By Jeff Poole
Editor
“Our town.”
The Town of Orange celebrated its sesquicentennial Sunday—150 years after it was chartered and a day later than originally planned.
With thunderstorms forecast for Saturday, June 11, event organizers decided to move the daylong celebration to Sunday to avoid the worst of the weather. But, as everyone knows, the weather does what it wants when it wants and Saturday, which started gloomily, turned out to be a pretty nice day after all. That rain predicted for Saturday arrived Sunday morning instead, drenching those who chose to run in the 150th 5K and casting doubt over the day’s events. But by the time the opening ceremony was (re)scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, the clouds were just starting to break and the weather offered a hint of cooperation.
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“When people speak of the Town of Orange, they may call it a railroad town, a courthouse town, a historical town, but today we call it our town,” Orange Mayor Martha Roby said during her opening remarks Sunday at the rear of Taylor Park. “It’s the place we live; the place we have lived; we raised our children; we went to church on Sundays; watched or played sports when we were a child; started our first day of school; waited by the depot to wave at trains filled with soldiers; had our first paying job here; drove a car for the first time and even snuck that first kiss here. We met the loves of our lives here; we made lifetime friends. We lived through a depression and just recently, a pandemic. Today, no matter how you identify with our town, we’re all here to celebrate the 150th birthday of the place we call home—Orange, Virginia.”
The program began with Boy Scout Troop 14, Troop 2020 and Pack 14 posting the colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, sung by local veteran Jonathan Morey and accompanied by the Orange Community Band.
Mayor Roby then recognized State Senator Bryce Reeves and current council members: vice-mayor Rick Sherman, Timothy Bosford, Elliott Fox and Donna Waugh-Robinson. Next, former mayors, including Chuck Mason, Ray Lonick, Rod Slayton, Sherman and William Chewning were recognized. All were presented with sesquicentennial commemorative coins.
Among other guests invited, but unable to attend, Senator Mark Warner sent a letter of congratulations, that Roby read aloud. He cited the town’s important role in the history of Virginia and noted, “Today, the town is a great place for business, an amazing place to live with an abundance of natural beauty and an ideal place to live with the high quality of life. We are fortunate to have such a historic and vibrant community in the commonwealth.”
State Senator Bryce Reeves was the next speaker, and noted that the town’s milestone of 150 years did not arrive absent challenges. He cited the devastating fire in 1908 that devastated much of the downtown.
“It was only the resilience and fortitude of the people here in this town that allowed them to rebuild and restore what was lost,” he said. “The evidence of resilience, determination and a little elbow grease can do surrounds us today. It takes us and makes us who we are and determines where we go.”
He encouraged those assembled to celebrate and preserve the town’s history, noting, “We have been blessed by God to live in an area so rich in history and individuals such as yourselves dedicated to remembering and honoring those who came before us.”
Reeves then read a joint resolution from the Virginia General Assembly honoring the town on the occasion of its sesquicentennial.
Next, Orange County Historical Society President Ray Ezell and Orange County African American Historical Society President Bruce Monroe shared histories of the Town of Orange.
Ezell noted that the town traces its origin to the mid-1700s when it began to flourish as a courthouse town.
“The coming of the courthouse marked the beginning of the upward trajectory of Orange, especially when court was in session in the fall and the spring,” he said. “It was then that families, gentleman landowners, merchants, shopkeepers and enslaved persons mingled with each other and began to develop common bonds.”
Early efforts to incorporate the town were somewhat unsuccessful, as the General Assembly passed an act in 1855 officially incorporating the town, only it did not take effect until a majority of citizens consented for its effect in nearly 20 years later.
“From this point on, the town continued to thrive,” Ezell said, connecting the past to the present. “A vision of our local history connects us all to this place, and provides us with a better understanding of our place in that history. Understanding our history provides context that not only informs our present, but our future.
“Understanding our history provides a buffer against ignorance and understanding our history provides us with a cultural anchor across time and space. An appreciation of our history provides a jumping off point to be greater effective servants in our community today.
“In essence, if we understand and recognize our history, both individual and collective, we are then well-equipped to make better choices about how we can interact with the community around us and how we can influence our world to meet our collective needs.”
Ezell encouraged those assembled to explore the history of the town and cited the 1835 words of Joseph Martin in writing about the yet-to-be-incorporated town, “Orange remains a place of unqualified promise.
“This statement is still true today,” he continued. “However, we as the current stewards of this place and its collective memory must continue to work to bring this promise to fruition.”
Monroe outlined the history of the area’s African Americans, particularly in relationship with the town, noting that in the 1860 U.S. Census, the county’s population was slightly above 10,000, of which 6,000 were Black and living on or around plantations. There were less than 200 free Blacks in the county at that time, he said.
Around 1860, freed slaves, using the skills they had learned to save money and acquire land, built houses and opened businesses—the remnants of which remain today throughout the county, he noted, citing the communities of Little Petersburg, Jacksontown, Tibbstown, Mount Pleasant, Black Run, Musterfield and Shady Grove, among others.
Monroe, who is from the Little Petersburg community on Route 15 north of Orange, noted he was among the last generation that grew up in one of these villages during the period of segregation.
“A common story of the descendants of these villages was that education and religion were priorities,” as evidenced by the construction of local schools and churches.
“Located in the Town of Orange was the largest of one of these settlements. It was unique because it was a segregated residential community located in the middle of a commercial district, along Railroad Avenue, Church Street, Mill Street, Robinson Street (that was formerly Tin Cup Alley) and the entire Lindsey Drive area,” Monroe said. “It was an active area with black businesses until the 1960s and early 1970s, when many families moved due to several factors, the most notable was the Route 15 bypass that was constructed. As a result, most of these homes were removed.”
Monroe said that two churches served the village—Nazareth Baptist, which traces its roots to 1861 and Emanuel Baptist, which was established in 1910. Additionally, he explained schools were constructed in town to serve the Black community—one near present-day Preddy Funeral Home that gave way to the Orange Graded School, that was replaced with Prospect Heights Elementary School before county schools were fully integrated in 1967.
Meanwhile, there were many successful Black-owned businesses in town, he continued, and residents worked in local factories, on farms, in restaurants and schools, among other vocations.
“The African American story in the town of Orange is rich. It has a proud history and we embrace that history,” Monroe said, before seguing to the upcoming June 19 dedication of a new park at the corner of Chapman and Church streets.
“We will be unveiling interpretive panels that will begin to tell the story and history of this village and recognize the contributions of African Americans to this community and to this town.”
Following the recap of the town’s history, Roby announced a sampling of items to be included in the town’s 150th commemorative time capsule, later to be interred with the nearby Charters of Freedom installation of America’s founding documents at the James Madison Museum of Orange County History.
Items submitted include: various town documents and items, a Dolley Madison Garden Club yearbook, commemorative Masonic lodge coin, a 1950s postcard from Rickett’s Drug Store, a recent copy of the Orange County Review, various items from Main Street businesses, an autographed softball from the 2022 Orange County High School varsity softball team, a winning competition banner from the Orange School of Performing Arts, items from the Orange Volunteer Fire Company, the letter from Senator Mark Warner and a face mask “commemorating” the pandemic. In addition to various and unofficial (personal) items, the time capsule also will include the recorded interviews of town citizens and friends compiled by local documentary filmmaker Phil Audibert, whom Roby recognized specifically and presented a commemorative coin.
Then, Mayor Roby, councilmembers and Sen. Reeves gathered to cut the town’s commemorative cake, baked by Tina Bond, before yielding to the afternoon’s events.
Following the formal program, an afternoon of food, drink and entertainment ensued, with fireworks culminating the sesquicentennial amid scattered raindrops at dark.
