Orange, New Jersey
Located in Essex County, New Jersey, USA, the city of Orange had a population of just over 30,000 people at the time of the last census in 2010. This figure was down 8.3% from the census in the year 2000 when the population was 32,868 and this millennium figure was up by 2,943 citizens in comparison to the 1990 census.
Map Of Orange, NJ
In November 1806, an act of the New Jersey Legislature incorporated Orange as a township from various portions of Newark. Further portions of the township were taken from Clinton in April 1834 and by the end of January 1860, Orange was a fully-fledged town in its right. The town was soon chopped up into the different sections of the city we know today. For example, in 1861, part of the town was marked as South Orange Township and that area is now known as Maplewood. On March 11 1862, Fairmount was formed and today we know this area as West Orange. In March of the following year, East Orange Township was formed, with West Orange Township forming around one month later.
In April 1872, Orange became a city. Over a century later in 1982, the city was recognized as a municipality of Essex County, passing a vote to become a township. Joining eleven other municipalities in rebranding themselves as townships, this meant that Orange was able to utilize the federal revenue sharing policies which allocated townships a larger share of government aid per person. Even though there are differences in the nature of the municipalities, Orange is often thought of as one, with neighboring West Orange, East Orange and South Orange – collectively often referred to as ‘The Oranges’.
Taking its name from late 17th century British king, William III who was also known as William of Orange, the origins of the city are rooted in the New Haven Colony of Connecticut. Arriving in the area surrounding modern day Newark, in 1666 around 30 New Haven families came to the district on the water. Their landing spot was located to the north-east of some land conveyed by King Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York. The Duke conveyed the land to Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley and since Carteret was the Royal Governor of the Isle of Jersey, the area became known as New Jersey.
Initially part of Newark and referred to as ‘Newark Mountains’, in summer 1780 the people of Newark Mountains voted to change the name of the place they called home. Adopting the name Orange, at the time of the vote there was a considerable proportion of people that wanted succession from Newark. However, this did not happen until 26 years later when, on November 27, 1806, the territory encompassing all of the modern day Oranges became fully detached. In April of the following year the first government was elected and by March 1860 Orange was a fully incorporated city. Within a few decades, the city started to fragment into smaller communities. This was largely down to disputes between local communities, often on topics such as the cost of having paid police and fire departments.
The city of Orange is located on the Mount Pleasant and Newark turnpike, on the main road between Morristown and Newark, en route to Eaton, Pennsylvania. A popular stopping point for many a weary traveler, the initial primary mode of transport around the area was the stagecoach. With the Morris and Essex rail service arriving in Orange in late 1836, omnibuses also serviced Orange and in October of 1837, the first steam locomotive arrived in the area. A town once filled with horse-drawn cars and carriages now relegated equine stallions to pastoral use only, with little room for exception. The Morris and Essex rail service soon became part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad which is more popularly known today as New Jersey Transit’s Morristown Line. Trolley cars were popularized much later, though the first car up Main Street was in 1862. The Orange Crosstown Line connected Morris Street with Orange and Bloomfield and this service commenced in June 1888. Over the years, the carriages and buses that were brought in as more modern replacements evolved to become part of the Public Service Coordinated Transport System.
Orange Train Station & Landmarks
Close by is also the Orange City Hall located at 29 N Day St.:
Also, a 3 minute walk from City Hall will bring you to the Orange Public Library located at 348 Main St.
An industrial city practically from its conception, early settlers in Orange used the abundant hemlock trees as a supply of tannic acid. As a result, the tanning industry thrived in the city with shoe and bootmaker factories flourishing. Also once known as the hatmaking capital of the United States, hatmakers here date back as far as 1792. By 1892 the trade employed an impressive 3,700 people, producing around 4.8 million hats, worth well over $1 million. A group of brothers founded the No Name Hat Company before one of the siblings left Orange in pursuit of making fedoras in Philadelphia; quickly utilizing the family name, ‘Stetson’. By the early 1920s, there were only a handful of hat-making firms left in Orange and by 1960 all of them had vanished completely.
One other industry that thrived particularly well in Orange in the early 20th century was beer making. The Winter Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania moved to the city and opened the first brewery in 1901. While the production of beer was forced to stop during the prohibition era following World War I, when the act was repealed in 1933 the brewery was sold to John F Trommers of Philadelphia, who brewed there until 1950. It was then that the brewery was passed into the hands of Liebmann Breweries Inc though the brewery eventually closed for good in 1977.
How to get to our office from the Orange Public Library:
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