EARLY ORGANIZATIONS.
The Benevolent Society of the County of Orange was formed in January, 1805, with the following officers: Hugh Walsh, president; Gen. John Skey Eustace, vice-president; John McAuley, treasurer; William Gardner, Secretary.
In the sketch of Newburgh village and city mention has been made of the charter provision for a Glebe fair. This fair is believed to have been held occasionally as late as 1805, as there has been found in an old newspaper notice of one to be held in October of that year, with an offer of $125 as a premium to the jockey riding the best horse on the course of Benjamin Case, $50 to another jockey riding the best horse on the following day, and $25 to the jockey riding the best filly on the third day.
The Newburgh Bible Society was organized September 9, 1818, at a meeting held in the Presbyterian Church of Newburgh village, after a discourse by Rev. James R. Wilson. The first article of the constitution declared that its "sole object shall be to encourage a wider circulation of the Scriptures, without note or comment." The following officers were elected: Jonas Story, president; Isaac Belknap and Joseph Clark, vice-presidents; Rev. John Johnston, corresponding secretary; Charles Miller, recording secretary; Benjamin J. Lewis, treasurer.
In 1823 the Newburgh Society for Aiding Missions was formed. The report said: "Its design is to be auxiliary to the cause of missions in general; its funds, at the disposal of a board of managers, are to be appropriated from time to time to such societies or other missionary objects as may seem to have the most pressing claim to assistance."
The Newburgh Sabbath School Society was organized in 1816, and the following officers are found recorded, as chosen in 1823, sixteen years afterward: Superintendents, Mrs. Agnes Van Vleeck, Mrs. Mary G. Belknap, Mrs. Harriet M. Bate, Miss Joanna Schultz; secretary, Miss Louisa Lewis; treasurer, Miss Jane Carpenter. The secretary, in her report, stated that the school then consisted of more than 300 scholars, the average attendance being 200, and that there were thirty-two classes instructed by forty-six teachers and assistants. She stated that the number of verses committed to memory during the year was 21,440 and of divine songs 8,684.
Eager reports a meeting of the Orange County Medical Society in Newburgh in October, 1823, which invited the members of the Newburgh Lyceum to attend. Medical and scientific essays were read by Drs. John M. Gough, Francis L. Beattie and Arnell, other essays by George W. Benedict and Rev. James R. Wilson, and "the merits of each underwent an able discussion."
LOCALITIES.
Just outside the legal boundary line north of the city of Newburgh is the fashionable suburb of Balmville, named after a large Balm of Gilead tree, which is estimated to be one hundred and fifty or more years old, and nearly twenty-five feet in circumference. The population is large and wealthy, inhabiting charming country seats. Continuing northward about two miles is the village of Middlehope, formerly known as Middletown. It is the center of a prosperous fruit section where many varieties of fruit originated with men foremost in pomology. North of this settlement is Cedar Hill Cemetery. The grounds are from the design of August Hepp, and are under the control of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Association, which was organized in 1870, mainly through efforts of Enoch Carter. Roseton, four miles north of Newburgh, on the banks of the Hudson, was named after John C. Rose, who established extensive brick yards here in 1883. Brick yards have multiplied in this section, and destroyed the natural attractions of a once pretty cove. The Dans Kammer, a promontory just beyond, marks the northern extremity of Newburgh Bay. Hampton, now known as Cedar Cliff Post-office, is a landing on the Hudson, adjoining the Ulster County boundary line. Savilton, formerly Rossville, is a small district eight miles northwest of Newburgh city, named from Alexander Ross. Gardnertown is a small settlement four miles northwest of the city, and was named from the old and numerous family of Gardners who settled there.
Orange Lake, now a noted summer resort, was called by the early settlers Dutch Bennin Water, and later Machen's Pond, from Captain Machen, an engineer employed by Congress in 1777 in erecting fortifications in the Highlands and stretching the huge obstructing chain across the Hudson. It was also called Big Pond as distinct from Little Pond in New Windsor. The lake covers about four hundred acres and is kept well fed by creeks and large springs. Numerous cottages dot its shores, and an amusement park is conducted under the management of the Orange County Traction Company. Extensive improvements were made in 1907, including the erection of a large theatre and other buildings.