Orange is also known as the "Gateway City" and is situated in the southeast corner of Texas. Orange is the county seat of Orange County and has been called Green's Bluff after a man named Resin Green, a Sabine River boatman, who arrived at this location sometime before 1830. It was renamed Madison in 1840 in honor of President James Madison, a post office was built in 1850, and became the county seat in 1852. Incorporated in 1858 and to avoid confusion the Madisonville community, it was renamed to its present name, Orange, based on the orange grove of George Patillo. Texas and New Orleans Railroad built a track in 1860, rebuilt in 1876 due to the Civil War. Confederate troops assembled three companies from Orange and the nearby Niblett's Bluff became an important military supply point for the region. During Reconstruction, the 37th Illinois Volunteers and successive troops occupied Orange with civil officials resuming their jobs in 1867 resulting in the Orange being reincorporated in 1881. The lumber industry contributed to its Victorian "Golden Age". The Rainbow Bridge on Highway 87 across the Neches River between Orange and Port Arthur was dubbed as the highest bridge in the South in 1938. Three shipyards operated in 1949 while the US Navy maintained a "mothball" fleet of more than 140 ships berthed in the Sabine River. Also, Orange served as a major shipbuilding center during World War I and was also credited with pioneering the first black Boy Scout troop in Texas and in 1970 elected its first black city council member. Orange, Beaumont, and Port Arthur was called an industrial Golden Triangle when they became a major manufacturing center as well as a seaport. With a total area of 20.8 square miles, it reached a population of 19,072 in 2017. Finally, the Orange County Airport (ORG) with 2 Runways is the city's airport.
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