Welcome! The Orange County Historical Society is committed to the teachers of Orange County in their quest to teach a comprehensive history of the United States supported by the richness of local history. History taught in schools is usually focused on US or world history but those histories ignore the places that students see everyday. Local history is found in the names of streets and roads, the buildings and schools, and roadside markers passed daily by students in buses. Knowing and incorporating local history into US and world history gives meaning to broader events and helps students understand and appreciate their own world.
This page is in its infancy, and new material is being added continually. If you have specific questions or seek facts that are not currently displayed, please see the comment block at the bottom of the page, and we will research it for you. Please allow two weeks for research to be completed.
Early Orange County
OC and Global Politics, ca 1734.pdf
Orange County Forms a Government, 1735
Fords over the Rapidan
Early Roads
Early Land Patents
Trivia_ Early OC Language Groups.pdf
Colonial Times
James Waddell & Church of Blind Preacher
Nathaniel Gordon and the Town of Gordonsville
Leland-Madison Park
Elections in 1777 and How Madison Lost One
James Madison, President
Brief Chronology of the Life of James Madison
James Madison's Political Life
Witchcraft in Early Orange County
Video: Washington and His Women
Trivia_ Was Chicago in OC_.pdf
Revolutionary War
Pre-Revolution Action by OC Men
OC Men Fight in the Revolution
The British in OC during the Revolution
Marquis de Lafayette
Orange County's Committees of Safety
Orange County Before the Civil War
The Fried Chicken Ladies of Gordonsville
Dolley Payne Todd Madison, First Lady
Zachary Taylor Short Biography
Zachary Taylor, President, March 1849- July 1850
The Mystery of Zachary Taylor's Birthplace
The Mystery of Zachary Taylor's Death
Zachary Taylor's Military Career
Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, First Lady
Orange County in 1852--Was it Really This Bad?
Civil War & Reconstruction in OC
Nannie Helen Burroughs
Orange Graded School
The Fried Chicken Ladies of Gordonsville
Robert E. Lee in Orange County
Lee's Encampment during Winter 1863-64
Robert E. Lee and St. Thomas's Episcopal Church
Photos of the Wilderness (Mathew Brady)
Shelter for Civil War Soldiers
Recreation for Civil War Soldiers
Civil War around Woodberry Forest
Dawn to Dust, A Day in the Life of a Soldier
Freedmen's Bureau in Gordonsville
Mine Run Campaign
Map of Mine Run Campaign
Mine Run Campaign: A Soldier's View
Note Written by Civil War Soldier
President Hayes Visits Orange, 1878
The Hospital at Ellwood Manor.pdf
Turn of the 20th Century
Main Street, Gordonsville, 1909
Black Horse Racing in Orange.pdf
Gordonsville Swept by Flames.pdf
World War I
World War I Veteran H.C. Lonergan
Roaring 20s & Depression
Prohibition and Anti-Saloon League
Orange County and the Roaring 20s
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Visits Orange
World War II
Staff Sergeant William Breckenridge Grymes
William “Billy” Barton Mason, Jr WWII
Tech 5 Edward Hill Richardson, Sr
Sergeant Tyrus Heber “Ty” Tisdale
TSgt Robert Paul Mason Wiltshire
Master Sergeant William McKendree Andrews
Staff Sgt Edward Wallace Hughes
Tech 5 Edward Parker Harris (1)
William Randolph Clatterbuck.pdf
Korea & Vietnam
Civil Rights
End of Segregation: A Black Boy Scout Troop in Orange
OC in the 20th Century
African American Baseball
Trivia_ History of the Orange County Seal.pdf
OC Schools
Prospect Heights Middle School
People
Five Virginia Governors from Orange County
Maps
OC Economy through Time-an Overview (1).pdf
Martin Van Buren Connection.pdf
Orange County Books and Miscellaneous Items Available at the Orange County Historical Society
To access information, please click on the links below under the time period.
The video “Right Here in Orange County!” by Frank Walker and Phil Audibert is an overview of the uniqueness of Orange County History.
local history
for educators
ORANGE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
If you have specific questions or seek facts that are not currently displayed, we can research it for you! Contact us by email at ochistoryconnections@gmail.com, and be sure to include:
Name of Teacher
School and Grade
Date of Request
Date Needed
Question or Comment
For further information, please check out other tabs on the Orange County Historical Society website including History-To-Go, Newsletters, and Orange Oracle.
This site was updated on September 18, 2023 Use the CONTACT US page for suggestions.
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© 2021 The Orange County Historical Society, Inc. 130 Caroline Street, Orange, Virginia 22960-1533
(540) 672-5366