Historical Timeline
South Orange Historical Timeline
July 11th, 1666 | Purchase of land, which includes South Orange, was negotiated with the Hackensack branch of the Lenni Lenape tribe. |
1680 | The Old Stone House is built. Oldest structure in the village. |
1774 | Squire Family homestead built. |
1775-1783 | At the time of the Revolutionary War South Orange included a few farmhouses, a stone school house, a blacksmith’s shop, gristmill, general store and a tavern. |
Circa 1760 | The Jeptha Baldwin homestead built. Still standing today. |
1782 | Town name of “Orange Dale” informally adopted. |
1798 | First record of the village name of South Orange, but not yet separate from Newark as a Township. |
1806 | South Orange separates from Newark. |
Circa 1814-1815 | Beginning of a formal school system with The Columbian School. Original wooden building was replaced in 1880. |
1830 | Mountain House Spa built. A fashionable “water cure” hotel that could accomidate up to 150 guests. Mountain House Spa burned to the ground in 1890. |
1831-1832 | The first village church was organized: First Presbyterian Church of South Orange. |
1836 | The Morris and Essex Railroad begin operating a horse-drawn car on a single track between S.O. Village and Orange. |
1837 | Morris & Essex train line extended west to Madison, east to Newark. |
1841 | First post office opened in John D. Freeman’s general store. |
1843 | The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church occupied a wooden church structure on the site where their current brick church now stands. |
1860 (April 2) | 60 acres purchased for the building of Seton Hall University. |
1860 (September) | First classes at Seton Hall University, South Orange campus. |
1860 | Street lamps change over from burning sperm whale oil to a gas service. |
1862 | Built from land purchases begun in 1895—the first year of the Park Commission's life. |
1864 | First meeting regarding establishment of a library in South Orange at the house of tea merchant William J. Beebe. The South Orange Library Association was created. |
1867-1884 | The upper floor of Smith & Lum’s store (located S.O. Ave and Sloan St.) was used as the South Orange library. |
1869 | (March 25) Village charter obtained. |
1872 | Township given NJ state authorization to levy taxes and borrow money. |
1872 | First village Marshall (police department) appointed, Henry T. Trenchard. |
1873 | First police headquarters and four-cell jail erected. |
1879 | Women’s Christian Temperance Union group begun. |
1879 | First telephone exchange arrives. |
1880 | Orange Lawn Tennis Club was founded. |
1884 | The Library moves to second floor of Beck’s Hardware store. Budget: $700. |
c. 1888 | Electricity fully brought to town. |
1890 | Mountain House Spa burned to the ground. |
1891 | Fire Department was organized in response to Mountain House Spa. |
1891 (February 10) | One hundred and fifty-acre Montrose Park annexed to the Village of South Orange. |
1893 | Railway line was electrified. |
1894 | Combining of three school districts into one Board of Education. |
1894 | Village Hall built to house the Fire Department (until 1930). |
1895 | South Mountain Reservation built from land purchases begun in 1895—the first year of the Park Commission. |
1896 (May 8) | New library opens in the Connett building. |
1898 | Installation of a sewer system begun, completed in 1904. |
1899 | Free mail delivery |
1901 | Mosquito abetment campaign begun by Spencer Miller, Sr. and the South Orange Improvement Society. The Joint Trunk Sewer (23 miles long) was finished by 1904. |
1902 | Methodist Church construction completed at its current site where South Orange Ave. and Irvington Ave. meet. |
1903 (March) | First sewer line laid in Riggs Place. |
1908 | A group of citizens purchases five acres of unimproved land in the heart of the village for $8,000. They re-sold it to the village for the same price. Spending an additional $2,000 the village developed the area into Grove Park. |
1912 | A five-acre tract was purchased and developed in the memory of Reverend Lewis M. Cameron and a children’s playground built on the site. It was named Cameron Field. |
1912 | Seven wells were dug and opened and a pumping plant constructed and a reservoir built for improved water service to the village. |
November 1913 | The First Baptist Church building, on Valley St., was dedicated. |
1914-1915 | With a village contribution of $23,000 and the Lackawanna Railroad amount of $1,000,000 railroad property (including the S.O. station) was beautified and modernized. |
1915 | Mountain train station was built. Mountain Station was the Lakawanna Railroad location at which the elevation of the railroad's roadbed was not changed. As a result, the grade crossing of Montrose Avenue at the eastbound end of the station was eliminated and the roadway was raised onto a bridge. |
1915 | Elevated train tracks completed on the Morris & Essex train line. |
1920 | Population of South Orange Village: 7,274. |
c.1925 | South Orange pool opens. First free community pool in the country. |
1922 | Marshall Elementary school opens. First Elementary school built in South Orange. |
1926 | South Orange library becomes a wholly public institution and no longer a private one. |
1929 (October 29) | Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig play an exhibition game for the South Orange baseball team against New Brunswick, at Cameron Field. Over 12,000 people in the crowd. |
1930 (September 3) | First electrified train driven into South Orange Station. Inventor Thomas Edison on board. |
1931 | Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic church completes construction of its current gothic-style structure where the congregation still meets today. |
1932 | Telephone dial service is introduced to telephone subscribers. |
1934 | First major bequest for Seton Hall. Landowner Benny Savage left a portion of his estate to Seton Hall (valued at the time for $10,719.83). |
1935 | Marylawn of the Oranges, a Catholic school for girls, opened |
1936 | The Adult School is established at Columbia High School. |
1937 | Post office opens at current site on Vose Ave. |
1946 | First established Jewish congregation in South Orange at Temple Beth-El on Irvington Avenue. |
February 1952 | South Orange Rescue Squad organized. A non–profit organization to transport South Orange citizen from their home to hospital. |
1957 | Oheb Shalom Congregation purchased property, completed construction of Temple in 1958. |
1960 | Church of St. Andrews completed in the gothic revivial style. |
1968 | The current library opens next door to the original Connett building library. |
1977 (November) | South Orange voters passed a new Charter for the community and changed its name to The Township of South Orange Village. |
1986 | South Orange Historical & Preservation Society formed. |
1997 | Montrose Park listed on the federal and state Registries of Historic Places. |
2006 | South Orange Performing Arts Center opened. |
2010 | The 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198. |
May 10, 2011 | Twenty-three year old Alex Torpey was elected as the youngest Village president in the history of South Orange. |