Mountain Lodge Park,
New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mountain Lodge Park is an unincorporated community in the
Town of Blooming Grove in Orange County, New York. It is built on the
western slope of Schunemunk Mountain, the highest in the county.
Historically Mountain Lodge Park was a community of summer
homes but over the years it has gradually been transformed to mostly full
year residences. There are approximately 800 homes that are split between
the two 'sides'. One side is considered the Mountain Lodge Park side and the
other side is called Glenwood Hills. Mountain Lodge Park was developed with
some fits and starts just before and then after World War Two. Glenwood
Hills was developed in the 1950s with building continuing into the 1970s.
During the Carter Administration the community was offered an opportunity to
pave all roads and install municipal water and sewage lines. This offer was
refused.
Generally on the Mountain Lodge Park side the houses are
further apart but most of the roads (trails) are unpaved. On the Glenwood
Hills side most of the houses are closer together but the roads are paved.
From the 1960s through the 1980s the community featured a
first rate volunteer fire department, a general store, a seasonal municipal
water supply, two neighboring horseback riding academies, a large pool area,
a synagogue, and a multi-purpose meeting house. Mountain Lodge Road exits
Mountain Lodge Park in the Town Of Blooming Grove and cuts a winding path to
nearby Washingtonville.
Former New York City Councilman Peter F. Vallone, Sr. is said to have
lifeguarded at the pool there.
Historic USGS Maps of New England &
New York
Schunemunk, NY Quadrangle
Latitude 41.375 Longitude 285.875
1935
Surveyed 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930
History Of Schunemunk Mountain
Geology:
The Taconian Highlands once formed the
eastern margin of North America. They were gradually and imperceptibly
erased by the relentless agents of erosion.
Waves washing the western shore of the
Taconian Highlands deposited approximately one thousand feet of a
quartz-pebble conglomerate known as the Shawangunk conglomerate. This thick
conglomerate partially represents the sand and gravel eroded from the
mountains as they extended down into the waves, ending as battered cliffs
along a rocky shoreline. It also partially reflects the sediment carried
down by rivers and deposited along the beach of this rocky shoreline. This
was a time when the highlands were tall and majestic, thrusting their peaks
possibly as far as twenty thousand feet into the clouds.
By Middle and Late Silurian time, the
mountains were appreciably reduced by erosion. Not only the volume of
sediments decreased, but the size of particles transported by the slower
moving streams also diminished. Mud and sand accumulated over the Shawangunk
gravels and farther west, in the deeper, offshore miogeosynclinal waters,
these shales and sandstones grade laterally into limestones.
By Late Silurian time only fine muds
were transported to the shoreline -- a shoreline ever advancing northward
and eastward on to the eroded vestiges of the Taconian Mountains. By now
these mountains were reduced to low hills. As the volume of mud transported
by sluggishly moving streams over a low, gently rolling terrain decreased,
the miogeosynclinal seas became rather clear again, and, covering the eroded
folds of these hills, limestones and dolomites began to accumulated in
appreciable thickness in the warm, shallow waters. It is these Upper
Silurian limestones at Pine Plains that unconformably overlie the severely
contorted Ordovician shales, which were directly affected by the Taconian
Orogeny. These Silurian strata, which accumulated in the miogeosyncline
immediately offshore from the Taconian Highlands, indicate that no
additional orogenic activity took place. Rather they reflect a period of
comparative crustal stability. During that time, the highlands were attacked
and reduced to low hills by erosion in less tan 40 million years.
Source: Van Diver, Roadside Geology of
New York
This is an impressive ridge,
double-crested on its north end, nearly 1700 feet high. It is more than 8
miles long from its southwestern end near Monroe, on the main line of the
railroad, to its northeastern point, near Salisbury Mills. It is composed of
sandstones, shales, and conglomerates of Devonian time, with Silurian as
well as Ordovician strata at its base. It is part of a long ridge of similar
strata extending forty miles southwestward into New Jersey, past Greenwood
Lake and Green Pond, and ending at a point near Lake Hopatcong. It was
formed as sediments in a narrow sound of the ancient sea. At the beginning
of Silurian time this sea surrounded the "Old Land," Appalachia, in which
was included much that is now New England, eastern New York, and northern
New Jersey, together with land now covered by the Atlantic.
Woodbury Creek heads north to Moodna
Creek between Schunemunk on the west and US 87 on the east (around the
interesection of Us 87 and 32 it switches to the east of US 87).
History:
The name Schunemunk (pronounced
"shun-uh-munk") means "excellent fireplace" in the Algonquin tongue of the
Leni Lenape (Delaware) tribe that originally inhabited the area.
Mountainville Conservancy was organized
to preserve the Schunemunk ridge from development.
1996 -- the Open Space Institute
purchased the 2,100 acre mountain preserve. This purchased was made
possible by a grant from the Lila Acheson & DeWitt Wallace Fund for the
Hudson Highlands.
2001 (March 2) -- NY Governor George
Pataki dedicated Schunemunk Mountain Preserve as a new state park. (Groups
such as the New York City chapter of the Adirondack Club and New York-New
Jersey Trail Conference played important roles in bring this about.)
(Source:
http://www.championtrees.org/oldgrowth/surveys/Schunemunk.htm)
SCHUNEMUNK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK
north of Central Valley, Orange County, NY
2,500 protected acres on the 7,000 acre mountain
Directions:
US 87
40 Exit 16 -- Route 17 N
44.2 Exit 131 -- Route 32n (Central Valley)
46.9 Park Avenue
49.3 overpass
51.0 Black Rock Preserve
51.5 Star
51.8 left turn
52.3 left turn (Taylor Road)
yellow trail
Trails:
Trail heads are easily accessed from:
the southwest from NY 17 (Exit 129, Orange-Rockland Lakes);
the south from NY 32 (The Long Path, from the railroad trestle in Woodbury);
the northeast (Jessup Trail, from Taylor Road off Pleasant Hill Road in
Mountainville).
Some interesting vegetation is found in
spring-fed Barton Swamp is found in a slight depression in Schunnemunk's
summit and extends a mile in a narrow cove.
You can see Storm King Art Center from
the top. It was started in 1960 by industrialists Ralph E. Ogden and Peter
Stern. It is a 200 acre sculpture garden displaying more than 100 monumental
outdoor sculptures by contemporary artists. It is located west of the
Highlands' gorge in the town of Mountainville. (Dunville 1991:201)
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
6/2/95 = plant found in bloom
Trees:
Acer negundo (boxelder)
Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) planted *
Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya ovata var. microcarpa (shagbark hickory variety)? *
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Morus rubra (red mulberry)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Pinus edulis (pinyon pine) planted *
Pinus rigida (pitch pine) -- many gnarled and stunted
Prunus serotina (black cherry) 6/2/95
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) 6/2/95
Tilia americana (American linden)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Shrubs:
Chimaphila maculatum (spotted wintergreen)
Epigaea repens (trailing arbutus)
Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry) 6/2/95
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle) 6/2/95 waning
Prunus pumila var. susquehanae (dwarf plum) *
Quercus ilicifolia (bear oak)
Rhododendron periclymenoides (pinxter
flower) 6/2/95
Rhododendron sp. (rhododendron, hort.) 6/2/95
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) 6/2/95
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry) 6/2/95
Syringa sp. (lilac)
Vaccinium sp. (low bush blueberry)
Vaccinium stamineum (deerberry) 6/2/95
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) 6/2/95
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet) 6/2/95
Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) 6/2/95
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Anthemis cotula (mayweed) *
Arabis missouriensis (green rockcress) * new to Hudson Highlands
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus) 6/2/95
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress) 6/2/95
Chelidonium majus (celandine) 6/2/95
Chenopodium sp. (pigweed)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) 6/2/95
Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed) 6/2/95
Euphorbia cyparissias (cypress spurge) 6/2/95
Euphorbia esula (leafy spurge) 6/2/95
Galium mollugo (wild madder)
Geum vernum (spring avens) * new to Hudson Highlands
Hedyotis caerulea (bluets) 6/2/95
Hesperis matrionalis (dame's rocket) 6/2/95
Hieracium caespitosum (field hawkweed) 6/2/95
Hieracium venosum (rattlesnake hawkweed)
Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass)
Iberis umbellata (globe candytuft)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed)
Lamium purpureum (purple dead nettle) *
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) 6/2/95
Osmorhiza claytonii (sweet cicely)
Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel) 6/2/95
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) 6/2/95
Polygonatum biflorum (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) 6/2/95
Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish) 6/2/95
Rumex acetosella (field sorrel) 6/2/95
Silene noctiflora (night-flowering catchfly) 6/2/95
Smilacina racemosa (Solomon's plume) 6/2/95
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) 6/2/95
Trifolium campestre (low hop clover) 6/2/95
Trifolium pratense (red clover) 6/2/95
Trifolium repens (white clover) 6/2/95
Tulipa sylvestris (tulip) *
Veronica serpyllifolia (thyme-leaved speedwell) 6/2/95
parsley
Rushes and Sedges:
Sciprus cyperinus (woolly grass bulrush)
Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass) 6/2/95
Festuca sp. (festuca grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem grass)
Raymond Torrey in a 1930s article
states that he found Potentilla tridentata on what he called "High Knoll"
growing in crevices at the highest point on that part of the ridge *
* = Mitchell, Richard S. 2002. "A
perfect day on Schunnemunk." NYFA Newsletter, Vol. 13 No 2, May, 2002.
Orange
County, New York
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orange County is
a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. At the northern reaches
of the
New York metropolitan area, it
sits in the state's scenic
Mid-Hudson Region of the
Hudson Valley. Its name is in
honor of
William III of Orange, who was
greatly esteemed by the original settlers of the region. As
of the
2000 census, the population was
341,367. The
county seat is
Goshen. The
center of population of New York
is located in Orange County, in
Deerpark
History
Orange County was one
of the first twelve counties established by the
Province of New York in
1683. Its boundaries at that time
included present-day
Rockland County, which split from
Orange County in
1798.
It is best known as the
location of:
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 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 2,172
kmē (839
sq mi), with 2,114
kmē (816 sq mi) as land and 58 kmē (22 sq mi) as water.
Transportation
The county is served by
Stewart International Airport,
located two miles west of
Newburgh, New York. The airport
serves
AirTran Airways,
Delta Air Lines,
JetBlue Airways,
Northwest Airlines, and
US Airways. Ground transportation
within Orange County is provided primarily by
New Jersey Transit,
ShortLine, and
Metro-North Railroad.
Demographics
As of the
censusē
of 2000, there were 341,367 people, 114,788 households, and
84,483 families residing in the county. The
population density was 161/kmē
(418/sq mi). There were 122,754 housing units at an average
density of 58/kmē (150/sq mi). The racial makeup of the
county was 83.70%
White, 8.09%
Black or
African American, 0.35%
Native American, 1.51%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 4.09% from
other races, and 2.23% from two or
more races. 11.64% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 9.23% reported
speaking
Spanish at home, 3.29%
Yiddish, and 1.20%
Italian.[2]
By 2005 census
estimates placed Orange County's non-Hispanic white
population at 72.4%. African Americans were now 10.2% of the
population. Native Americans were at 0.4%, a change that was
less than can be measured by the precision of the 2005
estimates being used for these figures. Asians were up to
2.2% of the population. Latinos had however made the largest
gain as an increase in their percentage of the population,
and now constituted 14.9% of the counties population.[1]
There were 114,788
households out of which 39.60% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 57.90% were
married couples
living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all
households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.85 and the average family size was
3.35.
In the county the
population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18,
8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to
64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were
97.50 males.
The median income for a
household in the county was $52,058, and the median income
for a family was $60,355. Males had a median income of
$42,363 versus $30,821 for females. The
per capita income for the county
was $21,597. About 7.60% of families and 10.50% of the
population were below the
poverty line,
including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those
age 65 or over.
Despite its rural
roots, Orange County is considered to be among the fastest
growing suburb/exurb regions of the New York City
Metropolitan Area.
Places
Historical Facts
About Orange County
The oldest (1839) continuously
operating winery in the US is in Washingtonville, NY (The Brotherhood
Winery).
-The first butter factory in America was in Campbell Hall, NY (1859)
-Newburgh, NY was America's first electrified city, as Thomas Edison put
his first factory there.
-The largest sculpture park in the US is the Storm King Art Center in
Mountainville, NY, featuring works from artists around the world.
-'Velveeta' cheese spread (1923) and 'Liederkranz' cheese (1882) were
invented in Monroe, NY
-'Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese' was invented in Chester, NY.
(1872)
-The largest number (220+) of discount designer outlets in the US is in
Central Valley, NYwith 12 million visitors per year. (Woodbury
Common Premium Outlets)
-The main runway at Stewart International Airport (SWF) is over 2 miles
long (11,818 ft) and is an alternate landing site for the Space
Shuttle. New Windsor, NY.
-Bear Mountain State Park has more visitors annually than does
Yellowstone National Park.
-The largest living museum in New York State is Museum Village in
Monroe, NY.
-The Order of the Purple Heart was established by George Washington in
Newburgh, NY (1782).
-The first Registered Historic Landmark (1850) is Washington's
Headquarters in Newburgh, NY.
-The United States Military Academy at West Point, NY (USMA)
established in 1778.
-The largest Church Organ in the world is at West Point USMA.
-The world's first, and still used, trotting track is in Goshen, NY.
(Goshen Historic Track) (established 1838).
-Nearly all trotters and pacers in the US can trace their pedigree to
the stallion 'Hambletonian' of Chester, NY. (1849)
-The oldest (1919) continuously operating automobile racing dirt track
in the US is the Orange County Fair Speedway, Middletown, NY.
-The Tuxedo dinner jacket originated in Tuxedo Park, an
enclosedcommunity developed by Pierre Lorillard, tobacco magnate (Old
Gold).
-The daughter of Bruce Price, the designer of Tuxedo Park, NY (1880),and
also a resident was Emily Post.
-Stephen Crane wrote his most popular novel, "The Red Badge of Courage"
in Port Jervis, NY.
-The oldest carbon dated human settlement in North America (12,500 years
old) is found here in Orange County.
-More Mastodon skeletons have been unearthed here than any other place
on earth.
-The "Onion Capitol of the World", is found in the black dirt region of
Pine Island, NY.
In 1683, the County of Orange, named for William of Orange (King William
III, 1650-1702), was formed. In 1799, the residents of the
southern part of Orange County petitioned the state and broke off to
become Rockland County. Orange County today is almost half a million
acres in size and is dotted with dairy and produce farms, orchards,
vineyards, horse ranches and bucolic villages set amongst vast areas of
woodlands, rolling hills and glacier-carved valleys. There are three
cities within the County's borders: Newburgh, on the Hudson River; Port
Jervis, on the Delaware River; and Middletown, halfway between the other
two.
The County Seat of Orange County, NY, is in the Village of Goshen.
Of the 10 counties named Orange in the US, Orange County NY is the
oldest (1683). It is 206 years older than Orange County California
(1889), 169 years older than Orange County Texas (1852), 162 years older
than Orange County Florida (1824), 133 years older than Orange County
Indiana (1816), 98 years older than Orange County Vermont (1781), 69
years older than Orange County North Carolina (1752), and 51 years older
than Orange County Virginia (1734).
From "Around the
Watering Trough" A History Of Washingtonville NY by Edward J. McLaughlin III
(This book also has extensive material about Blooming Grove)
Orange County began a steady settlement as families emigrated
from the British Isles in search of a new and better life. Small hamlets
blossomed wherever water-powered mills were located. The need for proper
roads became a necessity. The new farmers had to get their grain to the
mills to be ground into flour. Food had to be brought to market.
The early precincts and later townships elected "Pathmasters,"
persons who were overseers of a road or portion of a public road. Local
able- bodied residents were often elected or simply asked to assume the duty
of clearing brush and trees from the sides of a public road. It was
necessary to scrape the crude dirt roads, using a plank plow like vehicle
pulled by oxen or horses. The narrow tracts were usually almost impassable
in winter when the snow was deep. Sleighs made travel easier and when
farmers built heavy wooden rollers pulled by ox or horse teams over the
roads, the snow was packed to a smooth surface, which made sleighing fast
and easier.
Spring created a rutted, muddy mess after the snow melted.
After the surface dried out, the scrapers were used to smooth out the ruts.
gravel was often hauled to put a dressing on the road surface. Gravel
allowed surface water to drain away. Roadside ditches often had to be
cleaned or dug out to carry away surface water.
Pathmasters and Overseers were responsible for keeping
bridges in repair. Bridges were mostly primitive affairs constructed of
stout logs reaching from bank to bank over a stream and resting on stone
abutments. Planks or flattened logs laid crosswise on the heavy beams
provided a roadway over a stream. Almost all minor or shallow streams were
merely forded.....to be continued
E.J. McLaughlin (1990)
Shot of an Erie F3 blasting past the
Washingtonville, NY depot on the Erie's Newburgh Branch.
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