Editing Walden, New York (section)

==Economy==
[[Image:Thruway Markets, Walden NY.JPG|thumb|right|Thruway Markets]]
For 95 years, Walden was the home of Spence Engineering, a steam regulator manufacturer founded by Paulson Spence in 1926. He located his manufacturing facilities in Walden to serve the district steam heating loops in the northeast, especially [[ConEd]] in New York City. In 2019, Emerson Electric purchased Spence Engineering, ultimately moving it to Mexico in 2021 to improve their profitability.

The knife making plants are also gone, but other [[light industry|light-industrial]] concerns remain along the rail spur. The growing [[service economy|service sector]] is most strongly represented by two regional banks, Walden Federal and Walden Savings Bank, are based in the village (though the latter has moved to new headquarters at Scotts Corners, the 17K/208 intersection).

[[Retailing]] has long been a strong point for the village. The opening of Thruway Markets in 1955 filled the need not only for a [[supermarket]] but the entire [[Big-box store|big box]] sector, long before it existed in the country at large. While it eventually drove smaller stores from Main Street, it remains a substantial part of the village's tax base and a major draw for consumers from outside not only Walden but the Town of Montgomery (particularly the nearby hamlet of Wallkill, which has no large retailers of its own), despite the openings of chain supermarkets in several nearby communities. The Thruway complex also boasts an outdoor-recreation store, tire-repair shop and the oldest of the village's three [[American Chinese cuisine|Chinese]] restaurants. In 2013, Thruway's owners closed the supermarket and hardware store after selling that space to the Maine-based [[Hannaford Bros. Co.|Hannaford]] supermarket chain. Building of the new Hannaford supermarket is complete. The Ace hardware store has also since reopened.

While vacant space remains on Main Street, specialty stores and restaurants have managed to thrive there. Millspaugh Furniture, founded in Walden (but with another outlet in [[Poughkeepsie (city), New York|Poughkeepsie]]), is another popular draw for out-of-town shoppers due to its long history in the area and reputation for quality merchandise. National and regional chain stores once had little presence in Walden beyond two [[filling station]]s along the 52/208 section of Main Street, but in the last decade the amount of [[convenience store]]s has doubled.

Outside of jobs at the enterprises in the village, most residents work in the area. The nearby interstate and its associated "Golden Triangle" (with the [[New York State Thruway]]/[[Interstate 87 (New York)|I-87]] and [[New York State Route 17|NY 17]] (the future [[Interstate 86 (east)|I-86]]) provide many jobs in transportation and [[Distribution (business)|distribution]], particularly at Maybrook's [[Yellow Freight]] facility and the large [[Staples Inc.|Staples]] [[warehouse]] just north of I-84. Local government agencies, and some state ones such as the [[New York State Department of Correctional Services|Department of Correctional Services]], also employ residents. More recently, residents of the newer housing have been [[commuting|commuters]] traveling to jobs in [[New York City]] or other areas close to it.