Middletown
New York, 10940 - 10943
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About Middletown, NY:
Middletown is a city in Orange County, NY near the Walkill River, in the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. The City of Middletown lies along the northern boundary of the New York Metropolitan area, an imaginary line that runs from Poughkeepsie through Newburgh, Middletown, and Port Jervis, NY.
Middletown grew up with the Erie Railroad and the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (among others) and attracted a number of employers, such as shoe, lawnmower blade, and furniture factories, but most of these businesses had closed by the 1960s. The closing of a large Ford Motor Company plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, and the downsizing of IBM operations in the area were a blow to the economy of Middletown and surrounding communities in the 1970s. However, quite a few New York City police officers, firefighters and other workers moved up to the area, especially beginning in the 1970s, to purchase houses that were much less expensive than those nearer the city. These long-distance commuters have helped bolster the economy of the area. The only railroad left in town is the Middletown and New Jersey Railway.
The "downtown" area of Middletown has suffered from the growth of a shopping strip and malls at the Eastern edge of town, near NYS Route 17 and Interstate 84. There are a number of abandoned and underutilized buildings downtown, although there has long been an active bar scene, and now there are signs of a growing restaurant scene downtown. The downtown area has a number of historic churches, and Highland Avenue has a number of large Victorian houses. Many of these are occupied by medical doctors and their families, with a section devoted to the doctor's office. Some of the largest Victorians are now used as nursing homes. There are some prosperous neighborhoods, such as Presidential Heights, but there are many less prosperous neighborhoods.
The First Congregational Church of Middletown, established in 1785, has the highest spire downtown. It can be argued that the construction of the church marks the beginning of Middletown's existence as a village.[1] The current building was constructed in 1872.
There are two shopping malls (the largest is called Galleria at Crystal Run[2]) and a long retail strip along Route 211 East. The city also has movie theaters, WALL and WOSR radio stations, Thrall Library, the historic Paramount Theatre, a local arts council, bowling alleys and good choices for hiking, biking, and country drives nearby.
In the past 10 years the Middletown public school system has moved away from numerous neighborhood schools and combined more students into fewer Magnet schools. There are four elementary schools, each covering various grade levels from Kindergarten through fifth grade. Maple Hill Elementary is currently housing grades two through five. Truman Moon Elementary is currently Kindergarten and First Grade. Mechanicstown Elementary is grades two through five. Chorley Elementary houses Kindergarten and First grades. In 2005, the Middletown School District implemented a full day Kindergarten program at the request of the Middletown voters. There are two Middle schools in the District, Twin Towers Middle School and Monhagen Middle School. Middletown High School is the only building for High School and includes grades nine through twelve. There are also a number of Catholic schools.
Middletown High School offers many programs in addition to the basic educational classes found in most schools. The Middletown High School has a large and active sports program including Football, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Track and Field, Soccer, Field Hockey, and various other athletic programs, as well as various other after school academic and social programs and activities. The High School also offers a Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
Transportation:
Passenger rail service is available today via the Metro-North Port Jervis commuter line a few miles north of the village at Campbell Hall, on the Erie's onetime freight bypass. For more information about the Metro-North Station. please click here to visit the Cambell Hall Page of Metro-North's website
There are two airports within a short drive of the village. Passenger flights leave from Stewart International Airport, near Newburgh on 207 and genral aviation uses the Orage County Airport, near Montgomery via 207 and NY 416.
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