Page 16
History of Orange County
Town of Montgomery
Page 16
But we leave the spectator to indulge himself as he may be inclined, while we hasten to execute another portion of this article. Walden is about eleven miles from Newburgh, and has its name from Mr. Jacob T. Walden, who formerly resided there, owned the water power and a large tract of land in the immediate vicinity of the falls—previously owned by Wm. Erwin and before that by Mr. Gatehouse. This place and country round are under lasting obligations to this gentle, man for his zeal, friendship and untiring perseverance in favor of domestic manufactures. This gentleman was an early friend to home industry; and no man in the country did more, on all proper occasions by words and actions, to impress it on the public mind, and awaken the citizens of the county and elsewhere to their true interest, than Mr. Walden. Some men see farther in advance of the times than others, and this gentleman was one of them, and he may be said to have been gratified with a “second sight” in this matter. The community at large are getting awake upon this great and vital question, and many, in all parts of this widely extended Republic, begin to see things in the same light with Mr. Walden.
This village is also deeply indebted to Messrs. Cornelius Neaffie, Erwin, Galatian, George Weller, Jesse Scofield and sons, and the Caprons for their early and steady friendship and patriot enterprise in the various departments of manufactures. These men persevered when the times were hard, and when their labors and large expenditures in an infant business wanted protection. They neither faltered nor relaxed their exertions, and, by their instrumentality this village has grown up to be the pleasant, beautiful and industrious place that it now is. If you strike the efforts of these gentleman and a few others out of existence, you disrobe the village of its present adornment, stop the busy hum of industry and employment and depopulate it in a single hour. The place is now decidedly of a moral character, and the inhabitants a church-going people, who take a pride in supporting all such beneficial institutions. There are three churches in the village, one Episcopal, one Presbyterian and one Reformed Presbyterian.
No inland village is better accommodated with good roads. The Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike, leading through Coldenham, runs within three miles of Walden. Those leading to it from the west, and along the Walkill, are usually in a capital state of repair. A ride along the stream over the Tinbrook, through Wilemantown and north into Ulster, is among the most pleasant and agreeable in all the country round.
Though we have been tedious to the reader in this item of our paper, we cannot consent to leave it without making a special reference to its pursuits and capabilities as a place for *manufacturers. It is already a manufacturing village of wool and cotton to a very considerable extent, which gives employment and bread to a great number of individuals who would be troubled to get along comfortably in these times.—The locality bids fair to rival Paterson or Pawtucket, since it has advantages over either of them, and equal to either in the extent of water power. The whole stream is available, and that in the safest and most economical manner. The water is taken out of the dam above the falls on the east side, by a permanent and capacious canal, along which are the mill sites. The west side of the stream affords the same facilities, though we do not know that any are occupied as yet. The fall being some forty feet, the water can be worked over three or four times before it reaches the level of the stream below. Its hydraulic power is, therefore, almost without limit. The situation is in the heart of a grain-growing country, where the necessaries of life are abundant and cheap.—Articles of a perishable nature, or not worth a distant transportation can be sold here. Wood abounds in the vicinity, and is sold, perhaps, at half the price that it is at the places above named. This is a great saving to the poor laborer.— The town being agricultural and wealthy, the taxes are not high: these, with many other items which might be named, all operate favorably.
Manufactures were commenced here in 1822, though there were flour mills at the place from the early settlement of the town. There are now three or four **manufacturers of wool and cotton, and, we believe, a machine shop. The influence of the village is directly felt by the farming interest of the vicinity for many miles round as a market for all kinds of agricultural products.
We might remark in conclusion that the village is now that character, magnitude and stability, which can afford all necessary accommodations for other additional manufactures. We are under the belief that such institutions flourish best together, and where facilities, such as houses, board, merchandize, etc., can be furnished to laborers and families on the spot by the citizens of the place, without forcing the manufacturers alone to be at the risk, trouble and expense of such accommodations.
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*Errata--read manufactures**Errata--read manufactories