Blog

Posted on | Posted in Explore

Orange County Historical Society to Celebrate its 60th Anniversary of Its Founding

Orange County Historical Society to Celebrate its 60th Anniversary of Its Founding

By Ray Ezell, President-Orange Co. Historical Society

This year marks the 60th year since the establishment of the Orange County Historical Society (OCHS), founded in late 1965 under the leadership of its first president, Angus Green, and others. The Society will commemorate this milestone and its 60 year history of preserving Orange County history with a celebratory reception to be held on Thursday, June 5th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Pavilion on Lakeland Farm, just south of the Town of Orange on Route 15. The reception is open to the public and free to attend, but anyone interested in attending should RSVP by send an email to jess@orangepaints.com to register and receive important updates about the event.

At the reception, the Society will present its inaugural Frank S. Walker Historic Preservation Award to a deserving individual that has made an outstanding contribution to local history/preservation in Orange County. The keynote speaker for the evening will be Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey, the Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier. She is a public historian and scholar known for her research on cultural heritage. She also serves as the host of the Consider the Constitution podcast, engaging with experts on constitutional issues affecting Americans. She earned her PhD in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University in 2020. Dr. Crawford-Lackey will speak on the importance of the preservation and telling of local history for its communities.

The reception will also provide refreshments for participants to enjoy, including a selection from local wineries.

The Orange County Historical Society is a research, archival, and educational organization dedicated to the discovery, preservation, and dissemination of the history of the people, places, organizations, and events of Orange County and the surrounding area.

The photos below picture the construction of the Society research center at 130 Caroline Street in 1977 and Jiggs Craun and Goree Waugh’s former James Madison Texaco station that was once located on this lot.

Craun and Waugh’s James Madison Texaco Station on the Historical Society lot.

Historical Society Research Center under construction in 1977.