Editing Orange, New Jersey (section)

==History==
Orange has its origins in [[Connecticut]]'s [[New Haven]] Colony. In 1666, 30 of New Haven's families traveled by water to found "a town on the Passayak" River. They arrived on territory now encompassing [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], [[the Oranges]], and several other municipalities. The area was in the northeast portion of a land grant conveyed by King [[Charles II of England]] to his brother James, Duke of York. In 1664, James conveyed the land to two proprietors, Lord [[John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton|John Berkeley]] and Sir [[George Carteret]]. Since Carteret had been Royal Governor of the Isle of [[Jersey]], the territory became known as "New Jersey."

Orange was initially part of the city of Newark, but it was originally known as "Newark Mountains". On June 7, 1780, the townspeople of Newark Mountains officially voted to adopt the name Orange.<ref name="History 1921">Pierson, David Lawrence. ''History of the Oranges to 1921: Reviewing the Rise, Development and Progress of an Influential Community – Volume 1''. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1922. OCLC 3884577. '''See Chapter XXIX – The Name Orange Adopted, Page 155.'''  [https://archive.org/details/historyoforanges04pier/page/155 Available via Internet Archive]</ref> At the time, a significant number of people favored secession from Newark. This did not occur until November 27, 1806, when the territory now encompassing all of the Oranges was finally detached.

On April 13, 1807, the first government was elected, but not until March 13, 1860, was Orange officially incorporated as a city. Immediately, the new city began fragmenting into smaller communities, primarily because of local disputes about the costs of establishing paid police, fire, and street departments. [[South Orange, New Jersey|South Orange]] was organized on January 26, 1861; Fairmount (later to become part of West Orange) on March 11, 1862; [[East Orange, New Jersey|East Orange]] on March 4, 1863; and [[West Orange, New Jersey|West Orange]] (including Fairmount) on March 14, 1863.<ref name=Story/>

===Early center of transportation===
[[File:F. Berg hat factory.jpg|thumb|F. Berg & Co. hat factory building, built in 1907. The company left in the 1920s.]]
Orange is on the [[New Jersey Route 10|Newark and Mount-Pleasant Turnpike]], the main road from Newark to [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]], and ultimately to [[Easton, Pennsylvania]]. The town became a busy thoroughfare for travelers, and hotels abounded. Initially, the stagecoach was the primary method of transportation. Omnibuses of the Eclipse and the Morris & Newark Lines serviced Orange.

The [[Morris and Essex Railroad]] arrived in Orange in November 1836, its first cars drawn by horses. On October 2, 1837, the first steam locomotive appeared, and the horses were, with minor exception, relegated to pasture. The "M&E" later became a part of the [[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]] (DL&W), which exists today as [[NJ Transit]]'s [[Morristown Line]].

Trolley cars appeared much later, with the Orange and Newark Horse Car Railroad Company running its first car up Main Street in May 1862. The Orange Crosstown Line, eventually extending from Morris Street, Orange, to Bloomfield, was started in June 1888. (The first electric trolley in the State of New Jersey operated over a section of this line.) Eventually, all the trolleys, and the buses that replaced them, became part of the sprawling Public Service Coordinated Transport System.

Orange became an industrial city early in its history, with the tanning industry expanding rapidly after settlers found growths of [[tsuga|hemlock]] trees that were a source for the [[tannic acid]] they needed, leading to the growth of many factories producing shoes and boots.<ref name=History/>

Orange was once the United States' hat-making capital. The industry can be traced there to 1792. By 1892, 21 firms were engaged in that trade, employing over 3,700 people in plants that produced about 4.8 million hats, which had a combined value in excess of $1 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1.0|1892|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Several brothers founded the "No-Name Hat Company" in Orange before one of them moved on to make fedoras in Philadelphia under the family name, "[[Stetson]]." By 1921, only five hat-making firms were left, many having departed for places such as [[Norwalk, Connecticut|Norwalk]] and [[Danbury, Connecticut]].<ref>[https://sites.google.com/site/carcomf/historyofthehatindustryatorange History of the Hat Industry at Orange, NJ]. Accessed November 3, 2019.</ref> By 1960, all had left.

Beer was a major industry in Orange beginning in the early 1900s, when the three Winter Brothers of [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, arrived in the city and built the first brewery. The Orange Brewery was constructed in 1901 at a reported cost of $350,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.350|1901|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). The production of beer ceased with [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]] in 1920, and after the repeal of the [[Volstead Act]] in 1933, the brewery was sold to John F. Trommers of Philadelphia. Trommers brewed beer under that label until 1950, when the concern was again sold to Liebmann Breweries, Incorporated, which bottled [[Rheingold Beer]]. Eventually, after passing through several other owners, the plant was closed permanently in 1977.

Other notable firms in Orange were the [[Monroe Calculator Company|Monroe Calculating Company]], manufacturers of the adding machines of the same name, and the Bates Manufacturing Company, producers of office accessories such as staplers and stampers.

The [[United States Radium Corporation]] refined ore and extracted the [[radium]] used to make luminous paint for dials and hands of watches and other indicators. Years later, the carcinogenic effects of this material became known, and the polluted site of the factory became a liability for the city.<ref>Frame, Paul. [https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/radioluminescent/index.html Radioluminescent Paint], [[Oak Ridge Associated Universities]]. Accessed November 16, 2021.</ref>

===Famous residents and visitors===
Orange has produced such notables as baseball's [[Monte Irvin]] and heavyweight boxer [[Tony Galento]]. Actor [[William Bendix]] lived and worked here for a short while. Presidents, presidential candidates, and governors visited. Orange held major celebrations for its 100th anniversary, and another when it turned 150.

===Late 20th century political and social changes===
[[File:Orange Valley Social Institute ("The Commons", 1897).png|thumb|[[Orange Valley Social Institute]] (1897)]]
Once a multi-ethnic, economically diverse city, Orange suffered indirectly from the [[1967 Newark riots|1967 riots]] in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] (even though Newark and Orange do not share a border) and directly from the construction of [[Interstate 280 (New Jersey)|Interstate 280]] through the heart of the downtown area, triggering middle-class "[[white flight]]" from aging industrial towns to the new automobile suburbs being built in western Essex County and elsewhere.<ref>[[Andrew Jacobs (journalist)|Jacobs, Andrew]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/18/nyregion/back-from-the-abyss.html "Back From the Abyss"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 18, 2001. Accessed November 3, 2019. "White flight, the self-perpetuating sickness that helped drain vitality from prewar suburbs like Irvington, East Orange and Orange, looked as if it had found another victim."</ref><ref>[https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=7ea8d1d3ae1947b4bd525b3b40fa2c66 "Everything you Want to Learn About the American City, You Can Learn in Orange, NJ"], [[ArcGIS]]. Accessed November 3, 2019. "The construction of I-280 itself caused the demolition of several hundred homes and many major community institutions that have never been replaced. As the highway provided easy transport between new suburbs and the urban centers in Newark and New York, 280 was a pathway for white flight, a factor that changed the demographics of Orange significantly after 1970."</ref> By the end of the 1970s, Orange had many of the urban ills normally associated with larger cities. However, the city still features many tree-lined streets with well-maintained homes.

In 1982, citizens voted overwhelmingly to change the designation of Orange from a [[city (New Jersey)|city]] to a [[township (New Jersey)|township]], thereby making it eligible for federal Revenue Sharing funds.<ref name=History/> In 1985, the State of New Jersey named Orange as a State [[Urban Enterprise Zone]], creating tax breaks and investment incentives.<ref name=History>[https://orangenj.gov/256/About-Us About Us], City of Orange Township. Accessed December 10, 2024.</ref>