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History · Orange Lake

Orange Lake’s post office opened in 1869, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Orange Lake was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 2000.

1869first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Orange Lake began

When was Orange Lake founded?

1869

The Orange Lake post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 6,085 in 20002020 census: 9,770157 years
Founding year: the first Orange Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Orange Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Orange Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1957. Watch Orange Lake change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orange Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Orange Lake on the map, 1903 to 1957

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orange Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Orange Lake on the 1903 USGS mapOrange Lake on the 1947 USGS mapOrange Lake on the 1957 USGS map1903Newburgh sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Orange Lake.

The story

How Orange Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Orange Lake.

Read it all →

The Native Americans called the lake "Oussuk", meaning "stony pond." The Dutch settlers called it "Binnin", meaning "water within land" or "water between other waters". In 1684, Gov. Thomas Donegan purchased the lake and surrounding territory from the Native Americans and divided this patent into numerous farms, most especially dairy farms. At the time of the Revolutionary War, a man named Capt. Thomas Machin owned and operated a saw mill, grist mill, and finally a mint in what is now the hamlet, at the very beginning of the outlet stream. An historical marker marks the site of Machin's Mill on Lakeside Road. At that time, the lake began to be called Machin's Pond. In the 1830s, a local clergyman named James R. Willson began calling the lake Orange Lake. The reasons for this name change remain obscure, but are probably related to its location in Orange County. One source claims that the…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

3 listings protect 10 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Orange Lake, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00020002020Peak: 9,770

Between 6,085 and 9,770 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Orange Lake’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Orange Lake

Nobody well known was born in Orange Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
David PetraeusU.S. Army general and public official · b. 1952
James PattersonAmerican author · b. 1947
Geraldine FerraroAmerican politician · b. 1935
Bonnie BlairAmerican speed skater · b. 1964
T
Tyler AdamsAmerican soccer player · b. 1999
Robert MontgomeryAmerican actor · b. 1904
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Gardnertown2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Orange Lake’s history

What year was Orange Lake founded?

The Orange Lake post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.