Orange Historical Society
Orange, Connecticut
History
History of Orange Public Schools
Orange was one of many communities with strict
Rules for Teachers
The Academy
The
white
clapboard
building
on
the
east
side
of
the
Orange
green
is
known
as
'The'
Academy.
It
is
the
second
two-story
structure
to
stand
at
this
location.
The
first
was
built
in
1812
as
a
school
for
students
who
paid
a
small
tuition,
hence
the
name
The
Academy.
Classes
were
held
on
the
second
floor,
while
the
first
floor
was
used
as
an
assembly
room.
In
1878,
this
building
was
moved
and
a
new
structure
of similar design was built on the same site for use as a high school;
It
later
became
the
Orange
Town
Hall.
When
the
present
Town
Hall
was
completed
in
1967,
The
Academy
was
turned
over
to
the
Orange
Board of Education, which occupied the building until 1989, when it was leased to the Orange Historical Society.
Mary L. Tracy School
Mary
L.
Tracy
School
opened
in
1910
as
Orange
Center
School
for
students
in
kindergarten
through
grade
eight.
It
celebrated
its
Centennial in 2010 with a town-wide celebration.
Orange
Center
School
was
re-named
in
1956
to
honor
Mary
Tracy,
who
had
dedicated
many
years
of
service
to
the
Orange
community
as
a
teacher,
principal,
and
ultimately
as
the
acting
superintendent.
According
to
records,
Tracy
herself
attended
Orange
Center
School
(the
MLT
building)
from
kindergarten
to
grade
8;
and
then
upon
graduating
from
college,
she
returned
to
teach
as
a
first
and
fourth
grade
teacher.
So,
except
for
her
eight
years
in
high
school
and
college,
Mary
Tracy
spent
her
entire
life
from
five
years
old
in
1910
to
her
retirement in 1970 at the building which now bears her name.
After
she
retired,
Mary
Tracy
wrote
in
the
1979
MLT
School
Yearbook:
“The
children
were
my
greatest
delight
and
the
teaching
my
special
joy
-
a
work
of
love.
A
special
spirit
permeated
the
building
-
an
ideal
atmosphere
for
learning.
Of
greatest
importance
were
the
enthusiastic,
loyal
and
capable
teachers
and
also
the
other
school
workers
who
contributed
their
services,
thus
helping
the
process
of
learning.
Enrichment’s
to
curriculum
were
added
by
the
Parent-Teacher
Association
and
other
townspeople
who
offered
their
talents
and
help.
The
understanding
and
cooperation
of
our
superintendents,
Board
of
Education,
the
town
officials,
and
the
finances
and
interest
from the whole town made the working at Mary L. Tracy School a dream realized.”
In
1989,
The
Orange
School
district
re-dedicated
the
building
as
an
Early
Childhood
Center;
and
to
this
day,
the
school
serves
as
home
for
all of the districts pre-school and kindergarten classes.
Credits: Terri Yanetti, Orange Milford Bulletin, 4.28.2010.
Did They Really Adopt Them?
by Ginny Reinhard, President of the Orange Historical Society
Research
is
a
wonderful
tool
to
keep
history
straight
and
true
but
you
have
to
analyze
the
data
as
thoroughly
as
possible
to
see
if
you
spot
any
misaligned
facts,
especially
dates.
In
the
case
of
“The
Rules”,
there
is
no
doubt
that
Orange’s
5
district
schools
were
governed
by
these
nine
edicts
as
the
date
corresponds
to
the
time
the
town
had
district
schools.
In
1909,
they
were
consolidated
into
the
Orange
Center
School,
known
as
Mary
L.
Tracy,
which
was
renamed
in
1956.
Initially
there
were
four
rooms,
with
two
grades
per
room
for
the
first
to
the
eighth grade, and the district schools were abandoned.
'Abandoned'
is
not
quite
the
right
word,
as
they
were
'recycled.'
Stepping
back
in
time
when
the
school
system
of
Orange
(North
Milford)
is
reported
as
being
established,
we
have
a
quote
from
the
History
of
Orange
1639-1949
by
Mary
Woodruff
that
in
1750,
it
was
“voted
that
money
should
be
appropriated
to
the
inhabitants
of
Bryan’s
Farms,
for
the
purpose
of
setting
up
a
school
in
winter,
it
being
so
well
settled
that one is deemed necessary.” Sadly, there is no indication of where this school was located.
Bryan Andrew
Orange Historical Society
Orange, Connecticut
Bryan Andrew
History
History of Orange Public Schools
Orange was one of many communities
with strict
Rules for Teachers
The Academy
The
white
clapboard
building
on
the
east
side
of
the
Orange
green
is
known
as
'The'
Academy.
It
is
the
second
two-story
structure
to
stand
at
this
location.
The
first
was
built
in
1812
as
a
school
for
students
who
paid
a
small
tuition,
hence
the
name
The
Academy.
Classes
were
held
on
the
second
floor,
while
the
first
floor
was
used
as
an
assembly
room.
In
1878,
this
building
was
moved
and
a
new
structure
of
similar
design
was
built
on
the
same
site
for use as a high school;
it
later
became
the
Orange
Town
Hall.
When
the
present
Town
Hall
was
completed
in
1967,
The
Academy
was
turned
over
to
the
Orange
Board
of
Education,
which
occupied
the
building
until
1989,
when
it
was
leased
to
the
Orange Historical Society.
Mary L. Tracy School
Mary
L.
Tracy
School
opened
in
1910
as
Orange
Center
School
for
students
in
kindergarten
through
grade
eight.
It
celebrated
its
Centennial
in
2010
with
a
town-wide
celebration.
Orange
Center
School
was
re-named
in
1956
to
honor
Mary
Tracy,
who
had
dedicated
many
years
of
service
to
the
Orange
community
as
a
teacher,
principal,
and
ultimately
as
the
acting
superintendent.
According
to
records,
Tracy
herself
attended
Orange
Center
School
(the
MLT
building)
from
kindergarten
to
grade
8;
and
then
upon
graduating
from
college,
she
returned
to
teach
as
a
first
and
fourth
grade
teacher.
So,
except
for
her
eight
years
in
high
school
and
college,
Mary
Tracy
spent
her
entire
life
from
five
years
old
in
1910
to
her
retirement
in
1970
at
the
building
which now bears her name.
After
she
retired,
Mary
Tracy
wrote
in
the
1979
MLT
School
Yearbook:
“The
children
were
my
greatest
delight
and
the
teaching
my
special
joy
-
a
work
of
love.
A
special
spirit
permeated
the
building
-
an
ideal
atmosphere
for
learning.
Of
greatest
importance
were
the
enthusiastic,
loyal
and
capable
teachers
and
also
the
other
school
workers
who
contributed
their
services,
thus
helping
the
process
of
learning.
Enrichment’s
to
curriculum
were
added
by
the
Parent-Teacher
Association
and
other
townspeople
who
offered
their
talents
and
help.
The
understanding
and
cooperation
of
our
superintendents,
Board
of
Education,
the
town
officials,
and
the
finances
and
interest
from
the
whole
town
made
the
working
at
Mary L. Tracy School a dream realized.”
In
1989,
The
Orange
School
district
re-dedicated
the
building
as
an
Early
Childhood
Center;
and
to
this
day,
the
school
serves
as
home
for
all
of
the
districts
pre-school
and
kindergarten classes.
Credits: Terri Yanetti, Orange Milford Bulletin, 4.28.2010.
Did They Really Adopt Them?
by
Ginny
Reinhard,
President
of
the
Orange
Historical
Society
Research
is
a
wonderful
tool
to
keep
history
straight
and
true
but
you
have
to
analyze
the
data
as
thoroughly
as
possible
to
see
if
you
spot
any
misaligned
facts,
especially
dates.
In
the
case
of
“The
Rules”,
there
is
no
doubt
that
Orange’s
5
district
schools
were
governed
by
these
nine
edicts
as
the
date
corresponds
to
the
time
the
town
had
district
schools.
In
1909,
they
were
consolidated
into
the
Orange
Center
School,
known
as
Mary
L.
Tracy,
which
was
renamed
in
1956.
Initially
there
were
four
rooms,
with
two
grades
per
room
for
the
first
to
the
eighth
grade,
and
the
district schools were abandoned.
'Abandoned'
is
not
quite
the
right
word,
as
they
were
'recycled.'
Stepping
back
in
time
when
the
school
system
of
Orange
(North
Milford)
is
reported
as
being
established,
we
have
a
quote
from
the
History
of
Orange
1639-1949
by
Mary
Woodruff
that
in
1750,
it
was
“voted
that
money
should
be
appropriated
to
the
inhabitants
of
Bryan’s
Farms,
for
the
purpose
of
setting
up
a
school
in
winter,
it
being
so
well
settled
that
one
is
deemed
necessary.”
Sadly,
there is no indication of where this school was located.
As
soon
as
the
Church
was
organized
in
1805,
the
members
of
the
town
established
the
North
Milford
School
Society
with
the
first
meeting
in
1806.
At
that
time,
there
were
three
distinct
districts
showing
that
the
original
208
acres
that
were
established
by
Richard
Bryan
in
1700
had
significantly
increased.
The
southern
part
of
the
town
was
called
the
First
District,
located
on
the
corner
of
South
Main
Street
(Orange
Center
Road)
and
Morse
Road
(Old
Tavern
Road).
The
Second
District,
to
the
north,
was
located
at
the
triangle
formed
by
Grassy
Hill
Road
(now
Old
Grassy
Hill)
and
Milford
Road
(Ridge
Road
today).
The
western
end
was
the
Third
District
with
its
location
at
the
corner
of
Clark
Lane
and
Race
Road
(Grassy
Hill
Road).
A
sum
of
$599
from
the
Milford
budget
was
allowed
for
the
expenses
for
the
year
with
a
committeeman
chosen
for
each
district
to
make
the
arrangements
for
the
teacher
and
to
secure
enough
firewood.
School
visitors
were
chosen
and
given
the
responsibility
to
visit
the
schools
and
“pass
judgment.”
Ouch!
Talk
about
the
fox
in
the henhouse!
