Shawangunk, New York

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Shawangunk
Town
Location in Ulster County and the state of New York.
Location in Ulster County and the state of New York.
Coordinates: 41°36′59″N 74°13′59″W / 41.61639°N 74.23306°W / 41.61639; -74.23306Coordinates: 41°36′59″N 74°13′59″W / 41.61639°N 74.23306°W / 41.61639; -74.23306
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyUlster
Government
 • SupervisorJohn Valk Jr.[1]
Area
[2]
 • Total56.55 sq mi (146.46 km2)
 • Land56.06 sq mi (145.18 km2)
 • Water0.49 sq mi (1.28 km2)
Elevation
335 ft (102 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total13,563
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code36-66674
GNIS feature ID0979486
Town hall, in Wallkill.

Shawangunk is a town in southwestern Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 13,563 at the 2020 census. The town takes its name from its largest stream, the Shawangunk Kill. The name Shawangunk is from the language of the Lenape people. Kill is an abbreviation of the Dutch word for creek, Killitje. It is pronounced Shuh-Whan-Gung /ˈʃɑːwəŋɡʌŋk/[citation needed]

History[edit]

Shawangunk was first settled by Europeans during the 1680s. The region was first designated a precinct about 1710, and became the township of Shawangunk in 1788. The town's name comes from the Dutch transliteration of the Munsee Lenape name or phrase. The approximate Lenape pronunciation was "Sha-WAN-gunk,"[citation needed] probably meaning "in the smoky air." The name first appears in the 1682 Indian deed to Gertrude Bruyn. It is uncertain if this was the Indians' actual proper name for their nearby village and "New Fort," destroyed by the Dutch on Sept 5, 1663 during the Second Esopus War, or if the name was merely a phrase invented by the Indians in connection with the Bruyn land purchase, possibly describing some temporary feature of the landscape. Suggestions as to whether the name may have referred to smoky conditions on the day of Bruyn's first tour of the land with the Indians in the 1670s, or to the smoky ruins of the destroyed Indian village during the preceding decade, are purely speculative.[citation needed] Use of the name to designate the creek on which Bruyn settled (Shawangunk Kill), and the mountain range, came somewhat later. Locals pronounce the name "SHONG-gum,"[citation needed] an obvious[according to whom?] corruption or contraction of the original name, but one on record at least as far back as 1777 (Marc B. Fried, "Shawangunk Place-names" pp. ix-xi, 3-12, 96-97). Present-day citizens of Shawangunk often refer to themselves as living in particular hamlets such as Wallkill or Walker Valley rather than the town as a whole;[citation needed] this is due to the fact[according to whom?] that many residents of the western part of the town are in the school district of Pine Bush (nearby across the county line) and have Pine Bush mailing addresses, also doing much of their shopping in that Orange County hamlet.

Geography[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.5 square miles (146 km2), of which 56.2 square miles (146 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (0.55%) is water.

The southern town line and half of the eastern town boundary is the border of Orange County, New York.

The northeastward-flowing Wallkill River passes through the eastern half of town and lends its name to the hamlet, which lies along its east bank. The western part of the town, including Walker Valley, climbs the lower slopes of the eponymous mountains. The Shawangunk Kill, a major tributary of the Wallkill, divides the town approximately in half.

Government[edit]

The town of Shawangunk is led by a supervisor and a board of four council members. The current supervisor is John Valk, Jr., in office since 1998.

List of supervisors of Shawangunk:[4][5]

Name Years Served Notes
Jacobus Bruyn III 1744-1747
Cornelius Bruyn 1748-1749 Brother of Jacobus
Benjamin Van Keuren 1750
Isaac Hasbrouck 1751-1752 Member of Hasbrouck family
Jacobus Sammon 1753
Johannis Jansen 1754-1760
Benjamin Van Keuren 1761
Johannis Jansen 1762
Benjamin Van Keuren 1763-1764
Johannis Jansen 1765-1768
Benjamin Van Keuren 1769
Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. 1770
Johannis Jansen 1771-1772
Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. 1773-1775
Cornelius C. Schoonmaker 1776-1777 Served as New York State Assemblyman (1777-1790) following term
Thomas Jansen Jr. 1778-1779 Brother of Johannis
James Hunter 1780-1781
Cornelius C. Schoonmaker 1782-1783 Served as United States Congressman (1791-1793) years after this term
Thomas Jansen Jr. 1784
James Hunter 1785
Cornelius Bruyn 1786-1793 Son of Jacobus III; nephew of Cornelius
Justus Banks 1794-1796
Joseph Isaac Hasbrouck 1797-1799 Son of Isaac, member of Hasbrouck family
James Kain 1800-1803
Abraham Bruyn 1804-1805 Son of Cornelius; nephew of Jacobus III; first cousin of Cornelius
Stephen Rea 1806
Albert Roosa 1807
Stephen Rea 1808-1812
Joseph Isaac Hasbrouck 1813-1814
Beverly Kain 1815-1816 Brother of James
Joseph Isaac Hasbrouck 1817
Abraham J. Hardenbergh 1818-1821 Relative of Johannes Jr.; previously served as New Paltz Town Supervisor
Johannes "John" Jansen 1822-1826 Son of Thomas Jr., nephew of Johannis
George G. Graham 1827-1835
Hezekiah Watkins 1836-1841
Cornelius A. Bruyn 1842-1844 Son of Abraham, grandson of Cornelius; great-nephew of Jacobus III; cousin of Cornelius
Eli Van Keuren 1845
James N. Mitchell 1846
Samuel Dill 1847
Eli Van Keuren 1848-1851
Hector S. Webb 1852-1855
Matthew Jansen 1856 Son of Johannes, grandson of Thomas Jr., great-nephew of Johannis
Egbert N. Brink 1857-1858
Edmund Bruyn 1859-1860 Great-grandson of Jacobus III; relative of Abraham, Cornelius, Cornelius, and Cornelius A. Bruyn
Cornelius Abram Jansen Hardenbergh 1861-1867 Great-nephew of Abraham J. Hardenbergh; relative of Johannes Hardenberg Jr.; cousin of Johannis, Thomas Jr., Johannes and Matthew Jansen
Eli Van Keuren 1868-1869
Abram N. Deyoe 1870-1872
Thomas Fulton 1873
Samuel Dill Jr. 1874-1875 Son of Samuel
Cornelius Abram Jansen Hardenbergh 1876-1882 Served as New York State Assemblyman shortly after this term (1885 to 1886)
Elias Mulford 1883-1884
Walstein Childs 1885-1892
Benjamin F. Dickinson 1893-1895
D. Barclay DuBois 1896-1897
Benjamin F. Dickinson 1898-1901
George J. Alsdorf 1902-1907
William W. McElhone 1908-1917
Robert H. Terwilliger 1918-1919
Frank J. Wilkin 1920-1921
Joseph F. Scott 1922-1927
George E. Halliday 1928-1929 Died in office
Lester C. Terwilliger 1935 Relative of Robert
Edward E. Murray 1936-1946
Jesse McHugh 1951-1965
Charles E. Penney 1965-1969 C.E. Penney Drive in Wallkill named for him
M.J. Oscar Smith 1969-1972
Francis V. Garrison 1972-1975
Charles Flynn 1979
John Scott 1987-1988
John Valk Jr. 1998-Present Re-elected in 2021

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
17902,128—
18203,372—
18303,6819.2%
18403,8865.6%
18504,0363.9%
18602,870−28.9%
18702,823−1.6%
18802,9103.1%
18902,456−15.6%
19002,406−2.0%
19102,5485.9%
19202,087−18.1%
19302,1271.9%
19403,11746.5%
19503,56114.2%
19604,60429.3%
19705,74924.9%
19808,18642.4%
199010,08123.1%
200012,02219.3%
201014,33219.2%
202013,563−5.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of 2009, there were 12,652 people, 4,333 households, and 2,557 families residing in the town. The population density was 225 people per square mile . There were 3,754 housing units at an average density of 66.8 per square mile (25.8/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 83% White, 7.9% African American, .2% Native American, .9% Asian, .01% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.96% of the population.[7]

There were 3,433 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 134.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,366, and the median income for a family was $59,975. Males had a median income of $40,967 versus $29,608 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,402. About 4.4% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Housing[edit]

Statistics about housing in the town:[8]

  • Total: 4,333
  • Occupied: 3,877
  • Owner-occupied: 3,092
  • Population in owner-occupied: 8,890
  • Renter-occupied: 795
  • Population in renter-occupied: 1,917
  • Households with individuals under 18: 1,465
  • Vacant: 446
  • Vacant for rent: 87
  • Vacant for sale: 66

Geology[edit]

The Shawangunk Mountains, primarily consisting of quartz, rise 2,000 feet above the town.[9] The mountains were created over 10,000 years ago during the last ice age when retreating glacial ice carved them out as part the surrounding Catskills,[10] drawing tourists and climbing enthusiasts from all over the world.[11]

Communities and locations in Shawangunk[edit]

  • Awosting – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town.
  • Bruynswick – A hamlet near the northern town line on County Route 7.
  • Crawford – A hamlet in the northwestern section of the town, south of Awosting.
  • Dwaarkill – A hamlet north of Red Mills, located on County Route 7.
  • Galeville – A former hamlet in the eastern part of the town, north of Wallkill. Galeville is on the west bank of the Wallkill River. Once home to Galeville Army Air Base, now Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge.
  • New Hurley – A former hamlet on Route 208.
  • Red Mills – A hamlet at the southern town line and north of Pine Bush.
  • Rutsonville'
  • Shawangunk Kill – A small stream in the town.
  • Ulsterville – Aest of Pine Bush, located on County Road 7.
  • Watchtower – A census-designated-place (CDP) that is entirely made up of the residents of Watchtower Farms, a printing facility that draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.[12] It is owned and operated by the Watchtower Society (a legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses) and has been in operation since 1963.[13]
  • Walker Valley – a hamlet in the southwest part of the town on Route 52. Walker Valley is west of Pine Bush.
  • Wallkill – a hamlet at the eastern town line.
  • Shawangunk Correctional Facility – a New York state prison, north of Wallkill.
  • Wallkill Correctional Facility – a state prison north of Wallkill.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Town of Shawangunk, (n.d.). Shawangunk town officials . Retrieved from website: http://www.shawangunk.org/officials-departments.html
  2. ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Ulster County. Kingston, New York: Freeman Publishing Company. 1923. pp. 447–448.
  5. ^ "Supervisors of Shawangunk and Their Genealogies". ourfamtree.org. Ray Gurganus. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  7. ^ Onboard Informatics. (n.d.). Shawangunk, new york. Retrieved from Citydata.org
  8. ^ Town of Shawangunk, (n.d.). Housing statistics and demographics. Retrieved from website: http://www.shawangunk.org/about-shawangunk.html
  9. ^ Bernet, M., (2007). Diagenesis and provenance of silurian quartz arenites in south-eastern New York State. Sedimentary Geology, 201(1-2), 43-65.
  10. ^ DiPietro, J. A. (2013). Chapter 23 – the appalachian orogenic belt: An example of compressional mountain building. Landscape Evolution in the United States, 375-408.
  11. ^ Olson, R. (2006, February 18). The gunks. Retrieved from http://www.mountainproject.com/v/the-gunks/105798167
  12. ^ "Muller Martini Corporates - Watchtower in Wallkill/USA: Corona/Diamant". Archived from the original on 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2009-03-09.

    At the request of Watchtower, Muller Martini has designed a very "tour-friendly" layout of the machinery for efficient "visitor management". Every year, the plant, which is based in Wallkill, about two hours from New York, welcomes 50,000 visitors.

  13. ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1983, page 27

External links[edit]

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