From the mid-1800s through the late 1900s, life in South Orange was a mirror of events taking place on a national and global level. Evolutions in population, transportation, education, and culture played an important part in South Orange's growth from a small farming village to the bustling community it is today. For more than 150 years, the village's excellent road and rail infrastructure, salubrious climate, and close proximity to Manhattan has drawn residents from a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and talents. Today many South Orange residents enjoy the convenience of working in a bustling city and at the same time, living in late-19th- and 20th-century homes on streets illuminated by Victorian gaslights. These are just some of the factors that make South Orange a unique community.
Naoma Welk lives in an 1885 Queen Anne-Victorian home in Montrose Park, the historic district of South Orange, and is vice president of the Montrose Park Historic District Association. The author of South Orange, Welk is pleased to present South Orange Revisited, which draws from the collections of the South Orange Public Library, Seton Hall University archives, the New Jersey Historical Society, and many private collections.