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502 ORANGE COUNTY.
sive business from an early period until within a few years; but at the present time only two fur¬
naces are in operation in the co. The proximity to New York renders the lands of the co. ex¬
ceedingly valuable; and, with proper care, almost any crop adapted to the climate can be success¬
fully and profitably cultivated. Considerable commerce is carried on by means of the Hudson, the
principal export being lumber brought from the West upon the r. r. and trans-shipped at New¬
burgh.
The county is a half-shire, the courts being held respectively at Goshen and Newburgh.1 The
courthouse at Goshen is a brick building, situated upon a fine lot in the E. part of the village. The
jail is a stone building, in rear of the courthouse. The co. clerk’s office is a fireproof brick build¬
ing, upon the street opposite the courthouse. The courthouse at Newburgh is located upon the
high land in the w. part of the village. It is a fine brick building, fronting s. upon Second St.
The Newburgh jail is not connected with the police establishment of the village. The poorhouse
is located upon a farm of 267 acres in Goshen, 3J mi. s. w. of the village. The average number
of inmates is 200, supported at a weekly cost of $1.04 each. The building is of stone, and has
accommodations for 300. A school is taught during the entire year. The accommodations are
reported by the Senate Committee of 1857 as good, and the general management of the institution
as much above the average. The income from the farm is about $2,000. The N. Y. & Erie R. R.
extends through Monroe, Blooming Grove, Chester, Goshen, Wawayanda, Wallkill, Mount Hope,
and Deerpark. The Newburgh branch of this road extends s. w. from Newburgh, through New
Windsor and Blooming Grove, to Chester.2 The Delaware & Hudson Canal extends from the
Delaware River N. along the valley of the Neversink, through Deerpark.3 In the central part of
the co. a wide ditch has been dug, for the purpose of draining the Drowned Lands, which has been
of immense value to the county.
Thirteen newspapers—1 daily, 9 weekly, 2 semi-monthly, and 1 monthly—are published in
this co.4
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The Rights of Man, which was commenced at Newburgh in
1799 by Elias Winfield, and was continued until 1809
or ’10.
The Orange County Gazette was commenced at Goshen in 1805
by John G. Hurtin and Gabriel Denton. It was suc¬
cessively issued by Gabriel Denton, Elliott Hopkins,
E. T. & A. 0. Houghton, until 1813, when Luther Pratt
became the proprietor, and changed it to the
Independent Republican, and removed it to Mont¬
gomery, where it was published some years. It after¬
ward passed into the hands of James A. Cheevy, who
removed it back to Goshen. In 1831 H. H. Van Dyck
became proprietor. It was subsequently issued by V.
M. Drake, Moses Sweezey, Clark and Montanye, James
McNally, and Montanye k Green. It is now published
by J. V. Montanye & Co.
The Orange County Republican was published at Wards Bridge
in 1806.
The Orange County Patriot and Spirit of’76 was commenced at
Goshen in 1808 by Gabriel Denton. In 1818 it was
changed to
The Orange County Patriot, and was issued by Timothy B.
Crowell. R. C. S. Hendries afterward became proprie¬
tor, and continued it until 1832, when it came into the
hands of F. T. Parsons, who changed it to
The Goshen Democrat. It was soon after published by Mead &
Webb; and in 1845 it was united with the True Whig,
as
The Goshen Democrat and Whig. In a few years the name
Whig, was dropped, and the-paper again appeared as
Tbe Goshen Democrat, under which title it is now
published by Charles Mead.
The Newburgh Gazette was commenced in 1822 by
J. D. Spaulding. It was successively issued by Spauld¬
ing & Parmenter, Spaulding & Knevels, Risevels &
Leslie, Wallace & Street, S. T. Callahan, and Wm. L.
Allison, until 1856, when it passed into the hands of
E. W. Gray, its present publisher.
The Evangelical Witness, mo., was published a short time at
Newburgh in 1824 by Rev. Jas. R. Wilson.
The Orange County Farmer was commenced in 1826 at Goshen
by Samuel Williams. It afterward passed into the
hands of Luther Pratt, who removed it to Montgomery,
where it was continued but a short time.
The Beacon-was published at Newburgh in 1828 by Beebe.
The Iron Age, Middletown, mo., JohnWilliams, commenced
April, 1859.
Journal of the American Association, mo., was published at West
Point in 1830. H was the organ of an association of cadets
for the promotion of science, literature, and the arts.
The Orange Herald was published at Slate Hill, in Wawayanda,
by John G. Wallace in 1831.
The Republican Banner was commenced at Walden, in Mont¬
gomery, in June, 1831, and was continued several years. |
1
The first courts were held at Tappantown, in the present
town of Orangetown, Rockland co., March 8, 1702. Courts were
first held at Goshen in 1727. The first co. officers under State
authority were John llaring, First Judge; Thos. Moffat, Co. Clerk;
Isaac Nicoll, Sheriff; and James Everett, Surrogate. Jesse
Woodhull was appointed sheriff May 8, 1777, a few months
previous to Nicoll, but was not commissioned. A courthouse
was built at Goshen in 1773, by James Webster, a Scotch High¬
lander, who served under Wolfe at the battle before Quebec in
1759. This building was afterward converted into a jail. The
co. clerk’s office now occupies its site.
2
The immense quantities of lumber brought from the pine
forests of Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Steuben, over the N. Y. &
E. R. R., are principally carried to Newburgh and transhipped.
Milk trains run daily upon this road for the purpose of carrying
the immense quantities of milk produced here to the N. Y. mar¬
ket. The milk business is the most important Of all the local
business of the R. r.
3
This canal extends through the valley lying at the W. foot
.of the Shawangunk Mts. to Port Jervis, and thence up tlie
valley of the Delaware to the w. bounds of the co.
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