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Orange,
is considered a point of what is known as the "Golden Triangle" - the other points
being Port Arthur and Beaumont
History in a Seashell
Orange had several names before 1858 - the year it officially became Orange.
Originally called Green's Bluff after an early Sabine River boatman, it was renamed
Madison in 1840, but it sometimes delayed mail - which was sent to Madisonville
(Madison County) in error.
The town's post office was granted in 1850
and two years later, Orange County was organized with Madison as county seat.
The final name change took place in 1858 when it finally became Orange
- to the great relief of postmasters and the mail-receiving public.
The
name reportedly comes from a local orange grove owned by a man named George Patillo.
Outlaws used Orange as a temporary residence while they waited for the heat
to cool down in Louisiana. The town became a major port on the Sabine from the
1840s through the 1890s.
The railroad (Texas and New Orleans) arrived
in 1860, but service was disrupted when the rails were torn up during the Civil
War. After the war the town was occupied by troops from Illinois.
At
the peak of East Texas lumber production, Orange was the center of the Texas lumber
industry - having seventeen sawmills within the city limits. It was Orange's zenith.
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A timeline
of selected or significant events in Orange's history
1897: The Kansas City Southern Railroad reaches Orange
1902: Six large lumber
companies acquire ownership of 17 smaller lumber mills
1914: Population reaches
7,000
1916: port dredged - making Orange a deep water facility.
WWI: Orange
serves as a major shipbuilding center for both world wars
1920s: East Orange
becomes famous for its 1920s nightclubs - crime rampant between wars.
1938:
Rainbow Bridge opened across the Neches River between Orange and Port
Arthur.
WWII: Shipyards increase population to 60,000 people. After the
war, ships were mothballed on the Sabine River and the population decreases to
a manageable 21,100 in 1950.
In August, 2000 the USS Orleck, after having
served in the Turkish Coast Guard returned to the port where she was built in
1945. |
| The
Hanging Tree of Orange Texas
by W. T. Block ("Cannonball's Tales")
Cross-cut Saw Thwarted
Judge Lynch
"On the afternoon of July 7, 1892, two men wielding
a cross-cut saw hurried to fell the mighty pin oak tree which shaded the front
entrance of D. Call and Sons Grocery at Fourth and Front Streets, on the waterfront
at Orange, Texas." more
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The former depot in
Orange
TE Photo |
| | The
W.H. Stark House
TE Photo |
Of
Architectural and Historical Interest in Orange, Texas: Orange
County CourthouseUSS
Orleck (DD-886) On Front Avenue on the waterW.
H. Stark House c. 1894: 610 West Main StreetThe
Stark Museum of Art: 712 Green Avenue
First Presbyterian Church: 902 W. Green AvenueHeritage
House Museum: 905 West Division StreetMileage
Marker (On I-10 in Orange County): The largest numbered marker in the U.S. (880) |
| | First
Presbyterian Church
Lutcher Memorial Building
TE Photo |
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