Frank Walker has combined a love of history with a lifetime of living
and working in the Orange County area to produce a comprehensive and
well-received county history. The events affecting the county's Native
Americans, European Americans and African Americans are chronicled in a
work which lends itself to being read not only cover-to-cover, but also
in selected specific chapters, subchapters, episodes, and stories. While
his book is thoroughly researched, with footnotes, and provides its
readers with the detail expected in such a work, Walker relies on his
experience as a tour guide to make his presentations interesting as well
as informative. Remembering tells us about James Madison and
his Montpelier; gold mining; "our" William of Orange; Robert
E. Lee; Germanna; the slave Pompey, Shackaconia; the Marquis de
Lafayette; the Poor Folks & Preachers Railroad; Barboursville; and
much, much more. The reader is rewarded with a chuckle here, a laugh
there, and with interesting information everywhere.
Affectionally called "Purr" by Society members, The Nine Lives of an Orange Tabby is a delightful coloring book for children that tells the story of Orange County as seen through the eyes of an orange tabby cat (Purr) with nine lives. Intended for children in the 4th grade level, "Purr" appeals to all ages with its charming illustrations and clever summary of Orange County History. If you are looking for a fun gift for a favorite child, or a "little something" for a friend, you can't go wrong with The Nine Lives of an Orange Tabby!
In 1722, eight patentees received a patent to 24,000 acres, a
holding that stretched along the Rapidan River from north-central
Orange County to beyond Stanardsville in today's Greene County.(Greene
was formed from Orange in 1838.) As an historian and a professional
engineer, Mr. Grymes meticulously researched and wrote the history
of that grant and its people. His field research actually located
the last known Octonia boundary stone, carved with a cross atop
the number eight.
(2nd pub. ---, Softcover pp., w/illustrations, maps, and full index.
The second edition of Mr. Joyner's book identifies and locates
the original land patents lying within the boundaries of present-day
Orange County. Included are patent locator maps and cross-indices.
Also included is background information on the Virginia land
patent system, a system designed to encourage the settlement
and development of the colony's vast uninhabited spaces.
The Short Life and Strange Death of Ambrose Madison
by Ann L. Miller
Ambrose Madison (ca. 1696-1732), was the grandfather of President
James Madison. Born into an established Tidewater Virginia family,
Ambrose Madison began a successful career as a planter, merchant,
entrepreneur, and county official before deciding to travel
westward to the fertile soils of the Virginia Piedmont frontier.
He and his family settled on lands that would become the family's
Montpelier Plantation in Orange County. Ambrose was poised to
re-launch his career in this new setting when his life was cut
short by an early and violent death. Poisoned by slaves, Madison
was the first documented murder victim in the region. A careful
researcher and an organized writer, Ann Miller has drawn together
for the first time the scattered records of that tragedy, and
in so doing, she has also brought to light the life and times
of the first of the Upland Madisons.
(Pub. 2001, Softcover, 33pp. w/endnotes and six appendices.)
The Diary of Fannie Page Hume, Orange Virginia, 1861
During the Civil War years, Fannie Hume lived at "Selma," on
the Orange Turnpike just east of the settlement of Orange Court
House, today's Town of Orange. An educated and entertaining
writer, Miss Hume kept diaries during those years, and the Historical
Society has published her diaries for 1861 and 1862. During
that time, the Rapidan River, just five miles from Orange, became
the effective northern border of the Confederacy. Her entries
thus describe not only the impact of the war on civilian daily
life and her reactions to news from distant places but also
the sudden appearance of the war at her very doorstep.
The 1861 Diary was edited by James W. Cortada and the 1862 Diary
by J. Randolph Grymes, Jr. The latter publication also features
an appendix, a full index, and over 300 footnotes.
The Fanny Hume Diary of 1862: A Year in Wartime Orange, Virginia - Reduced Price!
The diary of a young woman caught in
the midst of the Civil War. This diary is well documented with over
300 footnotes explaining the people and events noted, as well as
providing background information on her family and community.
The First Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, 1700-1776
by Ulyssess P. Joyner, Jr.
Second printing with additions and corrections. A view of the life and times of the European Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, and their influence upon the young James Madision. The Orange County Historical Society produced this book in Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Unied states Constitution.
(Copyright 1987, second printing 2003, softcover, 285pp.)
Roads were easily the most important public improvement in a
colonial Virginia county. The creation and maintenance of a
road involved its adjoining landowners, their tithables, and
their lands -- and virtually everything involving them went through
the courts system. County road orders are thus not only the
most significant identifiers of persons, and properties in a
county, they are oftentimes the only sources of such information.
The researcher/author of road orders for several Virginia counties,
Ann Miller has published two volumes of Orange County road orders
that span the years from the county's establishment to the end
of the colonial era (1734-1800).
(softcover, 323 pp.)
[Item No. W207]
This publication is no longer available for sale from the Orange County Historical Society. However, you may download it in its entirety from the Virginia
Department of Transportation website.
Before the American Civil War, architecture and the builders,
building techniques, and building materials all tended to be
more regional than at later times. Antebellum structures thus
tend to more closely reflect a region's people and their values
than later on. Architectural historian Ann Miller's work identifies,
with pictures and extended notations, over 175 Orange County
antebellum homes, public buildings, and historic sites and has
therefore already become a "must have" classic.
(Pub. 1988, Hardcover, 185pps. w/over 150 illustrations, plus maps and a full index.)
Out of Print - Available for viewing in our research center
The Civil War records, diaries, and letters of Z. T. Ross, Captain,
Company B, 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment, plus a Civil War
history of Company B. The local companies in the 13th Va. included
not only Company B (The Culpeper Minute Men), but also three
Orange County companies: Company A (The Montpelier Guard), Company
C (The Gordonsville Grays), and Company F (The Barboursville
Guard). Another Culpeper company and a Louisa company were also
in the 13th.Captain Ross' writings, therefore, tell us a great
deal about the experiences of young men from Orange County and
surrounding areas in one of the most actively involved regiments
in Robert E. Lee's army.
(1999 reprint, Softcover, 217pp.)
Out of Print - Available for viewing in our research center
Mr. Joyner, himself the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Orange
County from --- to ---, presents brief biographies of all of
the clerks who have served from the formation of the county
to the present. He also includes miscellaneous data on the evolution
of both the Virginia and Orange County judicial systems. As
a bonus, he lists of the holders of various other county offices
in ---- appendices. Like all of Pete Joyner's books, a wealth
of information lies between the covers.
A brief history of the Town of Orange from 1749 (the date of
the relocating of the county's court house to the crossroads
settlement which became known as "Orange Court House") to the
early 20th century. An engaging and entertaining historian,
the late Bill Thomas contributed significantly to the historical
knowledge of this region, with this very readable book being
just one example.
Patriots of the Upcountry: Orange County, Virginia in the Revolution
by William H.B. Thomas.
This book is the seventh and last in a series of publications of the Orange County Bicentennial Commission. Includes a history of the county from the 1760s to the 1780s, military rosters, public service claims, and legislative petitions.
(Pub. 1976, Hardcover, 166p. w/illustrations, appendices, and index)
To order any of these publications by mail, please
send the item numbers and names of the publications desired along
with check payable to:
Orange County Historical Society, Inc.
130 Caroline St.
Orange, VA 22960-1533
You may also call us to place your order at 540-672-5366.
Postage & Handling: $2.75 for the first book
and $1.25 for each additional book; $2.00 for the first pamphlet and $1.00
for each additional pamphlet marked with asterisk (*).
Virginia residents please include sales tax.
Society Members receive a 10% discount.
Click here
for more information on becoming a member.
