Situated between Newark and South Mountain reservation, the Orange valley consists of three townships: South Orange, West Orange, and Orange. East Orange is more of a suburb of Newark and so I don't count it. However, the valley stretches from the base of the South Mountain reservation all the way to New York city. In fact, during the revolutionary war, Geroge Washington and his men surveyed the valley from the top of South Mountain reservation. The aptly titled George Washington Rock rests precisely where he did so. I can tell you from first hand experience, he had the clearest view to New York city you could find outside of Union City.
After over a hundred years of being called Newark Mountains, the residents of the town officially had the name changed to Orange in 1780. They wouldn't secede from Newark until 1807. The first railroad tracks were constructed in 1836. They were originally pulled by horses, but the next year would the see the invent of the steam locomotive and the horses were quickly taken out of use.
The early years of the township saw a boom in industry. The nearby abundance of Hemlock tress provided a surplus of tannic acid for the tannery industry. Boot and shoemaking factories were quickly built and operated without delay. At the turn of the century, the Winter brothers made their way to Orange and built it's first beer brewery. Prohibition saw the brewery close, but after it's repeal, the brewery reopened under new ownership and was in use until 1977, when it was forever shuttered. Many other manufacturers were based in Orange. The F Berg Hat Company and The Monroe Calculator Company were both in Orange. Most notably, The United States Radium Corporation was also located in Orange. For those not familiar, the USRC mined and refined radium ore for many purposes. One such purpose was for luminescent, glow in the dark, green paint. This paint would be applied to watches so that you would tell time in the dark. The USRC employed a very large staff of women to apply the paint to the watches, never aware that the paint was extremely carcinogenic. Years later, every single woman working for the USRC was diagnosed with "Radium Jaw". The USCR did what any company in the golden age of America did: bribed and impersonated doctors, and held up litigation so there would be less people to pay off as these "Radium Girls" continued to die. If you visit the graves of any of the Radium Girls, you can still get a strong reading on Geiger counter. The factory dumped thousands of pounds of radioactive material during the 1920's. So much so that the entire property was designated as a Super Fund site, with the clean up only coming to an end in 2009. The United States Radium Corporation is one of many super fund sites in Orange.
In 1967, the Newark race riots occurred, sparking a great migration known as "White Flight". The whites left Newark and settled in the surrounding townships, including the Oranges. Orange itself has a very interesting and clearly racially motivated design. When you hear the term "wrong side of the tracks", one might assume that it applies to Orange, NJ. The train tracks split Orange up the middle, longways, and it's clear that both sides have their own clear ethnic leanings. When people speak of racism in the north, it's less to do with the KKK and more to do with zoning commissions and budget committees.
Today, the township of Orange is a shell of it's former self. Abandoned factories line the train tracks. A local non profit has recently begun revitalizing the township, hoping to attract wealthy people from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. However, progress has been slow and cooperation from the township is less than adequate. It seems that Orange wishes to be lost in time. As South Orange and West Orange continue to grow, Orange seems to be frozen. Sandwiched between progress, it's only a matter of time before the town either gets on board or ceases to be. Swallowed by it's neighbors. Until then, the valley remains as it is shown in the images below. My hope is that my images will eventually be considered history, instead of a living documentation of an American dream found and then lost.
