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The Meeting Room
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Large Upstairs Bedroom
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Events
Photos of Recent Events
Local History Day & Resources 2006 Special Vet's Day Program
2008-Walden in the Civil War
2009-Virtual Cemetery Tour
2010-Local Genealogy
2011-Author: Lisa Melville
2012-Civil War: Walden,CO. H
Washington Post article: Co H-2014
2013-Textile Industry in Walden
2014-Knifetown USA: Part I-
The New York Knife Company
2015-Old House Superstitions &
Treasures: Concealment Shoes
2016-Knifetown USA:
Parts II & III-
-Walden Knife Company &
-Schrade Cutlery
2017-Mail Call: Letters from War
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www.villageofwalden.org
History Links:
American
Memory Project
Cornell's
Making of America
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of Orange County
Local History Book Publisher Sites
Black Dome Press
Hope
Farm Press
Purple
Mountain Press
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Native
settlements
sprinkled the banks of the Wallkill River and shared this
scenic spot atop a 40-foot waterfall with our early
ancestors. Your family history, if you were born in this
historic area, more than likely melts into one of the long
lines of many early immigrant settlers.
The Jacob T. Walden House
as pictured in an 1887 close-up of Montgomery & Wait
Streets from a panoramic map of Walden, NY
-- Source:
Library
of Congress site -- full 1887 Walden, NY
Map (updated 7-27-19)
The house built around
1768 is a fine example of Hudson Valley Dutch Colonial
architecture. It is constructed of cut stone and has walls
about 2 feet thick, which is indicated by the depth of the
window sills. The house is situated on land that was
originally part of the Gatehouse patent land grant. It is
believed that Samuel Erwin and his heirs enlarged the
original home by adding this stone structure to a smaller
frame house that no longer exists.
In 1813, wealthy New York City shipping merchant, Jacob
Treadwell Walden, purchased a home from the heirs of Samuel
Erwin, (during the time the village was called Kidd Town)
and moved his family here. He built
textile
mills powered by the Wallkill River and Falls.
He also purchased many
plots of land near the falls on both sides of the river.
The
Jacob T. Walden house is located on North Montgomery Street,
out of view but well within earshot of the raging "High
Falls." The village was officially renamed for him in
1855.
This stone house is made from local shale and limestone
blocks and still has the original Dutch double front door.
It became one of the first Walden structures to be proudly
named to the New York State and National Register of
Historic Places. The Walden House is now the home of the
Historical Society of Walden and Wallkill Valley.
1958
2007
The Historical Society of
Walden & the Wallkill Valley owns and maintains the
historic home that Mr. Walden referred to as "Old
Hearthstone." It is as we feel Mr.Walden might have
furnished his home when he moved here from New York City,
but none of the furnishings* in the house belonged to the
Walden family. (One item in the collection is flagged as possibly being from Mr. Walden's home--but the source is not documented.)
 
More recent view of the side of the house.
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