Opened April 1, 1897, under the auspices of a committee of citizens of Orange, New Jersey, it was later governed by a Board of Directors of the Settlement Association.

The crowded conditions of the homes and the small incomes of the workers made it impossible for these people to provide for themselves the recreative and social surroundings that are both pleasant and profitable.

Numerous efforts had previously been made toward organization for social, intellectual and moral betterment of the Orange Valley, but they had all proved at best only partially effective, and for the most part short-lived.

As a result, the house was thrown open, not by the board of directors or by subscribers to the treasury, but by the men and women of the Valley.

The "Omnibus Club" was for older people, and met for two hours every Friday evening for a lecture or concert and social interaction.

The settlement organized Orange Valley Civic League (1897), which bettered the conditions of streets, suppressed gambling in public places, and was instrumental in securing a hospital for contagious diseases.

It continued to maintain a public library; penny provident bank with stations in the public schools; classes in kitchen garden; sewing; boys' and girls' gymnastic work; Italian lace work for older women; dramatic club, folk dancing; socials; lectures; and a mothers' meeting.

[3] Head residents included Bryant Venable, 1897-1898; Charles H. Warner, 1898–1901; Arthur Cleveland Hall, 1901-1903; Adelaide Crommelin, 1903-?.