TexasEscapes.com Texas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History
Columns: History, Humor, Topical and Opinion
Over 1600 Texas Towns & Ghost Towns
NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : ARCHITECTURE : : IMAGES : : SITE MAP
HOME
SEARCH SITE
ARCHIVES
RESERVATIONS
Texas Hotels
Hotels
Cars
Air
Cruises
Orange Hotels
Find Hotel Deals in Orange
Book Today and Save
 
  Texas : Towns A-Z / Gulf Coast / East Texas : Orange

ORANGE, TEXAS

Orange County Seat, Gulf Coast / East Texas
Highway 90 and 87
Dangerously close to Louisiana
On the Intra-coastal Waterway
98 miles E of Houston
24 miles E of Beaumont

Population 18,643 (2000) 19,370 (1990)

Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Orange Hotels

USS Orleck, Orange, Texas
The USS Orleck
Photo by John Troesser
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.

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

  • Train depot in Orange, Texas
    The former depot in Orange
    Photo by John Troesser
    Stark House, Orange, Texas
    The W.H. Stark House
    Photo by John Troesser
    Orange County Courthouse

    Orange County Courthouse
    Photo by John Troesser

    Of Architectural and Historical Interest in Orange, Texas:

  • Orange County Courthouse
  • USS Orleck (DD-886) On Front Avenue on the water
  • W. H. Stark House c. 1894: 610 West Main Street
  • The Stark Museum of Art: 712 Green Avenue
  • First Presbyterian Church: 902 W. Green Avenue
  • Heritage House Museum: 905 West Division Street
  • Mileage Marker (On I-10 in Orange County): The largest numbered marker in the U.S. (880)
  • First Presbyterian Church
    First Presbyterian Church
    Lutcher Memorial Building
    Photo by John Troesser
    Orange Tourist Information
    Orange Convention & Visitors Bureau
    803 W. Green Avenue Orange, Texas 77631-0520
    P.O. Box 520 Orange, Texas 77630
    409-883-1011 or 1-800-528-4906
    http://www.org-tx.com/chamber/

    More stories & photos:
    Texas | Online Magazine | Texas Towns | Texas Gulf Coast | Texas Images

    Book Your Hotel Here & Save:
    Orange Hotels
    More Hotels
    Orange, Texas Foum
    To share history or photos of pre-1950 Orange, Texas, please contact us.
     
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES
    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South |
    West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | MAPS

    TEXAS FEATURES
    Ghosts | People | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII |
    History | Black History | Rooms with a Past | Music | Animals | Books | MEXICO
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters |
    Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators |
    Lodges | Museums | Stores | Banks | Gargoyles | Corner Stones | Pitted Dates |
    Drive-by Architecture | Old Neon | Murals | Signs | Ghost Signs | Then and Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | USA

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Recommend Us
    Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2007. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved
    This page last modified: December 11, 2007