Last modified: 2024-01-28 by rick wyatt
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![[Flag of Orange, Massachusetts]](../images/u/us-maorn.gif)
image from www.state.ma.us/bsb/images/Orange.jpg
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A white over black flag with the color boundary defining a horizon out of which arises near the hoist a black silhouette of a tree and an orange sunset behind. The town name and date are written in black on the sky field. Orange is in Franklin County.
From www.co.franklin.ma.us/orange.htm:
As early as 1735 a long street, eight rods in width, was laid in a north and south direction in the northwesterly part of Athol, a little east of the top of West Pequoiag hill. On either side of this street small lots, called home lots, were laid out in regular form. Many of the lots were quickly occupied by settlers. The little community thus formed soon attracted other settlers to adjacent parts of Warwick and Royalston. On October 15, 1783, the area including the northwesterly part of Athol, the southeasterly part of Royalston, the southeasterly part of Warwick, the easterly part of a grant to John Erving, the Ruggles Grant and the Hasting farm, were all incorporated as Orange. The town was named after William, Prince of Orange. By 1879, the town had a population of about 2,000 people, many employed in industry. Orange was also the site of the first automobile factory in the United States, at the current home of Pete's Tire Barn on East Main Street, built in 1900. 2002 Population: 7,518Dov Gutterman, 18 November 2002 According to this digitized article by Athol Daily News, it says that the flag of Orange was designed by Lucia Cavaliere. The tree on the flag was called the Sentinel Elm, chosen by her because of its local significance. The tree silhouetted the top of Sentinel Elm Road more than 200 years ago, being more than 90 feet tall and visible for 20 miles. The elm was felled in 1931 and a bronze plaque marks the place, but according to Lucia, during her time in the '90s, people still talked about that tree.
