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New York Counties

There are 62 counties in the State of New York. The first twelve counties in New York were created immediately after the British annexation of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1912, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words, British provinces, cities, and royalty, early American statesmen and generals, and state politicians.

Orange County, New York

Orange County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Goshen
Year Organized: 1683
Square Miles: 816

Court House:

255-275 Main Street
County Government Center
Goshen, NY 10924-1621

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Name in honor of William, Prince of Orange, held in high esteem by the first settlers of the region

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

ORANGE - a county in the S.E. part of New York, has an area of about 770 square miles. It is bounded on the E. by the Hudson river, and on the S. by the State of New Jersey, and is drained by Walkill and Shawangunk rivers, and other smaller streams, which afford valuable water-power. The surface in the S.E. parts is mountainous, and the Shawangunk range passes through the western portion. The other parts of the county are usually, but moderately uneven. The soil is generally fertile, and well adapted to grazing, and the "Orange county butter" is highly esteemed in the New York markets. Indian corn, oats, potatoes, and grass are the staples. In 1850 this county produced 491,074 bushels of corn; 390,834 of oats; 146,331 of potatoes; 96,593 tons of hay, and 3,769,034 pounds of butter. There were 49 flour mills, 36 saw mills, 8 cotton, and 8 woollen factories, 3 iron furnaces, 3 paper mills, 18 tanneries, and 4 oilcloth factories. It contained 67 churches, 9 newspaper offices, 9492 pupils attending public schools, and 912 attending academies or other schools. Iron ore, marble, limestone, and sandstone are abundant. The Hudson river is navigable for ships along the entire eastern border. The Delaware and Hudson canal, and the New York and Erie railroad traverse this county, which is also partly intersected by the Newburg Branch railroad. Seats of justice, Goshen and Newburg. Population, 57,145. page 862 (Baldwin, Thomas and J. Thomas, M.D. New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Grambo, & Co., 1854)

Orange County’s first overnight visitor from Europe was the explorer Henry Hudson, who dropped anchor in Newburgh Bay in 1609. European settlement did not follow immediately, however. The Orange County created on November 1, 1683 included half of today’s Orange County, but also all of present day Rockland County, where there were a small number of settlers. Full History at NYSAC

Geography

Orange County is in southeastern New York State, directly north of the New Jersey-New York border, west of the Hudson River, east of the Delaware River and northwest of New York City. It borders the New York counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester, as well as Passaic and Sussex counties in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Orange County is the only county in New York State which borders both the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.

Orange County is where the Great Valley of the Appalachians finally opens up and ends. The western corner is set off by the Shawangunk Ridge. The area along the Rockland County border (within Harriman and Bear Mountain state parks) and south of Newburgh is part of the Hudson Highlands. The land in between is the valley of the Wallkill River. In the southern portion of the county the Wallkill valley expands into a wide glacial lake bed known as the Black Dirt Region for its fertility.

The highest point is Schunemunk Mountain, at 1,664 feet (507 m) above sea level. The lowest is sea level along the Hudson.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 839 square miles (2,172 km²), with 816 square miles (2,114 km²) as land and 22 square miles (58 km²) as water.

Neighboring Counties:

Dutchess County, NY to the east
Passaic County, NJ to the south
Pike County, PA to the west
Putnam County, NY to the east
Rockland County, NY to the southeast
Sullivan County, NY to the northwest
Sussex County, NJ to the south
Ulster County, NY to the north
Westchester County, NY to the southeast

Cities and Towns:

- Blooming Grove	town
- Chester	village	Incorporated Area
- Cornwall	town
- Cornwall-on-Hudson	village	Incorporated Area
- Crawford	town
- Florida	village	Incorporated Area
- Goshen (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Greenwood Lake	village	Incorporated Area
- Hamptonburgh	town
- Harriman	village	Incorporated Area
- Highland Falls	village	Incorporated Area
- Highlands	town
- Kiryas Joel	village	Incorporated Area
- Maybrook	village	Incorporated Area
- Middletown	city	Incorporated Area
- Minisink	town
- Monroe	village	Incorporated Area
- Montgomery	village	Incorporated Area
- Mount Hope	town
- New Windsor	town
- Newburgh	city	Incorporated Area
- Otisville	village	Incorporated Area
- Port Jervis	city	Incorporated Area
- Tuxedo	town
- Tuxedo Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Unionville	village	Incorporated Area
- Walden	village	Incorporated Area
- Warwick	village	Incorporated Area
- Washingtonville	village	Incorporated Area
- Wawayanda	town

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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