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History · Orange

Orange’s post office opened in 1859, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1921 on.

1859first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Orange began

When was Orange founded?

1859

The Orange post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 540167 years
Founding year: the first Orange post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Orange’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1983. Watch Orange change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orange’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange’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 on the map, 1921 to 1983

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

Orange on the 1921 USGS mapOrange on the 1962 USGS mapOrange on the 1983 USGS map1921Mauston 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.

The story so far

Orange, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Orange yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Orange is a town in Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 540 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Lone Rock and Orange Mill are located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 570 to 540 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Orange, 1859 to 1921

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Orange post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Orange post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Orange

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

See all →
Kurtwood SmithAmerican actor · b. 1943
Tommy Thompson19th United States Secretary of Health and Huma… · b. 1941
Orland Steen LoomisAmerican politician · b. 1893
A
Anne Nicol GaylorAmerican atheist and campaigner for abortion ri… · b. 1926
A
Arthur Claude RugeAmerican mechanical engineer · b. 1905
John Emmet SheridanAmerican illustrator · b. 1877
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Orange had its own post office from 1859 to 1884.

Orange
1859–1884
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lone RockOrange Mill
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Orange
Saint Stephens Evangelical LutheranTown of Orange

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

OakdaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClearfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFountainIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCutlerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Orange’s history

What year was Orange founded?

The Orange post office opened in 1859, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.