ORANGE COUNTY NY HISTORY RESOURCES: HOME
Web-based research sources, organizations, and contacts for exploring the history of Orange County, New York
Public Historians
Historians are appointed by governing bodies and volunteer their time to preserve and promote local history.
- Orange County Historian's OfficeInformation from the Orange County historian's office. Includes transcriptions of some newspaper articles arranged by appropriate grade level, for use by teachers.
General Orange County Archives & Websites
- Hudson River Valley HeritageOnline exhibits and scanned documents from the Hudson River corridor; includes many Orange County documents and photos.
- Hudson River Valley InstituteBroadly focused site on the Hudson Corridor, the lifeline of so many Orange County towns. hosted by Marist College.
Basic Books
These books are a 'first place to start' for general Orange County history:
Historic Maps
Maps listed in chronological order.
- Revolutionary Era 1770's - Robert Erskine MapsScanned maps by George Washington's map maker; search for "Erskine". Quite a few of the maps cover areas in Orange County.
- Orange County History Before 1810 (1935)Map of historic sites and events as drawn for Roscoe Smith by Anne Olmstead Peet in 1935.
- County Atlas of Orange, New York by F. W. Beers, 1875Use the 'contents' page near the front to locate the map page you need.
- Atlas of Orange County, New York by A. H. Mueller & Co., 1903Use the /contents' page near the front to locate the map page you need.
Organizations/Sites
Explore the museums, historic sites, and historical societies of our county:
- Orange County Historic SitesList maintained by Orange County Tourism.
- Orange County MuseumsList maintained by Orange County Tourism
Guide Authors
This guide was compiled by Sue Gardner (sgardner@rcls.org) and Charlotte Dunaief (cdunaief@rcls.org).