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History · Orange

Orange’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Orange. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Orange Township is one of twenty-one townships in Knox County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 530 and it contained 240 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 556 to 530 (-5%). Half of its homes were built before 1974.

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

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Orange’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from OrangeWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Orange.Meet them →
By decade

Orange, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Orange is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Orange has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Knox County Courthouse and Hall of Records in Knoxville, 4.6 miles away.

Orange and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Orange. Tap a dot.
Knox County Courthouse and Hall of RecordsKnox County JailWalnut Grove FarmOld Main, Knox CollegeGalesburg Historic DistrictMeetinghouse of the Central Congregational Church

Closest to Orange

Knox County Courthouse and Hall of RecordsKnoxville · Building4.6miKnox County JailKnoxville · Building4.7miWalnut Grove FarmKnox · District5.6miOld Main, Knox CollegeGalesburg · Building8.6miGalesburg Historic DistrictGalesburg · District8.6mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Knox County Courthouse and Hall of Records’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Orange?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Orange’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Knoxville📜 Cedar📜 Chestnut📜 Knox
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Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Orange, ILKnox CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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