Orange

Formed February 16, 1781 (2^nd county)

Orange County (29,289), Chelsea* (1,233), Newbury (442)

The wooden Greek Revival courthouse, built in 1847, is on Court Street at North Court Street.  Vermont State Highway 110 is one block to the west.  Horace Carpenter provided the designs.  The building was enlarged in 1879 and 1997.  The county was founded on February 16, 1781 as an original county (2^nd county) with Chelsea as the only county seat.  The county is named for William of Orange.  Chelsea is named for Chelsea, Connecticut.  Orange County is the birthplace of 3 Vermont Governors, Charles Paine, Stanley C. Wilson, and F. Ray Keyser, Jr. 

Orange County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk but doesn’t have a unified government as each township governs.  One Superior Court Judge serves Orange and Windsor counties and One Superior Court Judge serves Orange County.  Orange County is on the eastern border with New Hampshire.  The Connecticut River forms its eastern border.  Burlington, Vermont is northwest and Manchester, New Hampshire is southeast of the county.  The county center is 4.2 miles East-Northeast of Chelsea nearer Vershire.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Caledonia County and New Hampshire and Windsor, Addison, and Washington counties. 

The area of the county is 689 square miles.  It is 7 out of 14 in the state.  It ranks 10 out of 14 in population in the state.  It has a density of 42.5 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 14 in the state.  Orange County has 3.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 89 enters the county from the northwest, Washington County, and exits to the south, Windsor County.  Interstate Highway 91 passes north to south from Caledonia County to Windsor County.  United States Highway 5 parallels Interstate Highway 91 from Caledonia to Windsor counties.  United States Highway 302 comes from the east, New Hampshire, goes north into Caledonia County, reenters and finally exits west into Washington County.  The county shape looks like the State of New Hampshire with the top cut off.  Chelsea is located in the western third of the county.  Newbury River is on the northeastern border of the county.  Chelsea is the county seat and Newbury is the largest city.  Chelsea is 4.3% of the county population although it is unincorporated.  Newbury River is 1.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area.