West Orange, New Jersey | |
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Township | |
Township of West Orange | |
Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange
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Nickname(s): "Where Invention Lives" | |
Location in Essex County and the state of New Jersey. |
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Census Bureau map of West Orange, New Jersey |
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Coordinates: 40°47′09″N 74°15′54″W / 40.785753°N 74.26506°WCoordinates: 40°47′09″N 74°15′54″W / 40.785753°N 74.26506°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New Jersey |
County | Essex |
Incorporated | April 10, 1863 (as township) |
Reincorporated | February 28, 1900 (as town) |
Government | |
• Type | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
• Body | Township Council |
• Mayor | Robert D. Parisi (term ends December 31, 2018) |
• Administrator | John K. Sayers |
• Clerk | Karen J. Carnevale |
Area | |
• Total | 12.171 sq mi (31.522 km2) |
• Land | 12.046 sq mi (31.198 km2) |
• Water | 0.125 sq mi (0.324 km2) 1.03% |
Area rank | 190th of 566 in state 3rd of 22 in county |
Elevation | 512 ft (156 m) |
Population (2010 Census) | |
• Total | 46,207 |
• Estimate (2015) | 47,390 |
• Rank | 40th of 566 in state 5th of 22 in county |
• Density | 3,836.0/sq mi (1,481.1/km2) |
• Density rank | 160th of 566 in state 14th of 22 in county |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 07052 |
Area code(s) | 973 |
FIPS code | 3401379800 |
GNIS feature ID | 1729718 |
Website | Official website |
West Orange is a suburbantownship in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 46,207, reflecting an increase of 1,264 (+2.8%) from the 44,943 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 5,840 (+14.9%) from the 39,103 counted in the 1990 Census.
West Orange was initially a part of Newark township, and remained so until November 27, 1806, when the territory now encompassing all of The Oranges was detached to form Orange Township. On April 13, 1807, the first government was elected. On January 31, 1860, Orange was incorporated as a town, and on April 3, 1872, it was reincorporated as a city. Almost immediately, Orange 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 April 1, 1861, Fairmount (an independent municipality for less than one year that was 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 briefly independent municipality of Fairmount) was incorporated as a township on April 10, 1863, and was reformed as a town on February 28, 1900. In 1980, West Orange again became a township to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated a greater share of government aid to municipalities classified as townships.
The township derives its name from the city of Orange, which in turn is derived from William III of England or William IV, Prince of Orange.