Orange County Directory 1878-9
City of Middletown
List of Persons living in Middletown
NORTHWEST from New York City, distant from Jersey City sixty seven miles by railroad, in an open, level and rich portion of Orange County, lies the village of Middletown; situated on the New York, Lake Erie & Western R. R., at the crossing and junction of the New York. Oswego and New Jersey Midland R. R. The village is situated midway between Mount Hope and Montgomery, and derives its name from this fact it is also about midway between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. The precise time when the first settlement was made in the village is uncertain, although from the most reliable information we can gather it must have been very soon after the erection of Wallkill, which was organized in March, 1788. The records run back to 1772, when the Precinct was divided, one part being called Hanover Precinct and the other Wallkill Precinct. In 1829 Middletown, then simply a post village, was called South Middletown, to avoid confusion in the transmission of mails, and retained this name until 1819, when the prefix was dropped and the place has ever since been known as Middletown. Within a brief period of years the place has increased very materially in population and commercial importance until it now ranks as the second village in the county in size, and the first in regard to its manufactures. First in importance among the latter, is the saw works of Wheeler, Madden & Clemson Manufacturing Co, located upon Railroad ave. at the eastern side of the village. Their buildings occupy some twelve acres of ground, and were established in 1853 by E. P. Wheeler, E. M. Madden, and Josiah Bakewell. In 1860 Mr. Wm. Clemson entered the firm, which then became known as Wheeler, Madden & Clemson. Mr. Bakewell died in 1861 and in 1868 Mr. Lemuel Wheeler, (son of E. P. Wheeler), and Mr. Thos. D. Roberts became members of the firm in 1870 Mr. Roberts died, and Mr. Lemuel Wheeler in 1873, and the same year Mr. Wm. Millspaugh and Chas. I. Humphrys entered the firm, when the firm name was changed to Wheeler, Madden & Clemson Manufacturing Co. [Picture of Clemson Bros. Manufacturing] Mr. E. P. Wheeler died in 1876. The present members of the firm are E. M. Madden, Wm. Clemson, Wm. Millspaugh, and Chas. I. Humphrys. Previous to 1862 the business of the firm was confined to the manufacture of saws from imported steel, but at that time, owing to fears of the interruption of the relations between England and the United States, the manufacture of steel was begun here and has ever since been successfully continued. The Middletown saws have attained a world-wide celebrity as second to none in appearance or quality. The main building is upward of two hundred and forty feet, and with the various shops and furnaces render these works second to none in the country. Adjacent to the saw works are the file works of Madden & Cockayne, which were established in 1857 by Corydon King, James I. Cockayne, and John Williams.