[3] Orange County includes Montpelier, the 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) estate of James Madison, the 4th President of the United States and often known as the "Father of the Constitution".

[5] The first European settlement in what was to become Orange County was Germanna, formed when Governor Alexander Spotswood settled 12 immigrant families from Westphalia, Germany, there in 1714; a total of 42 people.

Unlike other counties whose boundaries had ended at the Blue Ridge Mountains, Orange was bounded on the west "by the utmost limits of Virginia" which, at that time, stretched to the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.

The expansiveness of the county boundaries was to encourage settlement further westward as well as to contend against the French claim to the Ohio Valley region.

In December 1775, this company fought in the Battle of Great Bridge[8] Orange County's Committee of Safety was also active in providing money, salt, horses, guns, beef, and other supplies to Continental forces.

[7] During the Civil War, the towns of Orange and Gordonsville continued as important railroad hubs and hospital centers for the Confederacy.

A manufacturing survey taken during the Great Depression noted that Orange County's economy remained relatively healthy due to its accessibility.

[citation needed] In 1991, the Virginia Landmarks Register designated approximately 31,200 acres (126 km2) in the county's western portion as the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District.

[14] The terrain is characterized by rolling hills, generally increasing in altitude and slope as they continue westward toward the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Primary and secondary education is provided by Orange County Public Schools,[25] whose current (as of April 2019) superintendent is Dr. Daniel Hornick.

[27] In October 2014, 33% of the county-run schools failed to meet state accreditation levels resulting in a warning being issued by the Virginia Department of Education.

In 2013, plans were underway[30] to return the students to the original location due to what was referred to as cohabitation issues at the new school and a projected "boom" of approximately 20 third graders.

[41] While extremely rare in the county, a second fatal shooting occurred on June 29, 2014, in Gordonsville resulting in the death of Clyde Johnson.

]), the top five private-sector employers are Dogwood Village, Macmillan Publishing Solutions, Battlefield Farms Inc., American Woodmark Corp. and Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Agriculture is an important part of the county's economy, of which nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod (NAICS category) represent the largest sector.

[49] Development Issues:In September 2008, Wal-Mart submitted an application for a special use permit to build a 141,000-square-foot (13,100 m2) Supercenter store less than a quarter of a mile from the National Park Service boundary of the Wilderness Battlefield.

On September 23, 2009, the National Trust for Historical Preservation, Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield and six nearby citizens filed suit against the Board of Supervisors claiming the store was likely to produce a significant increase in traffic and subsequent development, among other counts.

The National Trust was dropped from the suit for lack of legal standing, and Wal-Mart, its chosen developer and the property owner were later named as additional defendants.

[50] The lawsuit attracted national media attention, with the actor Robert Duvall and the filmmaker Ken Burns taking a formal stand against the project.

[51] On January 26, 2011, the morning before the trial was set to begin, Wal-Mart submitted a statement to the court abandoning its plans for the store.

On July 9, 2018, the Orange County Board of Supervisors considered adding three new zoning districts to the Germanna-Wilderness Area Plan (GWAP).

Part of the registered historic commercial district, the first museum in the United States to honor James Madison is housed in a late 1929 building formerly known as Powell Motor Company and Hilltop restaurant.

The museum is dedicated to serving the community by collecting and preserving the artifacts and cultural heritage of 18th, 19th and 20th century rural Virginia, and promoting an awareness and appreciation of the lives and achievements of James Madison and others who made a unique contribution to the region.

The fighting at the Wilderness, while tactically inconclusive, was the first battle in Grant's Overland Campaign that ultimately led to the fall of Richmond and Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

Grant's Union army disengaged and continued southward to fight the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and ultimately press on toward Richmond.

Today, the Battle of the Wilderness is a part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, which has preserved 2,773 acres (11.22 km2) of the original battlefield.

From 2003 to 2008 a $25 million renovation was performed on the property, returning both the home and grounds to their 1820 state as they were when occupied by James and his wife Dolley.

A well-preserved example of 19th century Georgian architecture, the Exchange Hotel stands in the Town of Gordonsville as a living piece of Civil War history.

Built in 1860 as a hotel on the Virginia Central Railroad, the building was soon transformed into the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital following the onset of the American Civil War.

Because of its strategic location along a major railroad and proximity to nearby battlefields, the hospital treated over 70,000 wounded men by the end of the war.