HOME - WEB GUIDE FOR ORANGE COUNTY HISTORY - Library Guides at Ramapo Catskill Library System

Public Historians

Historians are appointed by governing bodies and volunteer their time to preserve and promote local history.

Orange County Historian's Office
Information from the Orange County historian's office. Includes transcriptions of some newspaper articles arranged by appropriate grade level, for use by teachers.

Hudson River Valley Heritage
Online exhibits and scanned documents from the Hudson River corridor; includes many Orange County documents and photos.
Hudson River Valley Institute
Broadly focused site on the Hudson Corridor, the lifeline of so many Orange County towns. hosted by Marist College.

These books are a 'first place to start' for general Orange County history:

Maps listed in chronological order.

Revolutionary Era 1770's - Robert Erskine Maps
Scanned 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.
Map of the Counties of Orange and Rockland by David H. Burr, 1829
County Atlas of Orange, New York by F. W. Beers, 1875
Use the 'contents' page near the front to locate the map page you need.
Atlas of Orange County, New York by A. H. Mueller & Co., 1903
Use the /contents' page near the front to locate the map page you need.

Explore the museums, historic sites, and historical societies of our county:

This guide was compiled by Sue Gardner (sgardner@rcls.org) and Charlotte Dunaief (cdunaief@rcls.org).