Gone is the watering trough, the elm tree next to it, and George Washington, who stopped his horse in the shade for a drink. Idling automobiles on four paved lanes now wait for the light to change. Washingtonville had once been an important farming community—10 dairy farms and two milk processing plants were proof of that. Most of the farms have been developed in the last 30 years, changing the landscape dramatically from the once quaint village to a busy bedroom community for the New York metropolitan area. Between 1980 and 2000, the population increased fourfold, from 2,000 to 8,000.
In early September, an Auto Zone chain store opened across the street from Washingtonville Auto Parts, which has been doing business in the town for 25 years. “I felt like someone told me I had cancer,” owner Michael Cook says. An auto parts expert who favors classical music, Cook offers “moto” therapy to regular customers to help them determine what their auto needs are. Residents were so up in arms about the Auto Zone that they began to react. There was a petition against the Auto Zone going around with 2,000 signatures on it. “This has been a really amazing example of a community rallying together,” Cook says. “I was worried about the disintegration of community. With everyone texting and using cell phones and the Internet I started to think that customers wanted to be anonymous. My worry was that they don’t want personal service anymore. This has woken people up!” says a grateful Cook. “I am doing my best to be worthy of their business.”
“Washingtonville has a cultlike following as far as loyalty to local businesses is concerned,” says Chris Vohl, owner of Brookside Auto & Tire on Hallock Drive. Vohl, who grew up in the area, is the president of the Greater Washingtonville Lion’s Club. He points out that the fact he feels safe enough to put his phone number on the donation collection attests to the small town nature of the town.
You can find dance and yoga studios within walking distance of Washingtonville’s main intersection. Janalee’s School of Dance and New York Performing Arts Center both offer jazz, tap, ballet, and contemporary dance classes as well as yoga. There’s also the Corner Candle Store, a tasteful menagerie of gifts and cards. The boutique, owned by Joanne Fine, has been a mainstay in the town since the 1970s. Brotherhood Winery, America’s oldest, is also right downtown and is Washingtonville’s premier tourist draw. One can tour the cellars, stomp on grapes, picnic in the courtyard to live music, and sample their award-winning wines.
New Windsor
Orange County settlement began in earnest in the early 18th century as small hamlets popped up wherever a mill could be situated and powered by water. The need for decent roads developed as farmers had to get their grain to the mills. Because farmers came from many directions, crossroads sprang up. Local residents were often asked to take on the duty of clearing brush and trees from the sides of a public road and making sure the bridges and dirt roads were in good condition.
New Windsor Town Historian Glenn Marshall also noted that the original village of New Windsor was located on the river’s edge by Plum Point. There were taverns and brick and glass manufacturers and a print shop. One of the region’s first newspapers, The New Windsor Gazette, was established in 1790. But since the port just north was bigger and could offer more opportunity, business moved to Newburgh.
The site of the former village on the Hudson is now home to petroleum tanks. New Windsor as we know it today lacks this municipal center and can seem disjointed. “There’s no one place with a bunch of cute little shops,” says New Windsor Town Supervisor George A. Green. The new Dunkin’ Donuts that opened across from Stewart Airport’s main gate in mid-November is just as likely a hangout as any in what seems to be a centerless community. Small points of interest are separated by miles of highway and a large industrial area along Route 300. One gets the feeling that the highways are leading elsewhere. According to Marshall, the town designation came to pass when a bunch of farmland that was subdivided for development.
The crossroads in the hamlet of Vails Gate are the closest thing to a focal point in New Windsor. The town’s major shopping district lies here at “Five Corners,” where Routes 94, 300, and 32 intersect. This was originally part of the private turnpike system, a toll road with a gate keeper. This area supports three major supermarkets, a K-mart, and a myriad of mainly small businesses. (Much as complicated crossings like the Five Corners can easily inflame the passions of modern-day drivers, there’s documentation of road rage in the 1850s at this intersection. Travelers approaching the toll gate began to rebel against the toll and would drive their wagons around it through the fields.)
Plum Point, also known as the Kowawese Unique Area, is just down the road. The 102-acre park has 2,000-feet of sandy river frontage and one of the most breathtaking views of the Hudson gorge near West Point. Breakneck Ridge on the east bank and Storm King Mountain on the west cascade dramatically toward the water below. The park is open for fishing, boating, and picnicking.
Suburban yet rural
“We live in a complicated area,” said Debbie Strelevitz, a mother of six who lives in the Town of New Windsor and whose children attend Washingtonville schools. Strelevitz optimistically admits, “I like the fact that it’s got a suburban feel but it’s really rural. I find the schools to be fabulous!” she adds. Being almost equal distance to Albany and New York City and not far from West Point are real plusses to Strelevitz. “We have a lot of access to culture,” she says. Strelevitz moved to the area 16 years ago, three weeks before her eldest was born. “We chose to move up here because we could afford to buy property we couldn’t afford in Rockland,” Strelevitz said. “The only drawback to the area is the lack of public transportation.” But that inconvenience is compensated for by the abundance of area farms for Strelevitz. “I love the fact that we have local produce,” she says. Strelevitz makes regular trips to Roe’s Orchard, on Route 94 in Chester and Blooming Hill Organic Farm on Route 208 south of Washingtonville.
A drive heading through the foggy wetlands of the New Windsor’s Little Britain hamlet in early September gives rise to views of invasive purple loosestrife in blossom as far as the eye can see, silhouetted by golden hayfields—if they haven’t yet succumbed to development. It creates an ethereal atmosphere. An afternoon walk in Stewart State Forest gives rise to nature in an expansive park of 6,700 acres. The park is a mix of wetlands, fields, and woods, and includes many miles of gravel roads and major trails. It is a gathering place for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, hunters, dog walkers, bird watchers, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers, and fishermen.
Commerce and convenience
New York State acquired nearly 7,000 acres of private lands in the Town of New Windsor by eminent domain in 1973 for the purpose of expanding Stewart Airport into a major international airport. Almost 40 years later, Stewart is developing into a regional asset and a major passenger airport for the Mid-Hudson Valley region. The airport continues to be a prime source of possibility in the area. The airport’s proximity to New York City, the Thruway, and Route 84 has made New Windsor a particularly viable option for light industry, but the economic conditions of late have hindered development. “It’s tough in this economy,” says George A. Green, Town of New Windsor Supervisor, acknowledging the difficulty of attracting businesses to the town’s 200-acre business park adjacent to the airport. “Over the past two years, the town has lost one million dollars in mortgage, tax revenue,” Green says.
Interstate 84 and the New York State Thruway cross just over the New Windsor town line in the Town of Newburgh. There’s a Barnes and Noble, Adams Fairacre Farms, Orange County Choppers, Target, Home Depot and Lowes. “I don’t have to go anywhere,” said resident and business owner Miriam Frawley, who used to go to Middletown to shop. She’s excited about the growth of business in the area. Frawley and her husband Terrence own e-Diner Design & Marketing, which is located in the new Three Corner’s Building in central New Windsor. “Everything I need is here,” Frawley says.