Orange 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 Franklin County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 7,569 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. Part of the town is included in the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

History

Orange was first settled by Europeans in 1746, created from lands in the towns of Royalston,

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and Athol. The lands were not fully settled until the latter parts of the century, becoming the District of Orange in 1783, and finally being incorporated as a town in 1810. It was named for

William, Prince of Orange William, Prince of Orange (Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik; 4 September 1840 – 11 June 1879), was heir apparent to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of William III of the Netherlands, King William III from 17 March 1849 until ...

. In 1790, the

Millers River The Millers River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in northern Massachusetts, originating in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, Ashburnham and joining ...

was dammed within town, and industry began in the former farming community. Small industry grew, with the town being considered more of a mill town by 1840. By the late nineteenth century the New Home

Sewing Machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

Company was the largest industry in town, putting out 1.2 million machines at its peak in 1892. In 1900, it was home to the pioneer

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

company

Grout Grout is a dense substance that flows like a liquid yet hardens upon application, often used to fill gaps or to function as reinforcement in existing structures. Grout is generally a mixture of water, cement, and sand, and is frequently employe ...

, considered the first automobile built in a factory in the United States. The town was used as the eponymous location for the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

''Castle Rock'' series, based on

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's works, with several businesses in the downtown refitted to reflect the milieu.

Massachusetts Peace Statue

The Massachusetts Peace Statue—''It Shall Not Be Again''—a bronze war memorial statue was erected in Memorial Park in 1934 to recognize veterans who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On February 25, 2000, the legislature designated it the official peace statue of the Commonwealth of

. Image:Orange Massachusetts Peace Statue 01.jpg, Peace Statue (1934) Image:Orange Massachusetts Peace Statue 04.jpg, Peace Statue Plaque

Geography

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 , or 2.58%, is water. Orange is drained by the

, which flows through the center of the modern town. There are also several brooks within town, as well as several ponds and lakes, including Tully Pond, Lake Mattawa and part of Lake Rohunta. Only a small portion of the town is protected area, most of which is part of the Orange State Forest, with a small portion being part of the Warwick State Forest. Much of the northern half of town is spotted with swamps, and the town is home to three large hills, Temple Hill and Tully Mountain in the north and Chestnut Hill, the town's highest point, in the south. Orange is the easternmost town within Franklin County along its border with Worcester County. The town center lies east of Greenfield, northwest of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, northeast of Springfield and west-northwest of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. It is bordered by Royalston to the northeast, Athol to the southeast, New Salem to the south,

Wendell Wendell may refer to: Places in the United States *Wendell, Idaho *Wendell, Massachusetts *Wendell, Minnesota *Wendell, North Carolina People and fictional characters *Wendell (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

to the southwest, a small portion of

Erving Erving may refer to: People * Cameron Erving (born 1992), American football player * George W. Erving (1769–1850), American diplomat * Joona Erving (born 1994), Finnish hockey player * Julius Erving (born 1950), American basketball player, also k ...

to the west, and

to the northwest.

Climate

Like most of Massachusetts, Orange falls into a humid continental climate type, or Koppen Dfa/Dfb. Hot, humid summers are common, along with cold, snowy winters. Spring and fall are typically mild, with notable fall foliage.

Transportation

The town lies along

Massachusetts Route 2 Route 2 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts, United States. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway. Route ...

, the major east-west route across the northern part of the state. Except for the westernmost tenth of a mile, the entire road is a limited access highway through town. The highway portion ends at the junction of Route 2A, which passes just north of the Millers River near the town center, heading east into Athol and following Route 2's former right of way. Orange is also home to the southern terminus of

Route 78 The following highways are numbered 78: International * AH78, Asian Highway 78 * European route E78 Australia * Waterfall Way – New South Wales State Route B78 China * G78 Shantou–Kunming Expressway, G78 Expressway Greece * Greek Nati ...

and the northern terminus of Route 122. Additionally, the western end of the concurrency between Route 2 and

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of U.S. Route 2, US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware in the south to Maine in the north and traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, N ...

is just within town. The Springfield Terminal railway passes through town, crossing the Millers River several times in the western side of town. The

Fitchburg Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...

and later

Boston and Maine Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

once provided passenger rail service to Orange; however, these trains have long ceased operating and today only freight passes through the town. Two local bus routes, the Orange/Greenfield Route of the

Franklin Regional Transit Authority The Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) is a regional transit authority which provides public transportation principally to Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, both in Massachusetts. The FRTA is based in the county seat of Gree ...

, and the Gardner/Orange Route of

Montachusett Regional Transit Authority The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) is a public, nonprofit organization established under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws to provide public transportation to the Montachusett Region. MART is one of Massachusetts' 1 ...

, provide service along Route 2A. The Town of Orange owns and operates

Orange Municipal Airport Orange Municipal Airport, in Orange, Massachusetts, is a public airport owned by Town of Orange. It has two runways, averages 95 flights per day, and has approximately 46 aircraft based on its field.

, a small air service airstrip which also serves as a flight training center and parachuting center. The nearest national air service can be reached either at

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

to the south or Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to the northeast.

Education

Elementary School: *Fisher Hill School (Pre-K through 6) High School: * Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School (7–12)

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 7,518 people, 3,045 households, and 1,979 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.29%

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 ...

, 1.06%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.59% from other races, and 1.34% 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 1.65% of the population. There were 3,045 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% 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, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,849, and the median income for a family was $44,128. Males had a median income of $34,367 versus $23,967 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 $17,361. About 5.8% of families and 7.8% 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 7.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Events

*North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival * Annual Athol to Orange River Rat Race

Notable people

* Myrtle Bachelder, chemist and Women's Army Corps officer who worked on the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

Charles Chapin Charles E. Chapin (October 19, 1858 – December 13, 1930) was an American editor of Joseph Pulitzer’s '' Evening World''. He was convicted of the murder of his wife and sentenced to a 20-year-to-life term in Sing Sing prison. Career Chapin ...

, U.S. Marshal for Vermont *

Robert Dexter Conrad Robert Dexter Conrad (March 20, 1905 – July 26, 1949) was a United States Navy officer. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as an ensign in June 1927. Naval career Following duty onboard , he attended the Po ...

, naval captain * Walter William Spencer Cook (1888–1962), art historian and professor, specialized in Spanish Medieval art history; born in Orange *

Genevieve Gaignard Genevieve Gaignard, born in Orange, Massachusetts in 1981, is best known for work exploring issues of race, class, and gender. As a self-identified mixed-race woman, Gaignard utilizes photography, videography, and installation to explore the overl ...

, artist *

Whitey Witt Lawton Walter "Whitey" Witt (born Ladislaw Waldemar Wittkowski; September 28, 1895 – July 14, 1988) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Philadelphia Athl ...

, former Baseball player and member of the New York Yankees first World Series championship team 1923

Gallery

File:Central Congregational Church, Orange, Massachusetts.jpg, Central Congregational Church File:Wheeler Mansion, Orange, Massachusetts.jpg, Wheeler Mansion File:Orange Historical Society, Orange, Massachusetts.jpg, Orange Historical Society File:Wheeler Memorial Library, Orange, Massachusetts.jpg, Wheeler Memorial Library

References

External links

Town of Orange official website

Wheeler Memorial Library
{{authority control Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts