in the southeastern part of the county. NY Route 17 and the New York State Thruway pass through the town...
, and on the southwest by the Town of Warwick.
NY-17
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 is a state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States...
(future I-86) combined with U.S. Highway 6 crosses the north part of Montgomery. NY-17M
New York State Route 17M
New York State Route 17M is an east–west state highway in Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from west of the city of Middletown to what is currently the north–south section of NY 17 just southeast of the village of Harriman...
passes through Monroe village.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 31,407 people, 8,228 households, and 6,878 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,563.5 people per square mile (603.6/km²). There were 8,517 housing units at an average density of 424.0 per square mile (163.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.91% White, 1.22% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.25% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 1.15% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.91% of the population. 12.6% were of Italian, 12.4% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 9.2% Hungarian, 6.0% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and 5.6% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 8,228 households out of which 53.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.72 and the average family size was 4.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 41.5% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $50,889, and the median income for a family was $54,315. Males had a median income of $51,125 versus $34,547 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $16,569. About 22.3% of families and 29.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
History
The First Settlers to this land were American Indians from the Lenni-Lenape Indian nation. The Lenni-Lenape nation consisted of three tribes, “The Unulactus, the Turkey tribe, Minsis, the Worlf-Tribe, and the Unamis, the Turtle tribe” (Welcome to Monroe). As white settlers started to move north the Lenni-Lenape nation was forced to move west, out of New York and New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, and later on into central North America, under the Treaty of Easton. The Treaty of Easton was a colonial agreement signed on October 1758. The British colonial government of the Province of Pennsylvania and the Native American tribes in the Ohio Country signed this document stating they would be allies in the French and Indian War.In the early 1700s the lower Hudson Valley region was being mapped out to be divided up under the crown. On March 25, 1707, the “Chessecocks Patent was granted by Queen Anne”. The patent confirmed deeds that had been previously acquired by purchase directly from the Lenni-Lenape Indian Nation. The Patent was given to seven people, six men and one woman” (Welcome to Monroe). “Cheesecocks as a precinct included all of present day Monroe, Woodbury, Tuxedo, and Stony Point (Monroe New York). “Many of the patentees never saw the land they bought or were given”. Many of the new settlers to come with the Cheesecocks Patent were Dutch, and English. Both groups of settlers came from Long Island to this unknown land for its “rich natural resources” (Welcome to Monroe).The town was set off from the precinct of Goshen
Goshen (village), New York
Goshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
in 1764 and named Chesekook. This name continued until 1801, when it was changed to Southfields. On April 6, 1808, it took its present name of Monroe. (Belcher, pp. 68–9)
Quoting from Gen George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's daily journal:
- July 15 [1777]. To Sovereign (Suffern's or Suffren's) Tavern, near the entrance to Smith's Clove [named for the Hon William Smith, one of the original patentees]. On Sunday, July 20, 1777, Washington has moved on northward into the Ramapo Valley and to the place then known as Galloway's, which is now the village of Southfields. (Belcher, p. 81)
So that it would seem as though the town of Monroe started out as simply being called Cheescocks or the Cheesecocks Patent area, which remained largely wild prior to the Revolution.
Then parts of it began to be named after the earliest landowners such as the Smith's Clove area, which was named after William Smith, and then Galloway's, which was named after the settler who erected the log cabin that Washington temporarily called his home.
Then in 1801, the town's name was changed to "Southfields," and then in 1808 the name of "Munroe," which apparently was changed to Monroe in 1818 to honor the President of the same name.
David Smith a resident of Smithtown, Long Island bought land from Philip Livingston. Smith “purchased lot 43, consisting of 276 acres, he built the first home” (Welcome to Monroe), just on the outskirts of town. Smith built a dam and a grist mill, out of the Ramapo River, which created the Mill Pond today. The creation of the mill allowed for several other businesses in the area such as blacksmiths, tinsmiths, harness and carriage makers, as more inhabitants moved to the area.
In 1889, a final division of the town resulted in a loss of territory to the Towns of Woodbury
Woodbury, New York
Woodbury is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:*Woodbury, Nassau County, New York*Woodbury, Orange County, New York...
and Tuxedo
Tuxedo, New York
Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,334. The town is in the southeastern part of the county. NY Route 17 and the New York State Thruway pass through the town...
. In 1894, the community of Monroe set itself apart from the town by incorporating as a village.
Cheeses
The town is the birthplace of VelveetaVelveeta
Velveeta is the brand name of a processed cheese product having a taste that is identified as a type of American cheese with a texture that is softer and smoother. It was first made in 1918 by Swiss immigrant Emil Frey of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese...
and Liederkranz cheese
Liederkranz cheese
Liederkranz is an American re-creation of Limburger cheese, made subtly different by the use of a different bacterial culture for smear-ripening. Liederkranz is a cow's milk cheese, with an edible pale yellow-orange tan crust, and a semisoft, pale interior with a mildly pungent flavor and distinct...
. Each year a cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
festival is held to honor this noble history.http://www.monroecheesefestival.com/index.shtml
Fire of 1895
On the night of March 17, 1895 the Village of Monroe had one of the most disastrous fires in its history, in which the center of the Village was nearly wiped out. “The total losses of real estate were three large business places, three barns, a storehouse, several sheds and smaller buildings valued altogether at $25,000. Personal property, goods-in stock and furniture destroyed were valued at $15,000”. It was said that people from all over took the Erie Railroad to come see the remains of the “Big Fire”. A short time after the fire the Village decided to install a water works system which would be owned by the Village. “On July 24, 1895 the Mombasha Fire Company was organized. The Hook and Ladder Company was organized on October 4, 1895. In 1898 the two Companies consolidated as the Mombasha Fire Company”.Harness Racing
In the early 1900s the Monroe Race Track was established to “increase the towns popularity as both local residents and visitors flocked to the track to watch the horse races and place bets on the trotters”(Welcome to Monroe). The first race was held on August 8, 1908 there was 2,2000 people estimated at the race. The track became a part of the Orange County Harness Racing Circuit which included Endicott, Middletown, Goshen, and Monroe. “The first grandstand was located on the long side of the track, while the second grandstand wasn’t completed until 1910. It was seventy-five feet long and could hold one thousand people”. The Track only lasted nineteen years. “On August 13, 1913 the race track record was set with a time of 2:04¼ minutes for the mile pace on a half mile track. At this time this was also a world record for a pacer”. In 1927 Monroe was dropped by the circuit and was replace by Elmira, New York which had just completed construction of a new 5,000 seat grandstand . The Last purse offered at Monroe Track in 1927 was for $31,000. In 1964 the grandstands of the track were torn down.Communities and locations in the Town of Monroe
- HarrimanHarriman, New YorkHarriman is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
– The Village of Harriman is partly in the town. - Kiryas JoelKiryas Joel, New YorkKiryas Joel is a village within the town of Monroe in Orange County, New York, United States...
– The Village of Kiryas Joel is north of the Village of Monroe, by NY-17. - Marycrest – community bordering the south part of Monroe village.
- Mombasha Lake – A lake by the south town line.
- MonroeMonroe (village), New YorkMonroe is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical...
– The Village of Monroe is located south of NY-17 on highway NH- 17M. - Mountain House – A location by the north town line.
- Newburgh Junction – A hamlet south of Harriman on NY-17.
- Round Lake – A lake in the western part of Monroe, southwest of Monroe village.
- Walton Lake – A lake in the western part of Monroe, south of Round Lake.
- Walton ParkWalton Park, New YorkWalton Park is a census-designated place in Orange County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 2,330.Walton Park is on the town line separating the towns of Chester and Monroe.- Geography :...
– Part of the hamlet of Walton Park.