Welcome to Wallkill NY

Hi, my name is Andy. Some of you know my screen name, Hpjoll. I live in a
small hamlet named Wallkill, in Ulster County, New York. It is a nice
community, that does have a interesting history.

A gentleman named John G. Borden lived in our town in the latter part of the
19th century. Mr. Borden was the heir to the Borden Milk Company, that
still produces condensed milk. One of their most famous logos is Elsie the
Cow.

Mr. Borden established a community for his workers. There still is today
houses he had built. The little community was to be self sufficient. Later
on, he and his family would donate land to establish parks in the hamlet.
One of the parks, called the South Park at the time, became home to our
public library. Another member of the Borden family, Marion Borden,
bequeathed $30,000.00 to the library. This funded the construction of our
current library.

The school that my 14 year old currently attends, used to be the old high
school building. On the façade, it was named the John G. Borden High
School. It was recently rededicated as the “John G. Borden Middle School”.

We also have John G. Borden to thank for our hamlet’s name. He led the
proposal to rename our hamlet Wallkill; otherwise we would be known as the
Hamlet of Shawangunk, an Indian name.

It just goes to show that even small communities have a story to tell.

Till next time,

Andy.