West Orange, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Orange is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 44,943. West Orange shares a border with the South Mountain Reservation.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
West Orange is located at (40.788650, -74.255416)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 31.7 km² (12.2 mi²). 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.90%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 44,943 people, 16,480 households, and 11,684 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,431.7/km² (3,708.7/mi²). There were 16,901 housing units at an average density of 538.4/km² (1,394.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 67.55% White, 17.46% African American, 0.14% Native American, 8.09% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.52% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.04% of the population.
There were 16,480 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.19. In the township the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $69,254, and the median income for a family was $83,375. Males had a median income of $52,029 versus $39,484 for females. The per capita income for the township was $34,412. About 4.6% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
The Township of West Orange is governed by the Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act. Within this form of government, each member of the Township Council is elected in nonpartisan elections and serves on an at-large basis, representing the entire township.
The Mayor<ref>West Orange Office of the Mayor, accessed May 23, 2006</ref> and members of the Township Council<ref>West Orange Township Council, accessed May 23, 2006</ref> are:
- John F. McKeon, Mayor (term ends June 30, 2010)
- John Skarbnik, Township Councilman (2008; Council President as of July 1, 2006)
- Renard Barnes, Township Councilman (2010)
- Richard A. Giuditta, Jr., Township Councilman (2008)
- Susan McCartney, Township Councilwoman (2010)
- Robert Parisi, Township Councilman (2008)
[edit] Municipal Court
- Harry L. Starrett, Presiding Judge, West Orange Municipal Court
- Margaret Padovano, Municipal Judge, West Orange Municipal Court
- Mark Infante, Municipal Prosecutor
[edit] Key personnel
- Nancy O'Hara, Township Clerk
- John Sayers, Business Administrator / Director, West Orange Police Department
- James P. Abbott, Chief, West Orange Police Department
- Peter Smeraldo, Chief, West Orange Fire Department
- Edward Coleman, Comptroller
- Richard Trenk, Township Attorney
- Amy Simon, Communications Director
[edit] Township facilities
- The Municipal Building and Township Council offices are located at 66 Main Street
- The Police Department and Municipal Court are located at 60 Main Street
- The West Orange Fire Department is located at 415 Valley Road.
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
West Orange is split between the Eighth and Tenth Congressional and is part of New Jersey's 27th Legislative District<ref>New Jersey Citizens Guide to Government p. 66, League of Women Voters, accessed August 24, 2006</ref>
New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Passaic County and northern sections of Essex County, is represented by Bill Pascrell Jr. (D, Paterson). New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 27th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Richard Codey (D, West Orange) and in the Assembly by Mims Hackett (D, Orange) and John F. McKeon (D, West Orange). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
West Orange is represented on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders by Freeholders Linda Lordi-Cavanaugh (District 4), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (At-Large) and Freeholder Blonnie R. Watson (At-Large).
[edit] Politics
On the national level, West Orange leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 65 percent of the vote there, as opposed to Republican George W. Bush, who received around 34 percent.
[edit] Education
The West Orange Public Schools serves students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. The district consist of a total of 10 school facilities: 7 elementary schools, three middle schools(of late December of 2005) and one high school. The West Orange school district has been ranked among the top 1% of schools in the nation by The Washington Post.
[edit] History
West Orange was initially a part of the city of Newark, and remained such until November 27, 1806, when the territory now encompassing all of The Oranges was detached. On April 13, 1807, the first government was elected, but not until March 13, 1860, was Orange officially incorporated as a city. Almost immediately, the new city began fragmenting into smaller communities, primarily because of local disputes about the costs of establishing paid police, fire, and street departments. South Orange was organized on January 26, 1861, Fairmount (later to become part of West Orange) on March 11, 1862 and East Orange on March 4, 1863. West Orange (including what had been the independent municipality of Fairmount) was formed on March 14, 1863.
Thomas Edison bought a property known as Glenmont in 1886 as a wedding gift for his bride. It occupies 13.5 acres (55,000 m²) in the Llewellyn Park district. The remains of both Thomas and Mina Edison are now buried there. Glenmont is maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Edison National Historic Site.
The first motion picture studio, The Black Maria, was located on the grounds of Edison's factory in West Orange.
The first Linens 'n Things store, now closed, was located in West Orange.
Turtle Back Zoo, founded in 1963 and currently one of only four zoos in New Jersey, is located in the township in the South Mountain Reservation.
[edit] Famous residents
- Brendan T. Byrne - Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
- Joan Caulfield - Movie, theatre, television actress of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Born in East Orange, she moved to West Orange during childhood and lived here until her high school graduation from a private school in Orange.
- Richard J. Codey - State Senator, and Acting Governor of New Jersey in 2002 and Governor from 2004 until 2006.
- Charles Cullen - Serial killer who grew up on Kling Street
- John Dandola - Author, screenwriter, playwright, and historian whose mystery novels are set in West Orange during the 1940s. [1]
- Ginny Duenkel - Winner of a Gold and Bronze medal in two swimming events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Ginny Duenkel Municipal Pool is named in her honor.
- DJ Whoo Kid - Offical DJ of G-Unit
- Charles Edison - United States Secretary of the Navy 1940, Governor of New Jersey 1941 to 1944 and son of Thomas Edison.
- Thomas Alva Edison - Invented the phonograph, the incandescent electric lightbulb, and the first practical motion picture camera. Edison's Black Maria, the first movie studio, was located in West Orange.
- Eugenio Fernandi - a leading tenor with the Metropolitan Opera who rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s. He is credited with having received twenty-two curtain calls for his performance in Lucia di Lammermore.
- Carole King & Gerry Goffin - Husband & wife songwriting team. From the late 1950's through the 1980's they were one of the most talented and successful of all pop song writers. In 1969, she expanded her career to singing with her 1971 album Tapestry, one of the most popular of all-time. In the early to mid 1960's they resided off Pleasant Valley Way along with other song writers. This location gave rise to the song Pleasant Valley Sunday, recorded by the Monkees in 1966.
- Bettye LaVette - Soul singer who released her first record at age 16 and found success with I've Got My Own Hell to Raise at age 59 in 2005.
- George B. McClellan - Major General and briefly general-in-chief of the Union Army during the Civil War. He ran as a Democrat against Lincoln in the presidential election of 1864. He went on to become governor of New Jersey (1878-1881).
- New Jersey Devils - NHL team whose permanent practice rink is located at Richard J. Codey Arena (Formerly South Mountain Arena).
- Fred Ott - an employee of Thomas Edison's in the 1890s who "starred" in two of the earliest surviving motion pictures – Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (a.k.a. Fred Ott's Sneeze) and Fred Ott Holding a Bird – both from 1894.
- Michael Pitt- Actor who was in Murder by Numbers, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Last Days, among other films.
- Peter W. Rodino - United States Congressman from 1949 to 1989.
- Amos Alonzo Stagg - known as “The Grand Old Man” of college football. During the founding year of the College Football Hall of Fame, he was inducted as both a player and a coach. He was among the first group of inductees into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. He is also credited with the invention of the batting cage in baseball and the tackling dummy in football. West Orange’s Stagg Field playground is named in his honor.
- "Uncle" Floyd Vivino - Actor, comedian, kids TV show host, musician, and radio show host.
- Scott Wolf - Actor who is best known as Bailey Salinger on the TV series Party of Five.
- Ian Ziering - Actor who is best known for the role of Steve Sanders on the TV series Beverly Hills 90210.
- Abner Zwillman - Jewish mobster. He was found hanging dead at his mansion home at 15 Beverly Road on February 27, 1959.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- The Township of West Orange Government
- West Orange Board of Education / Public Schools
- West Orange Public Schools's 2004-2005 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the West Orange Public Schools
- West Orange Free and Public Library
- West Orange Chamber of Commerce
- Essex County Parks and Recreation - Eagle Rock Reservation
- Essex County Parks and Recreation - South Mountain Reservation
- Essex County Parks and Recreation - Turtle Back Zoo
- U.S. National Parks Service - Thomas Alva Edison National Historical Site
- West Orange NJ.net (community message boards)
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
