The town of Wallkill has seventeen school districts, in which are maintained the usual form of district schools under the State law. These are being gradually improved under the efficient system of State supervision, but are not yet at the standard to which they should be raised.
MIDDLETOWN.
The precise time when the first settlement was made in this village is uncertain, though it is believed to have been shortly after the erection of the town. John Green purchased some land of Delancey, a patentee under the crown of Great Britain, and that purchase included land in the southern part of the village and the ground where the First Congregational church now stands. Mr. Green donated the lot for the purpose of having a house of worship erected. When the citizens assembled to put up the frame of the old Congregational church, it was concluded that the locality should have a name. "What shall it be? There is Dolsontown on the south, Goshen on the east, Scotchtown on the north, and a locality not defined, on the west, called Shawangunk. We will call it Middletown, it being the center." In 1829, the name of the village was changed to South Middletown to prevent confusion in the transmission of mail matter, there being another place styled "Middletown" north of Newburgh, but in 1849 the prefix of "South" was left off.
The Minisink road which passes through the city of Middletown is mentioned by a Mr. Clinton, a surveyor employed by the owner of lot No. 35 of the Minisink Angle, as early as 1742, and the second store in Middletown was started by Isaiah Vail at a place called Monhagen, opposite the white oak bridge on the old Minisink road, near the westerly limits of the present city of Middletown. The first store in Middletown was kept by Abel Woodhull, previous to the place being called Middletown.
The western portion of Middletown was included in lot No. 36 in the Minisink Angle, owned by Delancey, and as he espoused the Royalist cause his land, except what was sold to Mr. Green before the Revolution, was confiscated by the State of New York. Three appraisers were appointed by the State to put a value on the land, two of whom were Israel Wickham and Henry Wisner. It is stated that an earnest debate occurred on the subject of valuation, whether to call it six shillings or a dollar per acre. Mr. Wickham insisted that it would never be worth a dollar, so it was put down at six shillings an acre. The land confiscated takes in the western portion of the village and present city, and includes the real estate formerly owned by John B. Hanford, Henry Little and George Houston. Part of this land could not now be bought for $10,000 an acre.
The New York & Erie Railroad seems to have been built on the installment plan in the county of Orange; first to Monroe, then to Chester, then to Goshen, and finally by large contributions from the people of Middletown, it was extended to that place. The building of this road seemed to give an impetus to the business of the village and induced manufacturers to locate there, which soon made it one of the most flourishing villages in southern New York.
The actual incorporation of the village did not occur until April 7, 1848, when the preliminary proceedings in regard to the incorporation were approved by Judge D. W. Bates. The first president of the village was Stacey Beakes, and associated with him as trustees were Coe Dill, William Hoyt, Israel Hoyt, Israel O. Beattie and Daniel C. Dusenberry. John B. Friend was clerk. Of the above named trustees, Daniel C. Dusenberry is still living (1908).
The growth of Middletown has always been gradual, and it has never been what might be called a "boom town." In 1807 the population was forty-five; in 1838 it had increased to 433; in 1848, at the time of its incorporation, it had increased to 1,360; and in 1857, to 2,190. At the time of its incorporation as a city, in 1888, its population had increased to 11,977, and at the close of 1907 it was about 16,000.
The post-office in the village of Middletown was first established on the 22nd of October, 1816. Stacey Beakes was appointed the first postmaster and held the office for about ten years. The first quarter's receipts in 1817, as rendered by the postmaster, were $0.69; in 1826, the receipts had risen to $16.12 a quarter; and in 1854, to $257.79. The annual receipts of the Middletown post-office are now upwards of $50,000.
