South Orange, New Jersey

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Map of South Orange Village in Essex County
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Map of South Orange Village in Essex County

South Orange is a Village in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 16,964. Seton Hall University is located in South Orange.

Of 566 municipalities statewide, South Orange is one of only four villages in New Jersey, joining Loch Arbour, Ridgefield Park and Ridgewood.

In 1904, the Village of South Orange was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. In November, 1977, South Orange voters passed a new Charter for South Orange and changed its name to The Township of South Orange Village.

Contents

[edit] Geography

South Orange is located at 40°44′52″N, 74°15′32″W (40.747650, -74.258811)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 7.4 km² (2.9 mi²). 7.4 km² (2.8 mi²) of it is land and aside from the East branch of Rahway River, none of it is covered by water. One exception is a small man-made duck pond located near South Orange Middle School.

The East branch of the Rahway River flows through the entire length of the village. Most of the year it is a trickle but can be heavy at times. In the past it would occasionally overflow its banks and flood low-lying parts of town. United States Army Corps of Engineers flood control projects remediated that in the mid 1970s. Still, even including swimming pools, water probably accounts for less than .1% of the town's surface area.

The western part of the town sits on the eastern slope of South Mountain (elevation <660 feet (201 m)), leveling into a small valley near the central business district. At the top of the slope, the western edge of the town runs along the eastern border of South Mountain Reservation. The Montrose neighborhood with its large Victorian houses is in the northeast quadrant. Seton Hall University is located in the southeast quadrant near the border of Newark.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,298.2/km² (5,945.3/mi²). There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 768.3/km² (1,987.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 60.41% White, 31.30% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.89% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.57% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.93% of the population.

There were 5,522 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the village the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $83,611, and the median income for a family was $107,641. Males had a median income of $61,809 versus $42,238 for females. The per capita income for the township was $41,035. About 1.9% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

What is now South Orange was part of a territory purchased from the Lenape Native Americans in 1666 by Robert Treat, who founded Newark that year on the banks of the Passaic River. The first English settlement in the Chestnut Hills dates to 1677 when brothers Joseph and Thomas Brown began clearing land for a farm home near the junction of two old trails that are now South Orange Avenue and Ridgewood Road. The Browns were followed by the Wheeler and Riggs families who were granted land in 1680 "by Rahway River near the stone house" referring evidently to the Brown dwelling. The Riggs and Wheeler properties extended east of the river through the central portion of modern South Orange. Another colonial house now known as the Stone House stands on the north side of South Orange Avenue at Grove Park. A house at that location called Pierson's House was used as a landmark in a deed of 1767.[1]

The Chestnut Hills settlement was called South Orange starting about 1795. A deed of 1800 locates a property as being in "the Township of Newark, in the Parish of Orange, at a place called South Orange". Orange had been named after the ruler of England, William of Orange. Gordon's Gazeteer of circa 1830 describes the settlement as having "about 30 dwellings, a tavern and store, a paper mill and Presbyterian church".[2]

A country resort called the Orange Mountain House was established in 1847 just north of town. Guests could enjoy the "water cure" from natural spring water and walk in the grounds that extended up the slope of South Mountain. The main house was right on Ridgewood Road. The hotel burned down in 1890. The only remnants today are the names of Mountain Station and the Mountain House Road leading west from it to the site of the hotel.[1]

South Orange could be reached by the Morris and Essex Railroad which opened in 1837 between Newark and Morristown. As of 1869, the M&E became part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad which ran from Hoboken to Buffalo with through trains to Chicago.[3]

The Montrose neighborhood was developed after the Civil War. Its large houses on generous lots attracted wealthy families from Newark and New York City during the decades from 1870 to 1900. The Orange Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1880 at a location in Montrose, and in 1886 it was the location of the first US national tennis championships. The club moved to larger grounds on Ridgewood Road in 1916. Major tournament events were held at the club throughout the grass court era, and even into the mid-1980s professional events would occasionally be held there.

What is now the Baird Community House was up until about 1920 the clubhouse for a golf course that encompassed what is now Meadowlands Park. In fact, until regrading was performed during the 1970s, the outline of one of the course's sandtraps was still visible near the base of Flood's Hill, a spot that has historically been one of the favorite sleighriding spots in Essex County.

The construction of Village Hall in 1894 and the "old" library building in 1896 indicate how the village was growing by that date[1]. Horsecar service from Newark started in 1865, running via South Orange Avenue to the station. Electric trolley cars began running the line in 1893, and by about 1900 a branch of this line also ran down Valley Street into Maplewood. Another trolley line, dubbed the "Swamp Line", ran from the center of South Orange, along Meadowbrook Lane, and into West Orange. The only remnant of the Swamp Line's operation that exists today is the small hut that sits adjacent to the Duck Pond[4]. The DL&W rebuilt the railroad through town in 1914-1916, raising the tracks above street level and opening new station buildings at South Orange and Mountain Station. In September 1930, a frail Thomas Edison (he would die about a year later) inaugurated electric train service on the M&E between Hoboken and South Orange, with further extensions of service to Morristown and Dover being initiated over the coming months[5].

Good transportation and a booming economy caused South Orange and neighboring towns to begin a major transformation in the 1920s into bedroom communities for Newark and New York City. Large houses were built in the blocks around the Orange Lawn Tennis club, while in other areas, especially south of South Orange Avenue, more modest foursquare houses were put up for the growing American middle class. The only large area not developed by 1930 was the high ground west of Wyoming Avenue.

There were at one time two rock quarries within the village supplying trap rock for construction. Kernan's operated as late as the 1980s at the top of Tillou Road. The town's other larger businesses were lumber and coal yards clustered around the railroad station that supplied them. The town's business district is still located in the blocks just east of the station.

The old Morris and Essex Railroad is still operated today by NJ Transit. Midtown Direct, initiated in 1996, offers service directly into Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, and has since caused a surge in real estate prices as the commute time to midtown dropped from about 50 minutes to 30, as the service eliminated the need for passengers to transfer to PATH trains at Hoboken. As a result, demand for commuter parking permits in lots adjoining the train and bus stations is quite high.

[edit] Local character

The town is one of only a few in New Jersey to retain gas light street illumination (others include Riverton, Palmyra, Glen Ridge and some parts of Orange). The gaslight has long been the symbol of South Orange (together with the distinctive Village Hall). Many of the major roads in town do have modern mercury vapor streetlights (built into gaslight frames), but most of the residential sections of the town are still gaslit. A proposal to replace all the gaslights in town with electric streetlights was explored as both a cost-saving and security measure during the 1970s. And although the changeover to electric was rejected at the time, the light output of the lamps was subsequently increased to address the concern that the streets of South Orange were too dimly lit. Be that as it may, there have been claims that South Orange has more operating gaslights than any other community in the United States.

Architecture is extremely varied. Most of the town is single-family wood framed houses, but there are a few apartment buildings from various eras as well as townhouse-style condominiums of mostly more recent vintage. Houses cover a range that includes every common style of the midatlantic US states since the late nineteenth century, and in sizes that range from brick English Cottages to giant Mansard-roofed mansions. Tudor, Victorian, Colonial, Ranch, Modern, and many others are all to be found. Most municipal government structures date from the 1920s, with a few being of more modern construction.

Many residents commute to New York City, but others work locally or in other parts of New Jersey. South Orange has a central business district with restaurants, banks, and other retail and professional services. There are a few small office buildings, but no large-scale enterprise other than Seton Hall University.

[edit] Government

South Orange provides the usual facilities for a municipality of this size; fire, police, a library of about 70,000 volumes, a municipal pool, a recreation center, parks, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, trash and yard waste removal provided by contractors, community access cable TV, among others. As noted above, the school board is shared with adjacent Maplewood.

[edit] Local government

South Orange is governed by a six member board of trustees and a village president (equivalent to a mayor), all unpaid positions. Local political parties are formed on an ad-hoc basis, generally focused on key issues of local concern; national political parties do not officially participate in township elections.

The Village President of South Orange is William R. Calabrese. Members of the Board of Trustees are Eric DeVaris, Stacey Jennings, Terriann Moore-Abrams, Allan J. Rosen, Ph.D., Mark Rosner and Arthur Taylor.[6]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

South Orange is split between the Eighth and Tenth Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 27th Legislative District.[7]

New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Passaic County and northern sections of Essex County, is represented by Bill Pascrell Jr. (D, Paterson). New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 27th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Richard Codey (D, West Orange) and in the Assembly by Mims Hackett (D, Orange) and John F. McKeon (D, West Orange). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Johnny Jones, Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold, Freeholder-At-Large Blonnie R. Watson, Freeholder-At-Large Donald M. Payne, Jr., Freeholder District 1 Samuel Gonzalez, Freeholder District 2 D. Bilal Beasley, Freeholder District 3 Carol Y. Clark, Freeholder District 4 Linda Lordi Cavanaugh and Freeholder District 5 Ralph R. Caputo.

[edit] Politics

On the national level, South Orange leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 77% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received approximately 22%.

[edit] Education

The township shares a common school system, the South Orange-Maplewood School District, with the adjacent town of Maplewood. The district has a single high school, Columbia High School, located in Maplewood (but nearly on the town border), and one middle school and several elementary schools in each town.

Schools in the district (with 2004-05 school enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

Elementary Schools (K-5)

Middle Schools (6-8)

High School (9-12)

Higher Education

Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University is located in South Orange. The University was founded in 1856 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark and named after Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint. South Orange has a college feel with this Division I university located along the east side of South Orange Avenue, the community's main boulevard. The school serves approximately 9,700 students.

[edit] Local Arts

South Orange has recently seen the opening of the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC), located at 1 SOPAC Way, nestled behind NJ Transit South Orange station. The performing venue is a 415-seat venue with a proscenium stage, with a 5-screen Clearview Cinemas movie theater in the same complex.

The ideas for SOPAC were first spoken of in the mid-1990s, and in the early 2000s the project was set into motion, with Seton Hall University partnering with SOPAC and construction in August 2004. The complex opened on November 3, 2006 to the general public.

While SOPAC is still relatively new and the community's response is too new to discern, a bloc of students, staff and supporters at Seton Hall have raised questions about SOPAC's role in the theater department at their institution. In the partnership between SHU and SOPAC, it was agreed that the school's four "mainstage", staff-directed shows would move from the university's Theater-in-the-Round to SOPAC. Ticket prices have increased nearly 300% for these shows (from $3 to $8), though a direct link has never been officially established between the move to SOPAC and this rise, it has been hinted at.

While the move of these shows to SOPAC raises the hope for higher community attendance, concerns have risen about Seton Hall student attendance of mainstage shows, due to the distance of SOPAC from campus and the new ticket prices. Concerns about the handling of publicity have also been raised, as well as the future of the Theater-in-the-Round on Seton Hall's campus.

[edit] Local media

WSOU-FM, "Seton Hall's Pirate Radio", is a non-commercial radio station licensed to South Orange and has studios and offices on the campus of Seton Hall University. The station operates at 89.5 FM.

[edit] Trivia

  • The town has a municipal swimming pool open to all residents. Residents may purchase a Photo I.D. badge for an annual fee of $15, which provides access to the South Orange Community Pool and full access to other community facilities and programs[8]; non-residents may use the pool for a small fee on a per visit basis. In most area towns, municipal pool memberships are restricted or costly, but the pool in South Orange was built on land willed to the town for common use. The original pool, built in the 1920s, was reportedly the first free community pool to be built in the United States. It was replaced by an Olympic-size pool in 1972.
  • The town was the first in the nation to have an affinity credit card, the idea of the municipal affinity credit card being originated by village president William Calabrese.
  • Unusually, when the town was wired for telephones and electricity in the early 20th century, the wiring was mostly placed underground rather than on utility poles. This is aesthetically pleasing, but makes maintenance more difficult, especially since concrete conduit did not exist at the time. Having to dig up all the streets resulted in South Orange being the last town in the area to receive cable television.
  • The former telephone company system of identifying exchanges is still evidenced by the 761, 762, and 763 prefixes used for most lines in South Orange and Maplewood, which would have originally been referred to as SO1, SO2, and SO3.
  • South Orange and Maplewood share one of the largest online communities in the nation, featuring a very active message board at www.maplewoodonline.com.
  • South Orange's full official name is the "Township of South Orange Village." This name was originally adopted in lieu of the Village of South Orange because it allowed South Orange to receive more federal aid that was directed to Townships during the 1970s as many federal authorities were unfamiliar with the New Jersey municipal system, in which a township is not formally different from any other municipal designation. Other municipalities in New Jersey also adopted similar strategies, notably the Township of the Borough of Verona.
  • South Orange was the first municipality in New Jersey to recognize civil unions for homosexual couples. Exactly one hour after unions became legal in South Orange, they were recognized in neighboring Maplewood.
  • The shared school system creates something of a common local identity between the towns, which is also partly the result of demographic similarities.
  • The News-Record weekly newspaper reports on both South Orange and Maplewood, and there are other shared institutions as well.
  • Teenagers from Columbia High School were the first to play the game of Ultimate Frisbee.
  • New York Yankee greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played at least one exhibition game during the 1920s for the South Orange baseball team at Cameron Field. Reportedly, the game was attended by more than 12,000 fans and featured a tape-measure home run by Gehrig, which was noted to have traveled over the railroad tracks before hitting a house on Vose Avenue, approximately 600 feet away, where an apartment house stands presently.

[edit] Notable residents

Various celebrities have resided in South Orange or Maplewood; see the Columbia High School page for a list of famous alumni. Other South Orange residents include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Beatrice P Herman. The Trail to Upland Plantations, n.p.: Worrall, 1976
  2. ^ Naoma Welk. South Orange, Charleston SC: Arcadia, 2002
  3. ^ Thomas T Taber III. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad / In the Nineteenth Century, Muncy PA: T Taber, 1977
  4. ^ Edward Hamm, Jr. The Public Service Trolley Lines in New Jersey, Polo IL: Transportation Trails, 1991
  5. ^ Thomas T Taber III. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad / In the Twentieth Century, Muncy PA: T Taber, 1977
  6. ^ Village Government, accessed July 7, 2006
  7. ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 64, accessed August 30, 2006
  8. ^ Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs, accessed July 15, 2006

[edit] External links

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Municipalities of Essex County, New Jersey
(County Seat: Newark)
Boroughs Caldwell | Essex Fells | Glen Ridge | North Caldwell | Roseland
Cities East Orange | Newark
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Townships Belleville | Bloomfield | Cedar Grove | City of Orange | Fairfield | Irvington | Livingston | Maplewood | Millburn | Montclair | Nutley | South Orange Village | Verona | West Caldwell | West Orange
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