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Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 741
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:42 pm: | 
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I'm mildly curious if anyone out there knows the true origin of our town's name, "South Orange"? I think it is obvious that we are south of Orange, NJ, but why was Orange named Orange?
In particular, I would like to know if it actually has anything to do with the citrus fruit, or the color.
Anyone? |
LibraryLady(ncjanow)
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3223
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:48 pm: |
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From Wikipedia....
Quote:The Oranges are a group of four municipalities in Essex County, New Jersey, all of which have the word Orange in their name. All of these communities were named for the ruler of England, William III of England, also known as William of Orange. The four municipalities are the City of Orange Township, East Orange City, South Orange Village Township and West Orange Township
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Matt Foley
Citizen
Username: Mattfoley
Post Number: 616
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:50 pm: |
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I beleive Orange is from Scotland. Hence, Scotland Rd. and the tudor style houses that are/were in abundance here. |
Matt Foley
Citizen
Username: Mattfoley
Post Number: 617
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:51 pm: |
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I stand corrected.
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Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 743
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:53 pm: |
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LibraryLady, I should have KNOWN you'd know!
Thanks for your help!
So, as I thought, it has nothing to do with the fruit. I've sorta wondered about this since the glowing-orange-on-a-pole-as-public-artwork was proposed, and the township polled residents via the Gaslight about whether they wanted it, years ago. |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 744
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 3:55 pm: |
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Thanks as well, Matt! It's also interesting to learn what the MOL community thought the origin was, even if it is not completely accurate. |
bets
Supporter
Username: Bets
Post Number: 22885
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 4:48 pm: |
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Technically, it's the Township of South Orange Village. |
Soparents
Citizen
Username: Soparents
Post Number: 92
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 4:57 pm: |
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Why do I see signs, or hear us mentioned as "Township of South Orange" and "Village of South Orange" and now "Township of South Orange Village"?
Someone told me that there were grants or something offered YEARS ago, and somehow or other the name was changed and we qualified for something or other but i've no idea what...
Can anyone clear this up for me?
Thanks in advance... |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 745
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 4:57 pm: |
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OK, Bets, but is that really how you write your return address? 
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Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 746
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 4:59 pm: |
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I seem to remember a movement that tried to change the name to something like "South Mountain Village" - they basically wanted to get the "Orange" out of South Orange. I remembered thinking it was a bit silly; perhaps because I had just had stationery printed... |
joel dranove
Citizen
Username: Jdranove
Post Number: 271
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 5:07 pm: |
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South Orange Julius
jd |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13354
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 5:14 pm: |
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That reminds me of Fishkill, NY, where some people wanted to change the name because kill sounds so mean and nasty. Never mind that it's the Dutch word for river. It's not that these people didn't know that. Their rationale is "not everyone knows that." So they proposed to name the town Fishsave! 
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SOrising
Citizen
Username: Sorising
Post Number: 206
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 6:28 pm: |
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The House of Orange was Dutch and William III of England (b. 1650), its prince. Although William of Orange ascended to the throne of England, given that S. Orange, for example, was settled in 1680 while the area was under Dutch control I believe, the "orange" in the towns' names refer to the royal house of the Netherlands, yet another reason, less they be insufficient in number, why the plastic orange on a pole is preposterous and an ironic testament to ignorance hoisted before a school. |
John Caffrey
Citizen
Username: Jerseyjack
Post Number: 142
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 6:34 pm: |
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there is a bronze statue on the Rutgers campus of William of Orange. Story is that some guy bought it years ago and his wife threw a fit so he donated it to Rutgers.
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SOrising
Citizen
Username: Sorising
Post Number: 209
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 7:12 pm: |
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What I've wondered is if the various Oranges were fewer than four at any time? Was Orange earlier than the others? S. Orange is pretty old. |
Pizzaz
Supporter
Username: Pizzaz
Post Number: 3406
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 7:27 pm: |
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....residents are not to be referred to as south oranginas, but Villagers! To the new comers, please remember... South Orange is one of four remaining "villages" in the state. |
Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5274
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 7:33 pm: |
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Actually, Mr. Pizzaz, in light of the official name of the municipality, the correct way to refer to the residents is "Townshippers of the Villagers".  |
mary032
Citizen
Username: Mary032
Post Number: 238
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 8:02 pm: |
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Watch it! In two or three more posts, what started as an educational thread re; the original name of our town, is going to shift to the Tony Smith sculpture. MHD, SOrising, jayjay, will make sure of it.
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Brett Weir
Citizen
Username: Brett_weir
Post Number: 1407
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 8:43 pm: |
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Well, William of Orange fought James I for the crown, and James was heavily favored to win but he couldn't figure out William's style and lost. William, it turns out was a lefty- South Jersey, South Camden, South Orange...
...or maybe it's just been that long since an Englishman has held the Heavyweight Title... |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 2741
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 9:29 pm: |
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OK, about the orange thing on the pole. I thought when it went in, that we were explicitly told it was NOT an Orange. Am I mistaking it for something else? Maybe it was explicitly not an Pumpkin? I don't know... I just remember that the general conjecture about it was incorrect. |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 749
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 9:56 pm: |
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OK, so is it, or is it not the outline of an orange around a gaslamp on the official Township of the Village website?
And the website banner is in the color - you guessed it - ORANGE!
More ignorance on display?
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peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 1885
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 10:26 pm: |
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TAU nship of South Orange
(so that's where Smith got the name for the sculpture)
And is it a coincidence that originally there was a ruler William of Orange --
and South Orange VP is "William" of Orange? hmmm
there are no coincidences... |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11121
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 10:30 pm: |
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If you think about it Village of South Orange Township is an oxymoron. How can a community be a village and a township? This is worse than "military inteligence."  |
vermontgolfer
Supporter
Username: Vermontgolfer
Post Number: 393
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 11:15 pm: |
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Pete,
If I wasn't at the great production of 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown' at SOMS, I might have beaten you to 'TAU nship of South Orange'. Having said that, I love it.
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FlyingSpaghettiMonst
Citizen
Username: Noodlyappendage
Post Number: 48
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 6:30 am: |
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Mary032, you were wrong. It took FOUR posts to get to TAU!!!
All threads lead to TAU (unfortunatly)  |
Amateur Night
Citizen
Username: Deborahg
Post Number: 1808
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 8:45 am: |
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Ah, the TAU of South Orange...
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Lewisinsov
Citizen
Username: Lewisinsov
Post Number: 9
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 8:47 am: |
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Bob K - it is actually "Village of South Orange TAUnship". |
Bailey
Citizen
Username: Baileymac
Post Number: 202
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 9:22 am: |
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hmm..
there's been talk for years of changing our township's name.
maybe we could just make it Tau Village, or Village of The Tau.
sounds like something from an M. Night Shyamalan movie. |
Monster©
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 2698
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 10:27 am: |
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Perhaps the name could be changed to North Maplewood |
Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5277
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 10:43 am: |
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I keep telling you people - "Upper Maplewood" sounds classier, doesn't it?
Or would you rather be a
 |
Soparents
Citizen
Username: Soparents
Post Number: 97
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 11:10 am: |
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I'd rather it be South Mountain, or would that be South MounTAUn? |
Pizzaz
Supporter
Username: Pizzaz
Post Number: 3408
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 11:20 am: |
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I think both towns should be merged... how about you Nohero? Econonmies of scale, shared school system... we can all be referred to as Villagers, the way it should be... |
Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 1116
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 11:25 am: |
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Economies of scale can produce wonderful results in saving money. However, at some point they begin to become inefficient. |
mjc
Citizen
Username: Mjc
Post Number: 1079
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 12:43 pm: |
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Apparently a "minority report," but I enjoy the orange-on-a-lamppost at SOMS. To me it's lighthearted, like the orange-imprinted T-shirts they used to have at Baird. I don't think it's about ignorance. You can know the town name has nothing to do with citrus (same here as in NY, VA and probably other east coast places), and still enjoy the images. It's like the kind of joke you roll your eyes at, but it still brightens up your day. |
Monster©
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 2707
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 9:17 pm: |
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I don't remember why this started, but my family and I have called the orange at SOMS the Purple Grape for as long as we have lived here. |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 754
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 11:59 pm: |
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kegel
Citizen
Username: Kegel
Post Number: 6
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 12:06 am: |
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Why merge the towns? Both have good sides, but both have bad sides too. I fear that if they were merged we'd most probaby end up with the worst of both worlds. Also, does anyone know why they split in the first place (1922 I think)? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13364
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 11:14 am: |
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Someone WILL correct me, but the way I remember the story is that there was a township and a village of South Orange. There was an extra layer of hierarchy that NJ doesn't have any more, which NY still has. The village paid for gas lights, and the township wanted them, too. But the village people (no pun intended) didn't want to pay again, since it already had its own gas lights. So the township said harrumph, we'll get our own. So it split off. And it never got its own gas lights. And the two South Orange names were too confusing, so the township named itself after its train station, Maplewood.
When the split started, the state said, "OK, but you may not split your school district," a law which still stands, and it is how we have our BOE and BOSE and how they are chosen.
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jersey Boy
Citizen
Username: Jersey_boy
Post Number: 418
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 2:17 pm: |
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Okay, Orangina's no more.
We are The Village People.
J.B. |
Nohero
Supporter
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 5280
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 3:18 pm: |
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Quote:Someone WILL correct me, but the way I remember the story is that there was a township and a village of South Orange.
Yes, we have been this way before -
/discus/messages/3517/22990.html?1081993766
It was the Village (or, I guess the Village People ) who wanted to split off from the Township. Maplewood is the old Township of South Orange, but changed its name after realizing that the old name would be used to make bad puns in the future. |
Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 282
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 6:56 pm: |
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If anyone is still interseted:
"...by the time of the American Revolution, South Orange included afew farmhouses, a small stone schoolhouse, a blacksmith's shop, a gristmill, a general store, and a tavern.
An increase in residents created a demand to establish a name for the community. Several names were proposed including Orange-Field. The name Orange struck a popular chord, and it was suggested that the locality was both mountain and valley, and that the name Dale would be approproiate. That name was approved. In 1782 a public meeting at teh Presbytery Orange Dale was noted as the meeting site. ..
In 1806 Orange became a separate township...The first record of South Orange is in 1789, eight years before it split from Newark as a separate township. The division officially took place on May 9, 1806 at a meeting at Samuel Munn's house in Orange. At this thime the boundaries were established. ..."
Source: Images of America: South Orange, by Naoma Welk
My theory: I think Orange "sturck a chord" because of memories of when the place was settled being AROUND when William of Orange ajnd Mary ruled England 1689-1702, around the time (actually about 20 years after) that the area was settled by Puritans). These puritans would have been partial to the Dutch house of Orange, as it was Calvinist. |
Elaine Harris
Citizen
Username: Elaineharris
Post Number: 136
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 10:56 pm: |
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We were always the Village of South Orange until some time in the 1980's when we learned that we could be eligible for some federal money if we became a township. So the Board of Trustees, at that time, and Allan Rosen was on the board at that time, passed a resolution changing our name to "The Township of South Orange Village." For more details, ask Mr. Rosen.
As far as the split, Maplewood split off from South Orange around the 1920's for reasons that were not nice and will be better off not repeated. |
Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 286
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 3, 2006 - 10:39 am: |
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Oh, Elaine, please tell! |
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