The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447,
The New Jersey Legislature originally incorporated Orange as a township on November 27, 1806, from parts of what was then Newark Township. Parts of the township were taken on April 14, 1834, to form the now-defunct Clinton Township. On January 31, 1860, Orange was reincorporated as a town. Parts of the town were taken to form South Orange Township (April 1, 1861, now known as Maplewood), Fairmount (March 11, 1862, since a part of West Orange), East Orange (March 4, 1863) and West Orange (April 10, 1863). On April 3, 1872, Orange was reincorporated as a city. In 1982, the city was one of four Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining 11 municipalities that had already made the change, of what ultimately were more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis. or William IV, Prince of Orange.
Despite the differences in the municipalities' character, Orange, East Orange, South Orange and West Orange are sometimes jointly called The Oranges.
In 2020, the township had New Jersey's 12th-highest property tax rate, with an equalized rate of 4.679% compared to 2.824% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%.
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, 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 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. 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 was organized on January 26, 1861; Fairmount (later to become part of West Orange) on March 11, 1862; East Orange on March 4, 1863; and West Orange (including Fairmount) on March 14, 1863. 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 $ million in ). The production of beer ceased with 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 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.
From about 1917 to 1926, 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. The Radium Girls were a group of hundreds of female factory workers who contracted acute radiation syndrome after ingesting radioactive radium when they followed instructions to rub brushes on their lips that were being used to paint luminescent watch dials, many of them suffering cancers and other deformities due to the radiation poisoning. The company's facility at 422–432 Alden Street was added to the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey in 1999.
Notable 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
thumb|[[Orange Valley Social Institute (1897)]]
Once a multi-ethnic, economically diverse city, Orange suffered indirectly from the 1967 riots in Newark (even though Newark and Orange do not share a border) and directly from the construction of 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. 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 to a township, thereby making it eligible for federal Revenue Sharing funds.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 2.22 square miles (5.74 km<sup>2</sup>), including 2.21 square miles (5.73 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and <0.01 square miles (0.01 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (0.09%).
Orange borders the Essex County municipalities of East Orange, Glen Ridge, Montclair, South Orange and West Orange.