Lumberland is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Sullivan County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 2,243 at the 2020 census. The town is a rural community in the southwestern part of the county.

History

The town was formed in 1798 from the town of Mamakating, but was subsequently reduced to form other towns in 1807 and 1809. The town was partitioned in 1853 into three parts: Lumberland,

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, and Tusten. Lumberland in its current form began to blossom when the Delaware and Hudson Canal opened in 1828. The canal helped transport anthracite coal from the mines of northeastern Pennsylvania to the burgeoning markets of major cities. Settlements that popped up along the canal included Pond Eddy, Knights Eddy, Handsome Eddy, and Mongaup. When the canal was phased out due to the advent of railroads on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, its bed was converted into

New York State Route 97 New York State Route 97 (NY 97) is a north–south scenic route in southern New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from U.S. Route 6 in New York, U.S. Route 6 (US 6) and U.S. Route 209, US 209 in Port ...

in the 1930s. The

Pond Eddy Bridge The Pond Eddy Bridge is a truss bridge spanning the Delaware River between the hamlet of Pond Eddy, New York, Pond Eddy in Lumberland, New York and the settlement informally called Pond Eddy, Pennsylvania, Pond Eddy in Shohola Township, Pennsy ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1988.

Geography

The southwestern town line, delineated by the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, is the border of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The eastern town line is the border of Orange County. The north is bordered by the town of Forestburgh, and the west by the town of

. The area has maintained its rural characteristics, being largely residential, with minimal commerce. There is one gas station in Glen Spey, and there are no traffic lights in Lumberland. Lumberland is located within the

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is a unit of the National Park Service designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. It stretches along of the Delaware River between Hancock, New York, and Sparrowbush, New York. ...

. Elevations range from approximately 600 feet near the

to over 1,300 feet above sea level on the bluffs overlooking the Delaware, and where the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

begin to rise in the northern reaches of the town. The terrain is largely mountainous and wooded, with the majority of residents settling close to or on main roads, such as

(Upper Delaware Scenic Byway). Rivers and streams abound in Lumberland. The

is widely accessible through rafting companies that do day trips and that have campsites dotted along the river. The Mill Brook runs north-south from the Black Forest Colony, through Pond Eddy hollow, to the Delaware at the Mill Brook Inn. Fish Cabin Brook takes a similar course just to the east. The Mongaup River runs from Rio Reservoir southward into the Delaware at the Orange County line. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (5.30%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,939 people, 781 households, and 538 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,419 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.75%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.21%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.10%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.83% Asian, 0.15%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.77% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.91% of the population. There were 781 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,625, and the median income for a family was $45,100. Males had a median income of $38,080 versus $27,222 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,665. About 8.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Lumberland

*Black Forest – A private community in Glen Spey off Hollow Road, north of Pond Eddy. * Glen Spey – A hamlet near the center of the town. * Handsome Eddy – A hamlet on the western town line, on north bank of the Delaware River. *Knights Eddy – A hamlet on the Delaware River on the southern town line, east of Pond Eddy. *Mohican Lake – A lake in the northwestern part of the town. *Mongaup – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town by the Delaware and Mongaup Rivers. * Pond Eddy – A hamlet on the north bank of the Delaware River. The

is located here. *Rio Reservoir – A reservoir at the eastern town line. *Upper Mongaup – A hamlet by the eastern town line.

Camp

Camp Ramah Camp Ramah () is a network of Jewish summer camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and Israel. All Ramah camps serve kosher food and are Shabbat-observant. History During the 1940s, th ...

in Glen Spey was located in Lumberland, from the

. It opened in 1967 and closed in 1971. On June 16, 1976, a fire broke out in the kitchen-dining hall and destroyed many buildings. Lumberland firefighters burned the rest of the camp down in 1982 as a training exercise, and to ensure the safety and integrity of the townspeople around them. Camps currently exist as rafting companies along the

in Knights Eddy and Pond Eddy. There is also Camp Simcha, which is designated for children with disabilities.

Popular culture

Lumberland is the focal point of product testing for the Best Made Company. It was also the subject of the song "Darlings of Lumberland" on the 2013 album ''

Nanobots Nanoid robotics, or for short, nanorobotics or nanobotics, is an emerging technology field creating machines or robots, which are called nanorobots or simply nanobots, whose components are at or near the scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters). ...

'' by the alternative rock group

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

References

External links

Town website
{{authority control Towns in Sullivan County, New York Towns in New York (state) Ukrainian communities in the United States New York (state) populated places on the Delaware River