A brief history of Jacob T. Walden..

In 1719, a 1,000-acre land patent was granted to Edward Gatehouse as part of the larger Capt. John Evans patent in the Hudson Valley. Gatehouse, a New York City schoolmaster and member of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, also held land in the Town of Shawangunk, which then included present-day Walden.

After his death in 1741, the property passed to his nephew Richard Gatehouse, who lived on the land and served in the local militia. In 1763, the acreage was sold to New York City merchants James and Charles McEvers, who appear not to have settled there.

By the late 18th century, William Erwin, a Revolutionary War veteran, became a tenant on the property and later purchased about 190 acres in 1793. A stone house, likely built around this time, became known as “William Erwin’s mansion.” Erwin sold the farm in 1807.

The land changed hands several times before being acquired in 1812–1813 by Jacob T. Walden, a former New York City merchant. Following the War of 1812, Walden and other investors turned to manufacturing, reflecting a broader shift toward industry in the Hudson Valley. By 1815, Walden had secured ownership of the local mill and surrounding acreage, helping shape the area’s early industrial development.

When the Waldens first came to this area, it was referred to as "Kidd Town," named for the Alexander Kidd families who settled here in 1736. It was the Kidd Mill at the foot of the falls that Jacob Walden purchased to try his hand at the manufacture of cotton fabric. It must have been very difficult for the Waldens to leave the convenience of the day in New York City to come to an area that was predominantly agricultural--and rather desolate by comparison.

Mr. Walden's first wife, Maria Pell, was from Westchester. She died in 1822, nine years after the family moved here. They had four daughters. One daughter, Sophia, was a locally famous published poet. Mr. Walden later married Beulah Hoffman Willet, granddaughter of Colonial New York's Lt. Governor Cadwallader Colden; they had one son.

Mr. Walden returned to New York City around 1840 in ill health and having suffered business losses. Fortunately, he lived long enough to learn that the village was officially named in his honor when the community incorporated in April 1855. He died six months later and is buried in Trinity Churchyard near Wall Street in NYC.