Goshen

History

European settlement began around 1714, although plans for this were made beginning about 1654. The town was established in 1788, after the American Revolutionary War and New York becoming a state. As population increased in the area, in 1830, part of Goshen was divided off to form the new Town of Hamptonburgh. In 1845, another part was used to form the Town of Chester. When the French and Indian War began in 1756, the men of Goshen took up arms. The Journal of the Assembly relates the services of Captain George DeKay as an express between Goshen and Minisink. It mentions as his guards Peter Carter, David Benjamin, Philip Reid, and Francis Armstrong. It tells also that Colonel Vincent Mathews was paid two pounds to furnish guides to regulars posted at Goshen from October 1757, to February 1758. Colonels Clinton and DeKay fortified block houses for the settlers' defense. Samuel Gale was paid 56 pounds to furnish provisions to troops on the frontiers near Goshen. Colonel Benj. Tusten, Captain Daniel Case, and Captain J. Bull were reimbursed for their expenses in building block houses Nos. 1 and 2 on the western frontier in January 1757. In 1763, Governor Cadwallader Colden appealed to the General Assembly for troops to relieve the militia on the borders of Orange and Ulster counties, an area infiltrated by the enemy. At this time the Town of Goshen extended from the Hudson River to the New Jersey border. In 1764 a bill was passed dividing the precinct of Goshen into two precincts, to be called Goshen and Cornwall. After this division, Cornwall embraced the present towns of Cornwall, Monroe and Blooming Grove, while Goshen included the present town of Warwick. Revolutionary fervor built in the years before war broke out in the late eighteenth century. On June 8, 1775,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44 square miles (113.9 km2), of which 43.8 square miles (113.6 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (.3 km2) (.27%) is water. Goshen is bordered on the north by the town of Wallkill, to the northeast by the town of Hamptonburgh, on the east by the town of Blooming Grove, to the southeast by the town of Chester, on the south by the town of Warwick, and to the west by the town of Wawayanda.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,567
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,033
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  16,978
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,942
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,467
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  15,922
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  15,624
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,492

Largest nearby schools

• MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL
  High · MIDDLETOWN · 2,523 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• WASHINGTONVILLE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · WASHINGTONVILLE · 1,318 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• PRESIDENTIAL PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · MIDDLETOWN · 1,300 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• MINISINK VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · MIDDLETOWN · 1,172 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• GOSHEN CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · GOSHEN · 1,017 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• MAPLE HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · MIDDLETOWN · 1,012 students · 8.6:1 ratio
• ORANGE-ULSTER BOCES
  Other · GOSHEN · 994 students · 4.7:1 ratio
• WASHINGTONVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · WASHINGTONVILLE · 900 students · 11.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey