Walden is the largest of three villages of the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 6,818 at the 2020 census. It has the ZIP Code 12586 and the 778 telephone exchange within the 845 area code. Walden is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area.
The precursor to the village began in the early 18th century as a mill town along the Wallkill River. One miller, Jacob Walden, was so successful the village that incorporated in the mid-19th century took its name from him. Later, it would be the village's three knife manufacturers that brought it growth and prosperity. They are gone today, but other industrial concerns remain.
History
thumb|left|[[Jacob T. Walden Stone House|18th-century stone house Jacob Walden later lived in.]]
The first Europeans began to arrive in the region around the 1650s, and began establishing permanent settlements in the area by the early 18th century.
The area around present-day Walden was purchased in 1736 by Alexander Kidd, and settlers of Scots-Irish, English and German descent started arriving not long afterwards. It was the first settlement west of the Wallkill River, known at the time as Kidd's Town.
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thumb|[[Perspective map of Walden with list of landmarks from 1887 by L.R. Burleigh]]
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In 1813, an entrepreneur from New York City named Jacob Treadwell Walden began purchasing land on both sides of the Wallkill River, with plans to develop a manufacturing settlement along the river. Some villagers interviewed by The New York Times on the matter claimed the long-running joke hurt their civic esteem, and even real estate values in the village.
Geography
thumb|right|A view of Walden toward the northeast. Wallkill River is visible at right, with downtown in the center.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and (3.9%) is water.
The village's most notable geographical feature is the Wallkill River, which flows from the south to the north across the village and divides one-third of it from the rest. Within the eastern portion, Tin Brook, the Wallkill's major right tributary in New York, meanders across as well, forming part of the northern village boundary. There are two waterfalls and dams on the river within the village limits, known as the Great and Little Falls; and two auto bridges, the "high" (formally, the Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge, which carries NY 52 through the village as West Main Street) and "low" (Oak Street) bridges).
The Wallkill passes through a small gorge between the two dams and loses approximately of elevation in the process. The surrounding topography in the village is, correspondingly, gentle rolling hills of this section of the Great Appalachian Valley between the higher rises of the Shawangunk Ridge, visible to the west from some sections of the village, and the Hudson Highlands to the southwest. The highest elevation is roughly above sea level along Overlook Road at the village's western boundary; the lowest is along the Wallkill at the northern village line.
thumb|left|upright|Great Falls and dam with power station, viewed from High Bridge after heavy rainfall in October 2005
Walden's growth began near the mills and later the knife-making plants, particularly the New York Knife Company, located on the steep east bank of the river just south of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge; the building's footings are still visible on the slope. The central business district of the village is today a few blocks to the east, along Main Street. Just to its south is the village hall and the main square. East Main Street, the section of 52 from the 208 junction to the village line, has seen many newer businesses locate there, including a small strip mall. There is also some scattered commercial presence along Orange Avenue (208 south of the junction), primarily professional office space. This parallels the village's remaining industrial presence along the railroad line to the east, which at its northern terminus abuts downtown to the southeast. Walden's other major commercial area is the Thruway Markets complex located along the river north of Oak Street, just south of the remains of the Walden Knife Company.
On the southern side of the village is the Fox Hill Bruderhof Community where about 250 community members live and work in their factories and the Plough Publishing House.
thumb|right|A view of Walden looking southeast toward the [[Hudson Highlands]]
There are two schools, public Walden Elementary School on Orchard Street and Most Precious Blood Catholic school near the northern village line along Ulster Avenue.
The village includes public parks and a walking trail.
- Bradley Park - along Albany Ave, on the high ground between Thruway Market and Ulster Ave (Rte 208), contains 4 baseball & 1 softball field (Home to the Walden Little League), 2 tennis courts, a playground, and a skateboard park.
- Wooster Grove - along East Main St (Rte 52), surrounded by the Tin Brook, offers a large playground, indoor & outdoor basketball courts, a bandstand, an ice rink; the village's teen center is also here.
- James Olley Park - at the end of Sherman Ave, includes a manufactured beach with public swimming and fishing, a small playground, a picnic grove, unimproved walking trails, and a summer recreation camp.
- Alfred Place Park - the only park on the west side includes a small playground and basketball court.
- Walden–Wallkill Rail Trail - beginning at Woosters Grove, a -long paved walking and biking trail linking the village to the hamlet of Wallkill in Ulster County.
Much of the remainder of the village is residential, with houses tending from modest and small near downtown, the river and railroad, to more expansive homes (such as the Victorians along the west side of Ulster Avenue) being found on the hills, newer development near the southwestern and eastern borders with the town, and 6 small apartment and townhouse complexes.
A large tract along the river south of the power station had remained undeveloped until very recently. A small area between McKinley Avenue, South Mountgomery Street and the river remains open, used for NYSEG's purposes. On the other end of the village, the sewage treatment plant is also in the middle of an undeveloped area.
Climate
Walden has a humid continental climate, and tends to be significantly cooler than Manhattan, especially at night.