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History · Orangeville

Orangeville dates to 1822, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.

1822founded
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Orangeville began

When was Orangeville founded?

1822

Orangeville dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 403 in 18802020 census: 479204 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓

What stands out about Orangeville’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 Orangeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1999. Watch Orangeville change.Old housesHalf of Orangeville’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1822: 204 years of Orangeville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orangeville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Orangeville on the map, 1894 to 1999

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

Orangeville on the 1894 USGS mapOrangeville on the 1947 USGS mapOrangeville on the 1953 USGS mapOrangeville on the 1969 USGS mapOrangeville on the 1975 USGS mapOrangeville on the 1999 USGS map1894Bloomsburg 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 Orangeville.

The story

How Orangeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Orangeville.

Read it all →

In 1822, an Ohio native Clemuel G. Ricketts made a plan to set up a community near Knob Mountain, although there were settlers in the area before that time. This community became Orangeville. Soon after the town was laid out, several buildings, including a house and a tannery, were erected in the area. Once five or six houses were built in the town, a post office was built there. Several names were originally considered for the community, including Knobtown, Rickettsville, and The Trap, but Orangeville was chosen after Orange County, New York, and Orange, New Jersey. In 1853, a business making plows and grain-threshers was built in the community. Orangeville was incorporated in 1900.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Orangeville in 1883

Passages that mention Orangeville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Although the first store was opened in Orangeville in 1822 the place was settled very much earlier. Mr. John McHenry, an old and respected citizen who died in Benton township, March 17, 1868, at the age of 82 years, 6 months and 4 days, and who was born at Stillwater, a few miles above Orangeville,…
A history of Columbia County, Pennsylvania. From the earliest times.1883 · page 116Read the page →
Read the text

Although the first store was opened in Orangeville in 1822 the place was settled very much earlier. Mr. John McHenry, an old and respected citizen who died in Benton township, March 17, 1868, at the age of 82 years, 6 months and 4 days, and who was born at Stillwater, a few miles above Orangeville, in the year 1785, says that at the time of his birth, two or three shanties stood where Orangeville now stands. Mr.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Orangeville, 1822 to 1935

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822
    FoundingOrangeville is established
  3. 1826Post officeThe Orangeville post office opens
  4. 1839Born hereR. Bruce Ricketts is born here
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1924Born hereKent Shelhamer is born here
  8. 1935Born hereSarah Jane Sands is born here
By decade

Orangeville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Orangeville, Pennsylvania2012Orangeville, PennsylvaniaOrangeville, Pennsylvania2012Orangeville, PennsylvaniaOrangeville, Pennsylvania2012Orangeville, PennsylvaniaOrangeville, Pennsylvania2012Orangeville, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State Route 4872009Pennsylvania State Route 487Orangeville, PA Keystone Marker2009Orangeville, PA Keystone Marker
People over time

Orangeville, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 508

Between 399 and 508 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Orangeville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
K
Kent ShelhamerAmerican politician · b. 1924
R. Bruce RickettsUnion Army officer · b. 1839
S
Sarah Jane SandsAmerican baseball player · b. 1935

Questions about Orangeville’s history

What year was Orangeville founded?

In 1822, according to Wikidata. Orangeville’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1880 counted 403 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.