Walden, New York
Encyclopedia
Walden is the largest of three villages of the Town of Montgomery
in Orange County
, New York
, United States
. The population was 6,978 at the 2010 census. It has the ZIP Code
12586 and the 778 telephone exchange
within the 845
area code. Walden 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 Area
.
The village began in the early 18th century as a mill town along the Wallkill River
. One miller, Jacob Walden, was so successful the village that incorporated in the mid-19th century took its name from him. Later on, it would be the three separate knife manufacturers based in the village that brought it growth and prosperity. They are gone today, but other industrial concerns remain. Walden is best known in the Hudson Valley
as the home of the Thruway Markets hypermarket
complex.
The area around present-day Walden was purchased in 1736 by Alexander Kidd, and settler
s of Scots-Irish, English
and German descent started arriving not long afterwards. It was the first settlement west of the Wallkill River, known at the time as Kidd's Town.
In the 1820s, a successful New York
shipper named Jacob Walden convinced some of his business partners to finance the construction of wool
en mills on the river, attracted by the Great Falls as a source of power and the railroad connections at nearby Maybrook
. He dammed the Wallkill above the falls, creating a power station that remains in use today, and his mill was a success.
Other wool-makers followed as the Industrial Revolution
picked up steam and the growing population center became known instead as Walden's Mills. Most of them failed a few decades later, but their influence was such that the village incorporated in 1855 as Walden.
The village fathers needed to replace the mills as a source of employment, and began encouraging knife
manufacturers to relocate from nearby Dutchess County
to the vacant buildings, where the New York Knife Company made much of the cutlery employed by the Union Army
during the U.S. Civil War.
After the war, other knifemakers came to Walden, too, and the village became colloquially known as Knifetown. Other industrial concerns, making products as diverse as engines and women's underwear
, also set up shop.
In the early 1890s, President Grover Cleveland
lowered tariff
s on many imported goods, including knives. Competitively priced German cutlery began to flood the American market, and together with the Panic of 1893
and the economic slowdown that followed for several years, the knife companies and their owners went heavily into debt
and it looked for a while as if they might not survive.
But in 1897 President
William McKinley
, a personal friend of Thomas Wilson Bradley of the U.S. Knife Company, pushed through the Dingley Tariff that restored the status quo ante
. The knifemakers returned to profitability and were able to pay off their debts; and in gratitude Bradley had a statue of McKinley erected that remains in Walden today.
In the 1910s the facilities at the dam began to be primarily used for power and less for industry.
Walden's Main Street was the site of an active retail trade which included Millspaugh's Furniture as well as Roosa's Jewelers, both still in business. Lustig's Department Store, established by Carl Lustig in 1883, was the mainstay of Main Street until its closing in 1986.
In the late 1920s, one of the largest Ku Klux Klan
gatherings outside the South
in that era took place outside Walden.
The Depression
was hard on many of the village's economic concerns, but the knife makers persisted. However, after World War II
they gradually became less prominent and moved as the rail connections they had depended on were replaced by trucking
on the growing Interstate Highways. The last company making knives in the village, Imperial Schrade
, closed down its factory after a 1957 fire and moved to nearby Ellenville
afterwards, where it lasted until 2004. The ruins of the factory still stand behind Walden's most visible economic giant, the Thruway Markets hypermarket
.
Today, Walden retains some light industry and much of its working-class feel, enough for the village to have gotten into a spat with WPDH-FM
disc jockey
The Wolf in the late 1990s over his constant joking on- and off-air joking about Walden as a redneck town.
of 2010, there were 6,978 people, 2,473 households, and 1,577 families residing in the village. The population density
was 3,129.6 people per square mile (1,208.1/km²). There were 2,352 housing units at an average density of 1,194.2 per square mile (461.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 78.9% White, 11% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 2.69% from other races
, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.5% of the population.
There were 2,197 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples
living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the village the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $43,507, and the median income for a family was $49,316. Males had a median income of $37,929 versus $25,701 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $18,485. About 5.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Walden is located at 41°33′41"N 74°11′22"W (41.561268, -74.189442). According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 2 square miles (5.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (3.90%) is water.
The village's most notable geographical feature is the Wallkill River
, which flows from the south to the north across the village and divides one-third of it from the rest. Within the eastern portion, Tin Brook
, the Wallkill's major right tributary
in New York, meanders across as well, forming part of the northern village boundary. There are two waterfall
s and dam
s on the river within the village limits, known as the Great and Little Falls; and two auto bridges, the Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge
(known colloquially as the High Bridge, which carries NY 52
, known in the village as West Main Street) and Low
(Oak Street) bridges).
The Wallkill goes through a small gorge
between the two dams and loses approximately 60 feet (18 m) of elevation in the process. The surrounding topography in the village is correspondingly gentle rolling hills of this section of the Great Appalachian Valley
between the higher rises of the Shawangunk Ridge
, visible to the west from some sections of the village, and the Hudson Highlands
to the southwest. The highest elevation is roughly 520 feet (158 m) above sea level along Overlook Road at the village's western boundary; the lowest is 260 feet (79 m) along the Wallkill at the northern village line.
Walden's growth began near the mills and later the knife-making plants, particular the New York Knife Company, located on the steep east bank of the river just south of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (footings can still be seen on the slope today). The central business district of the village is today a few blocks to the east, along Main Street. Just to its south is the village hall
and the main square. East Main Street, the section of 52 from the 208 junction to the village line, has seen many newer businesses locate there, including a small strip mall. There is also some scattered commercial presence along Orange Avenue (208 south of the junction), primarily professional office space. This parallels the village's remaining industrial presence along the railroad line to the east, which at its northern terminus abuts downtown to the southeast. Walden's other major commercial area is the Thruway Markets complex located along the river north of Oak Street, just south of the remains of the Walden Knife Company.
There are two schools, public Walden Elementary School
on Orchard Street and Catholic
Most Precious Blood
near the northern village line along Ulster Avenue.
The village offers public parks and a walking trail.
Much of the remainder of the village is residential, with houses tending from modest and small near downtown, the river and railroad, to more expansive homes (such as the Victorians along the west side of Ulster Avenue) being found on the hills, newer development near the southwestern and eastern borders with the town, and 6 small apartment and townhouse complexes.
A large tract along the river south of the power station had remained undeveloped until very recently. A small area between McKinley Avenue, South Mountgomery Street and the river remains open, used for NYSEG's purposes. On the other end of the village, the sewage treatment plant is also in the middle of an undeveloped area.
. When the Newburgh Hummingbirds were kicked out of Delano-Hitch Stadium
for non-payment of rent just two weeks into the 1946 season, the franchise shifted to a baseball diamond in Bradley Park, which hurriedly put up some makeshift stands. Walden's new team drew nearly 1,000 fans for their opening game on June 10, 1946 – an impressive feat for a town of just 4,000 – but it was all downhill from there. The Hummingbirds soon dropped deep into last place, finishing with a dismal 23-89 record. Total attendance for the season was just 10,051, less than 200 per game. The Hummingbirds folded, and today the Bradley Park baseball diamond is used by Little League and amateur teams.
, 12 miles (19.3 km) in the former direction and Pine Bush
, the Shawangunks
and the Catskills
in the latter. NY 208
crosses from north to south, with the nearest settlements in each direction being Wallkill
and Maybrook
, respectively. The two share
a brief block in the center of town. Most traffic from outside the area comes in via Route 208 from the south due to its exit on Interstate 84
about five miles (9 km) south of the village, as well as its intersection with paralleling NY 17K
at Scotts Corners three miles (5 km) to the south.
County routes 23 (River Road) and 75 (Coldenham Road) connect to 17K at Montgomery
to the southwest and the hamlet of Coldenham to the southeast, respectively.
The remaining spur of the old Wallkill Valley Railroad, now operated by Norfolk Southern, serves several businesses in the village and ends just short of East Main Street. There have been suggestions that commuter rail service via the Metro-North
Port Jervis Line
, where the spur connects at Campbell Hall
, currently the nearest passenger rail station, be initiated. Metro-North rail service directly into New York City is available just across the Hudson River
from Newburgh at Beacon
and other stations on the Hudson Line
. Amtrak
stops at Poughkeepsie
, the Hudson Line's northern terminus. The nearest airport to Walden, Orange County Airport
, is a general aviation
facility just south of Montgomery. Commercial airlines, both freight and passenger, fly out of Stewart International Airport
.
concerns remain along the rail spur. The growing service sector
is most strongly represented by two regional banks, Walden Federal and Walden Savings Bank, are based in the village (though the latter has moved to new headquarters at Scotts Corners, the 17K/208 intersection).
Retailing
has long been a strong point for the village. The opening of Thruway Markets in 1955 filled the need not only for a supermarket
but the entire big box
sector, long before it existed in the country at large. While it eventually drove smaller stores from Main Street, it remains a substantial part of the village's tax base and a major draw for consumers from outside not only Walden but the Town of Montgomery (particularly the nearby hamlet of Wallkill, which has no large retailers of its own), despite the openings of chain supermarkets in several nearby communities. Thruway is part of a strip-mall complex that also boasts an outdoor-recreation store, tire-repair shop and the oldest of the village's Three Chinese
restaurants.
While vacant space remains on Main Street, specialty stores and restaurants have managed to thrive there. Millspaugh Furniture, founded in Walden (but with another outlet in Poughkeepsie
), is another popular draw for out-of-town shoppers due to its long history in the area and reputation for quality merchandise. National and regional chain stores once had little presence in Walden beyond two gas stations along the 52/208 section of Main Street, but in the last decade the amount of convenience store
s has doubled with the addition of a Stewart's
along East Main Street, and fast-food
chains
Subway
and Dunkin' Donuts
have found space nearby.
Outside of jobs at the enterprises in the village, most residents work in the area. The nearby interstate and its associated "Golden Triangle" (with the New York State Thruway
/I-87
and NY 17
(the future I-86
) provide many jobs in transportation and distribution
, particularly at Maybrook's Yellow Freight facility and the large Staples warehouse
just north of I-84. Local government agencies, and some state ones such as the Department of Correctional Services
, also employ residents. More recently, residents of the newer housing have been commuters
traveling to jobs in New York City
or other areas close to it.
The village has seven elected officials, a village board consisting of the mayor
and six nonpartisan trustees, per the New York State Village Law. Most of the executive functions are handled by the village manager
, who serves at the board's pleasure.
Walden has had this system of government since 1964. A 1972 referendum
to return to a strong-mayor
system was defeated.
The village has its own police
force, which provides 24-hour protection for residents; a public works department which maintains roads, water and sewer
lines; a skate park in Bradley Park which was built in Fall 2006 due to the ongoing complaints from older residents about all the skateboarders, a recreation department which maintains several parks within the village, including one with a pond in which swimming is permitted; and a village court
presided over by an elected justice. Fire protection is provided for the village and surrounding fire district by the Walden Fire Department.
The Village hall, pictured left, housed both the Walden Fire Department and Police Station until 1994 when the Fire District moved to a newly constructed firehouse at 230 Old Orange Avenue, near the edge of the village. Since then, the Police station on the ground floor has grown from a tiny office and a few cells to nearly encompassing the entire ground floor. Fire Department Meeting rooms on the second story have been converted since then to a children's section of the local Josephine-Louise Library.
Montgomery (town), New York
Montgomery is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 20,891 at the 2000 census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec....
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 6,978 at the 2010 census. It has the ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
12586 and the 778 telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
within the 845
Area code 845
Area code 845 is a telephone area code which serves the Hudson Valley counties of Rockland, Putnam, Orange, most of Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan, plus parts of Delaware, Greene, and Columbia counties...
area code. Walden is part of the Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
–Newburgh
Newburgh (city), New York
Newburgh is a city located in Orange County, New York, United States, north of New York City, and south of Albany, on the Hudson River. Newburgh is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. The Newburgh area was...
–Middletown
Middletown, Orange County, New York
Middletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...
, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area
The Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in New York's Hudson Valley, with the cities of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Middletown, and the Arlington census-designated place as...
as well as the larger New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
–Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
–Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, NY-NJ
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
-CT
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
-PA
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Combined Statistical Area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
.
The village began in the early 18th century as a mill town along the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
. One miller, Jacob Walden, was so successful the village that incorporated in the mid-19th century took its name from him. Later on, it would be the three separate knife manufacturers based in the village that brought it growth and prosperity. They are gone today, but other industrial concerns remain. Walden is best known in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
as the home of the Thruway Markets hypermarket
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
complex.
History
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s of Scots-Irish, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and German descent started arriving not long afterwards. It was the first settlement west of the Wallkill River, known at the time as Kidd's Town.
In the 1820s, a successful New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
shipper named Jacob Walden convinced some of his business partners to finance the construction of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
en mills on the river, attracted by the Great Falls as a source of power and the railroad connections at nearby Maybrook
Maybrook, New York
Maybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,084 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...
. He dammed the Wallkill above the falls, creating a power station that remains in use today, and his mill was a success.
Other wool-makers followed as the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
picked up steam and the growing population center became known instead as Walden's Mills. Most of them failed a few decades later, but their influence was such that the village incorporated in 1855 as Walden.
The village fathers needed to replace the mills as a source of employment, and began encouraging knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
manufacturers to relocate from nearby Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
to the vacant buildings, where the New York Knife Company made much of the cutlery employed by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the U.S. Civil War.
After the war, other knifemakers came to Walden, too, and the village became colloquially known as Knifetown. Other industrial concerns, making products as diverse as engines and women's underwear
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
, also set up shop.
In the early 1890s, President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
lowered tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s on many imported goods, including knives. Competitively priced German cutlery began to flood the American market, and together with the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
and the economic slowdown that followed for several years, the knife companies and their owners went heavily into debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
and it looked for a while as if they might not survive.
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, a personal friend of Thomas Wilson Bradley of the U.S. Knife Company, pushed through the Dingley Tariff that restored the status quo ante
Status quo ante bellum
The term status quo ante bellum is Latin, meaning literally "the state in which things were before the war".The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses...
. The knifemakers returned to profitability and were able to pay off their debts; and in gratitude Bradley had a statue of McKinley erected that remains in Walden today.
In the 1910s the facilities at the dam began to be primarily used for power and less for industry.
Walden's Main Street was the site of an active retail trade which included Millspaugh's Furniture as well as Roosa's Jewelers, both still in business. Lustig's Department Store, established by Carl Lustig in 1883, was the mainstay of Main Street until its closing in 1986.
In the late 1920s, one of the largest Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
gatherings outside the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
in that era took place outside Walden.
The Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
was hard on many of the village's economic concerns, but the knife makers persisted. However, after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
they gradually became less prominent and moved as the rail connections they had depended on were replaced by trucking
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
on the growing Interstate Highways. The last company making knives in the village, Imperial Schrade
Imperial Schrade
Imperial Schrade Corp. was an American knife manufacturer of hunting knives and pocketknives. Existing in various forms, the company was the eventual consolidation of the Schrade Cutlery Company, founded in 1904, and the Imperial Knife Company, founded 1916. In 2004 the company stopped making...
, closed down its factory after a 1957 fire and moved to nearby Ellenville
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. The postal ZIP code is 12428. The telephone exchange is predominantly 647 and an overlaid 210 in the 845 area code.- Geography :...
afterwards, where it lasted until 2004. The ruins of the factory still stand behind Walden's most visible economic giant, the Thruway Markets hypermarket
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
.
Today, Walden retains some light industry and much of its working-class feel, enough for the village to have gotten into a spat with WPDH-FM
WPDH
WPDH is a mainstream rock radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York, and serving from extreme Northern New Jersey to New York's Hudson Valley and Catskills. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts on 101.5 MHz at 4.4 kilowatts ERP from a tower site on Illinois Mountain in...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
The Wolf in the late 1990s over his constant joking on- and off-air joking about Walden as a redneck town.
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 2010, there were 6,978 people, 2,473 households, and 1,577 families residing in the village. 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 3,129.6 people per square mile (1,208.1/km²). There were 2,352 housing units at an average density of 1,194.2 per square mile (461.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 78.9% White, 11% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 2.69% 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 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.5% of the population.
There were 2,197 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% 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, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the village the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $43,507, and the median income for a family was $49,316. Males had a median income of $37,929 versus $25,701 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 village was $18,485. About 5.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Geography
United 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 village has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 2 square miles (5.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (3.90%) is water.
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
, which flows from the south to the north across the village and divides one-third of it from the rest. Within the eastern portion, Tin Brook
Tin Brook
Tin Brook is an tributary of the Wallkill River almost entirely located in the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. Near its mouth it flows through the village of Walden...
, the Wallkill's major right tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
in New York, meanders across as well, forming part of the northern village boundary. There are two waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s and dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s on the river within the village limits, known as the Great and Little Falls; and two auto bridges, the Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge
Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge
The Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge, sometimes referred as the Walden High Bridge, from its predecessor, carries NY 52 over the Wallkill River in the Orange County village of Walden, New York, USA...
(known colloquially as the High Bridge, which carries NY 52
New York State Route 52
New York State Route 52 is a long state highway in the southeastern part of New York in the United States. It generally runs from west to east, beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Delaware River near Narrowsburg, crossing the Hudson River on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and ending...
, known in the village as West Main Street) and Low
Walden Low Bridge
The Walden Low Bridge is the downstream of the two bridges over the Wallkill River in Walden, New York, USA. It gets its name from being lower to the river than the Walden High Bridge a short distance upstream...
(Oak Street) bridges).
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
between the two dams and loses approximately 60 feet (18 m) of elevation in the process. The surrounding topography in the village is correspondingly gentle rolling hills of this section of the Great Appalachian Valley
Great Appalachian Valley
The Great Valley, also called the Great Appalachian Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough — a chain of valley lowlands — and the central feature of the Appalachian Mountain system...
between the higher rises of the Shawangunk Ridge
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
, visible to the west from some sections of the village, and the Hudson Highlands
Hudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
to the southwest. The highest elevation is roughly 520 feet (158 m) above sea level along Overlook Road at the village's western boundary; the lowest is 260 feet (79 m) along the Wallkill at the northern village line.
Walden's growth began near the mills and later the knife-making plants, particular the New York Knife Company, located on the steep east bank of the river just south of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (footings can still be seen on the slope today). The central business district of the village is today a few blocks to the east, along Main Street. Just to its south is the village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
and the main square. East Main Street, the section of 52 from the 208 junction to the village line, has seen many newer businesses locate there, including a small strip mall. There is also some scattered commercial presence along Orange Avenue (208 south of the junction), primarily professional office space. This parallels the village's remaining industrial presence along the railroad line to the east, which at its northern terminus abuts downtown to the southeast. Walden's other major commercial area is the Thruway Markets complex located along the river north of Oak Street, just south of the remains of the Walden Knife Company.
There are two schools, public Walden Elementary School
Walden Elementary School
Walden Elementary School educates children from kindergarten through fifth grade in the village of the same name, and adjacent areas of the surrounding Town of Montgomery, in Orange County, New York, United States...
on Orchard Street and Catholic
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
Most Precious Blood
Most Precious Blood
Most Precious Blood is a metalcore band from New York City, formed from the ashes of the band Indecision. They blend the song structures of hardcore with heavy metal, and the band cites Sick of it All, Aphex Twin, The Sisters Of Mercy, and The Obsessed as influences, among others. They were signed...
near the northern village line along Ulster Avenue.
The village offers public parks and a walking trail.
- Bradley Park - Albany Ave, on the high ground between Thruway Market and Ulster Ave (Rte 208), contains 4 baseball & 1 softball field (Home to the Walden Little League), 2 Tennis courts, a playground, and a skateboard park.
- Wooster Grove - East Main St (Rte 52), surrounded by the Tin Brook, offers a large playground, indoor & outdoor basketball courts, a bandstand, an ice rink, and is home the Village of Walden Recreation Dept 'teen center'
- James Olley Park - End of Sherman Ave, offers a man-made beach with public swimming and fishing, a small play ground, picnic grove, un-improved walking trails, and is home to the Village's Summer Recreation Camp
- Alfred Place Park - Alfred Pl., the only park on the 'West Side' offers a small playground and basketball court
- Walden–Wallkill Rail Trail - Beginning at Woosters Grove, once the Wallkill Valley Railroad, now thrives as a 3.22 miles (5.2 km)-long paved walking and biking trail linking the village to the Hamlet of Wallkill in Ulster County.
A large tract along the river south of the power station had remained undeveloped until very recently. A small area between McKinley Avenue, South Mountgomery Street and the river remains open, used for NYSEG's purposes. On the other end of the village, the sewage treatment plant is also in the middle of an undeveloped area.
The Walden Hummingbirds
Bradley Park once hosted a professional baseball team, the Walden Hummingbirds (aka Keen Kutters) of the Class D North Atlantic LeagueNorth Atlantic League
The North Atlantic League was the name of two minor baseball leagues. The first was a Class D affiliated system that operated from 1946 until 1950, and the second was an independent minor league that played from 1995 until 1996...
. When the Newburgh Hummingbirds were kicked out of Delano-Hitch Stadium
Delano-Hitch Stadium
Delano-Hitch Stadium is a stadium in Newburgh, New York; it has a current capacity of 3,100.-Early years:Baseball in Newburgh goes back to the 1860s: the Hudson River club played from 1863–67, compiling a 18-18 record against many of the top teams of the day...
for non-payment of rent just two weeks into the 1946 season, the franchise shifted to a baseball diamond in Bradley Park, which hurriedly put up some makeshift stands. Walden's new team drew nearly 1,000 fans for their opening game on June 10, 1946 – an impressive feat for a town of just 4,000 – but it was all downhill from there. The Hummingbirds soon dropped deep into last place, finishing with a dismal 23-89 record. Total attendance for the season was just 10,051, less than 200 per game. The Hummingbirds folded, and today the Bradley Park baseball diamond is used by Little League and amateur teams.
Transportation
Two state highways and two county roads serve Walden. Route 52 crosses the town from east to west, providing connections to NewburghNewburgh (city), New York
Newburgh is a city located in Orange County, New York, United States, north of New York City, and south of Albany, on the Hudson River. Newburgh is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. The Newburgh area was...
, 12 miles (19.3 km) in the former direction and Pine Bush
Pine Bush, New York
Pine Bush is a hamlet located in the Town of Crawford, and Shawangunk, New York, in Orange/Ulster Counties, New York, U.S., roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of...
, the Shawangunks
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
and the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
in the latter. NY 208
New York State Route 208
New York State Route 208 is a state highway located in southern New York in the United States. The southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 17M in the Orange County village of Monroe...
crosses from north to south, with the nearest settlements in each direction being Wallkill
Wallkill, Ulster County, New York
Wallkill is a hamlet , generally identified as coterminous with ZIP code 12589, telephone exchange 895 in the 845 area code and most of the Wallkill Central School District located mostly in the eastern half of the Town of Shawangunk, Ulster County, New York but partly spilling over into adjacent...
and Maybrook
Maybrook, New York
Maybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,084 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...
, respectively. The two share
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
a brief block in the center of town. Most traffic from outside the area comes in via Route 208 from the south due to its exit on Interstate 84
Interstate 84 in New York
Interstate 84 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the Eastern United States. In New York, I-84 extends from the Pennsylvania state line at Port Jervis to the Connecticut state line east of Brewster...
about five miles (9 km) south of the village, as well as its intersection with paralleling NY 17K
New York State Route 17K
New York State Route 17K is an east–west state highway located within Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with County Route 76 east of Bloomingburg to a junction with U.S. Route 9W midway across the city of Newburgh...
at Scotts Corners three miles (5 km) to the south.
County routes 23 (River Road) and 75 (Coldenham Road) connect to 17K at Montgomery
Montgomery (village), New York
Montgomery is a village located in Orange County, New York, United States, 60 miles northwest of New York City, and 90 miles southwest of Albany. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census...
to the southwest and the hamlet of Coldenham to the southeast, respectively.
The remaining spur of the old Wallkill Valley Railroad, now operated by Norfolk Southern, serves several businesses in the village and ends just short of East Main Street. There have been suggestions that commuter rail service via the Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
Port Jervis Line
Port Jervis Line (Metro-North)
The Metro-North Railroad Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running from Suffern, New York to Port Jervis. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line....
, where the spur connects at Campbell Hall
Campbell Hall (Metro-North station)
The Campbell Hall Metro-North station is located just south of the eponymous hamlet in the town of Hamptonburgh in Orange County, New York. It is served by trains on the Port Jervis Line, which either go west to Port Jervis or south to Hoboken, 65.6 miles away. Travel time to the latter is around...
, currently the nearest passenger rail station, be initiated. Metro-North rail service directly into New York City is available just across the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
from Newburgh at Beacon
Beacon (Metro-North station)
Beacon is a Metro-North Railroad station that serves the residents of Beacon, New York, via the Hudson Line. Trains leave for New York City every hour during off peak hours, and about every 15–25 minutes during rush hour...
and other stations on the Hudson Line
Hudson Line (Metro-North)
Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line is a commuter rail line running north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River. Metro-North service ends at Poughkeepsie, with Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains continuing north to and beyond Albany...
. Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
stops at Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (Metro-North station)
The Poughkeepsie Metro-North Railroad station serves Poughkeepsie, New York and surrounding areas as the north end of the Hudson Line. It is also served by many Amtrak trains, which continue north to Albany and points beyond, and south to New York City's Pennsylvania Station. Trains leave for New...
, the Hudson Line's northern terminus. The nearest airport to Walden, Orange County Airport
Orange County Airport (New York)
New York’s Orange County Airport is an untowered general aviation airport located 1 mile southwest of village of Montgomery, in the Town of Montgomery, New York...
, is a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
facility just south of Montgomery. Commercial airlines, both freight and passenger, fly out of Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport is located in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, New York and over north of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The airport is located in the Town of Newburgh and the Town of New Windsor."." U.S. Census Bureau...
.
Economy
The knife making plants are gone, but other light-industrialLight industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
concerns remain along the rail spur. The growing service sector
Service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. One is the increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. Services account for a higher percentage of US GDP than 20 years ago...
is most strongly represented by two regional banks, Walden Federal and Walden Savings Bank, are based in the village (though the latter has moved to new headquarters at Scotts Corners, the 17K/208 intersection).
Retailing
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
has long been a strong point for the village. The opening of Thruway Markets in 1955 filled the need not only for a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
but the entire big box
Big-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
sector, long before it existed in the country at large. While it eventually drove smaller stores from Main Street, it remains a substantial part of the village's tax base and a major draw for consumers from outside not only Walden but the Town of Montgomery (particularly the nearby hamlet of Wallkill, which has no large retailers of its own), despite the openings of chain supermarkets in several nearby communities. Thruway is part of a strip-mall complex that also boasts an outdoor-recreation store, tire-repair shop and the oldest of the village's Three Chinese
American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by many Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the original Chinese cuisine.-History:...
restaurants.
While vacant space remains on Main Street, specialty stores and restaurants have managed to thrive there. Millspaugh Furniture, founded in Walden (but with another outlet in Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
), is another popular draw for out-of-town shoppers due to its long history in the area and reputation for quality merchandise. National and regional chain stores once had little presence in Walden beyond two gas stations along the 52/208 section of Main Street, but in the last decade the amount of convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
s has doubled with the addition of a Stewart's
Stewart's Shops
Stewart's Shops is a U.S. chain of convenience stores located primarily in eastern Upstate New York and southwestern Vermont.Headquartered in Saratoga Springs, the company is well-established, particularly in the Capital District...
along East Main Street, and fast-food
Fast food restaurant
A fast food restaurant, also known as a Quick Service Restaurant or QSR within the industry itself, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service...
chains
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
and Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts is an international doughnut and coffee retailer founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts; it is now headquartered in Canton...
have found space nearby.
Outside of jobs at the enterprises in the village, most residents work in the area. The nearby interstate and its associated "Golden Triangle" (with the New York State Thruway
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
/I-87
Interstate 87
Interstate 87 is a Interstate Highway located entirely within New York State in the United States of America. I-87 is the longest intrastate Interstate highway in the Interstate Highway System. Its southern end is at the Bronx approaches of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City...
and 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...
(the future I-86
Interstate 86 (east)
Interstate 86 is an Interstate Highway that extends for through northwestern Pennsylvania and southern New York in the United States...
) provide many jobs in transportation and distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
, particularly at Maybrook's Yellow Freight facility and the large Staples warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
just north of I-84. Local government agencies, and some state ones such as the Department of Correctional Services
New York State Department of Correctional Services
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or NYSDOCCS is the agency of New York State responsible for the care, confinement, and rehabilitation of approximately 63,000 inmates at 71 correctional facilities funded by the State of New York. The department employs...
, also employ residents. More recently, residents of the newer housing have been commuters
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
traveling to jobs in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
or other areas close to it.
Government
As a village of the Town of Montgomery, Walden residents are taxpayers and electors in both.The village has seven elected officials, a village board consisting of the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and six nonpartisan trustees, per the New York State Village Law. Most of the executive functions are handled by the village manager
Council-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
, who serves at the board's pleasure.
Walden has had this system of government since 1964. A 1972 referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to return to a strong-mayor
Mayor-council government
The mayor–council government system, sometimes called the mayor–commission government system, is one of the two most common forms of local government for municipalities...
system was defeated.
The village has its own police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force, which provides 24-hour protection for residents; a public works department which maintains roads, water and sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
lines; a skate park in Bradley Park which was built in Fall 2006 due to the ongoing complaints from older residents about all the skateboarders, a recreation department which maintains several parks within the village, including one with a pond in which swimming is permitted; and a village court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
presided over by an elected justice. Fire protection is provided for the village and surrounding fire district by the Walden Fire Department.
The Village hall, pictured left, housed both the Walden Fire Department and Police Station until 1994 when the Fire District moved to a newly constructed firehouse at 230 Old Orange Avenue, near the edge of the village. Since then, the Police station on the ground floor has grown from a tiny office and a few cells to nearly encompassing the entire ground floor. Fire Department Meeting rooms on the second story have been converted since then to a children's section of the local Josephine-Louise Library.