Walden

History

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. 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

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. 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…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,037
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  13,531
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  13,385
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,195
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,578
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,576
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,067
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  11,873

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 2.6 — 2015-08-14
  3 km SE of Mendham, New Jersey
• M 2.95 — 2009-02-03
  1 km ESE of Victory Gardens, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2001-10-27
  1 km NNW of Manhattan, New York