About Shawangunk
HISTORY
Shawangunk was first settled by Europeans around 1670. The region was organized as a precinct in 1743, and became the Town of Shawangunk in 1788.
The name is a Dutch transliteration of the indigenous Munsee Lenape "Scha-WAN-gunk." The Lenape linguist Raymond Whritenour reports that, "Schawan" is an inanimate intransitive verb meaning 'it is smoky air' or 'there is smoky air.' Its noun-like participle is "schawank," meaning that which is smoky air.' Adding the locative suffix gives us "schawangunk" ('in that which is smoky air' or, more simply, 'in the smoky air'). Like the nearby Catskill Mountains, which are referred to as the "Hidden Mountains" at Olana, the Shawangunk area can be noted for the heavy humidity and atmosphere caused by the mountain ridge running southwest to northeast partially blocking the prevailing west to east wind.
Whritenour suggests the name derives from the burning of a Munsee fort by the Dutch in 1663 (a massacre ending the Second Esopus War) beside the creek later named the Shawangunk Kill, near the western terminus of what is now Old Fort Road. Nearly a dozen three-syllable variants of Shawangunk appear on the earliest land deeds adjacent to the massacre site and across the basin. The name spread to the nearby ridge in the early 1700s.
Residents, rather than describing themselves as living in Shawangunk, more commonly refer to their residence as either Wallkill, Pine Bush or Walker Valley, depending on which part of the town they live in.
GEOGRAPHY
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.5 square miles (146.4 km²), of which, 56.2 square miles (145.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (0.55%) is water.
The south town line and half of the east town line is the border of Orange County, New York.
The Wallkill River flows through the eastern half of town and lends it its name, which it flows through, while the western (Walker Valley) half climbs the slopes of the eponymous mountains.
- Latitude 41.633N, longitude -74.259W
- Estimated population: 12,717
- Total Area: 56.5 square miles
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 12,022 people, 3,433 households, and 2,557 families residing in the town. The population density was 213.9 people per square mile (82.6/km²). There were 3,754 housing units at an average density of 66.8/sq mi (25.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.49% White, 8.14% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.96% of the population.
There were 3,433 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 134.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,366, and the median income for a family was $59,975. Males had a median income of $40,967 versus $29,608 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,402. About 4.4% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.