The area was in the northeast portion of a land grant conveyed by King Charles II of England to his brother James, Duke of York.

In 1664, James conveyed the land to two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.

On June 7, 1780, the townspeople of Newark Mountains officially voted to adopt the name Orange.

Immediately, the new city began fragmenting into smaller communities, primarily because of local disputes about the costs of establishing paid police, fire, and street departments.

The Morris and Essex Railroad arrived in Orange in November 1836, its first cars drawn by horses.

On October 2, 1837, the first steam locomotive appeared, and the horses were, with minor exception, relegated to pasture.

The "M&E" later became a part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), which exists today as NJ Transit's Morristown Line.

Eventually, all the trolleys, and the buses that replaced them, became part of the sprawling Public Service Coordinated Transport System.

Orange became an industrial city early in its history, with the tanning industry expanding rapidly after settlers found growths of hemlock trees that were a source for the tannic acid they needed, leading to the growth of many factories producing shoes and boots.

Several brothers founded the "No-Name Hat Company" in Orange before one of them moved on to make fedoras in Philadelphia under the family name, "Stetson."

Beer was a major industry in Orange beginning in the early 1900s, when the three Winter Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, arrived in the city and built the first brewery.

The production of beer ceased with prohibition in 1920, and after the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933, the brewery was sold to John F. Trommers of Philadelphia.

Years later, the carcinogenic effects of this material became known, and the polluted site of the factory became a liability for the city.

[32] Orange has produced such notables as baseball's Monte Irvin and heavyweight boxer Tony Galento.

Once a multi-ethnic, economically diverse city, Orange suffered indirectly from the 1967 riots in Newark (even though Newark and Orange do not share a border) and directly from the construction of Interstate 280 through the heart of the downtown area, triggering middle-class "white flight" from aging industrial towns to the new automobile suburbs being built in western Essex County and elsewhere.

In 1982, citizens voted overwhelmingly to change the designation of Orange from a city to a township, thereby making it eligible for federal Revenue Sharing funds.

[49][50] As part of the 2000 Census, 75.10% of Orange's residents identified themselves as being African American, one of the highest percentages of African American people in the United States, and the fourth-highest in New Jersey (behind Lawnside at 93.60%, East Orange at 89.46%, and Irvington at 81.66%) of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

[58] The governing body is comprised of the directly elected mayor and the seven-member City Council.

[6][59] As of 2025[update], the Mayor of Orange is Dwayne D. Warren, whose term of office ends June 30, 2024.

[66][67][68] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 10th congressional district is represented by LaMonica McIver (D, Newark).

[70] For the 2024-2025 session, the 34th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Britnee Timberlake (D, East Orange) and in the General Assembly by Carmen Morales (D, Belleville) and Michael Venezia (D, Bloomfield).

As of 2025[update], the County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. (D, Roseland), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[73] Essex County's Commissioners are: Robert Mercado (D, District 1 – Newark's North and East Wards, parts of Central and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[74] A'Dorian Murray-Thomas (D, District 2 – Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark's South and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[75] Vice President Tyshammie L. Cooper (D, District 3 - Newark: West and Central Wards; East Orange, Orange and South Orange; East Orange, 2026),[76] Leonard M. Luciano (D, District 4 – Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange; West Caldwell, 2026),[77] President Carlos M. Pomares (D, District 5 – Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Nutley; Bloomfield, 2026),[78] Brendan W. Gill (D, at large; Montclair, 2026),[79] Romaine Graham (D, at large; Irvington, 2026),[80] Wayne Richardson (D, at large; Newark, 2026),[81] Patricia Sebold (D, at-large; Livingston, 2026).

Founded in 1872, the OFD operates out of two fire stations, located at 419 Central Avenue and 257 Washington Street.

[104] The Orange Board of Education serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[129] Built as the Stickler Memorial Library,[130] the imposing structure designed by McKim, Mead, and White opened in 1901.

[138] The Orange[139] and Highland Avenue[140] stations provide NJ Transit train service along the Morris & Essex Lines (formerly Erie Lackawanna Railway).

Service is available via the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to Hoboken Terminal.

Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street or Summit station to reach the other destination if necessary.