West Orange, New Jersey

township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States

West Orange is a suburban[1] township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States.

Main Street in West Orange

History change

Former Governor of New Jersey Brendan Byrne was born here in 1924.[2] West Orange was initially a part of Newark township, and remained so until November 27, 1806. It was detached from Orange, New Jersey.

The township is named either after William III of England[3] or William IV, Prince of Orange [4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 12.171 square miles (31.522 km2), including 12.046 square miles (31.198 km2) of land and 0.125 square miles (0.324 km2) of water (1.03%). It is located about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of downtown Newark and 13 miles (21 km) west of New York City.

Population change

As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 46,207, an increase from the 39,103 counted in the 1990 Census.[5]

References change

  1. Jacobs, Andrew. "Back From the Abyss", The New York Times, March 1, 2001. Accessed March 28, 2016. "It was 1997 and despite the region's revved-up economy, West Orange looked as if it were sliding into the abyss.Perched at the edge of New Jersey's most distressed urban places, this classic postwar suburb of 45,000 people faced a welter of seemingly intractable problems."
  2. Haddon, Heather. "Brendan Byrne, 90 Years Old and Still in the Mix; New Jersey's Oldest-Living Governor Makes the Rounds with a New Biography", The Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2014. Accessed March 28, 2016. "Mr. Bryne hails from the Irish-American Democratic establishment that was once a driving force of New Jersey politics. His father, Francis, spent 50 years in local politics in West Orange, a suburb 20 miles from New York City."
  3. Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 16, 2015.
  4. Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 23. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed September 16, 2015.
  5. Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010 Archived 2017-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed July 12, 2012.