About Orange...
Orange Historical Society, located at 41 North
Main Street, is housed in a Victorian home and is furnished in that
period. Included are a special children's room, military room and
alumni room. Barn exhibits include a fire pumper, steam automobile
(circa 1904) made in Orange by the Grout brothers and other industrial
items. Open Sunday and Wednesday, 2 to 4 p.m. Call 978-544-6286
for further information.
Lake Mattawa is a popular swimming, boating and
fishing spot on Holtshire Road. The lake is stocked with trout and
salmon and has a beach and a boat ramp.
Peace Statue is a nationally known statue in Orange
Memorial Park on South Main Street. It depicts a veteran soldier
from World War I explaining to a child the futility of war. The
12-foot statue, sculted by Joseph Pollia of New York, was unveiled
in 1934. It is dedicated to the residents of Orange who served in
the war. A bronze plaque at the base reads: "It Shall Not Be
Again."
As early as 1735 a long street, eight rods in width,
was laid in a north and south direction in the northwesterly part
of Athol, a little east of the top of West Pequoiag hill. On either
side of this street small lots, called home lots, were laid out
in regular form. Many of the lots were quickly occupied by settlers.
The little community thus formed soon attracted other settlers to
adjacent parts of Warwick and Royalston.
However, this compact settlement was located so
far from the center of the nearest towns as to make it inconvenient
for the people to gather with their fellow townspeople for religious
service and management of municipal affairs. Then, between 1769
and 1780, the Ruggles Grant and the east end of Erving's Grant filled
with settlers. This population increase led the isolated community
decide to become a town.
As a result, on October 15, 1783, the area including
the northwesterly part of Athol, the southeasterly part of Royalston,
the southeasterly part of Warwick, the easterly part of a grant
to John Erving, the Ruggles Grant and the Hasting farm, were all
incorporated as Orange.
The town was named after William, Prince of Orange.
Many of the early settlers were lineal descendants
of the first settlers at Plymouth and vicinity, and of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony. They first settled in North Orange, which remains a
scenic village.
From 1780 to 1840, Orange was primarily a farming
town. Many of the farms were large and well managed. However, various
industries eventually sprouted along the banks of the Millers River,
including the New Home Sewing Machine Company, which in 1892 produced
1,200,000 sewing machines.
By 1879, the town had a population of about 2,000
people, many employed in industry. Orange was also the site of the
first automobile factory in the United States, at the current home
of Pete's Tire Barn on East Main Street, built in 1900.
