West Orange, NJ

West Orange has excellent public schools and is home to several prestigious private schools. Residents who send their children to public school will find that there are seven elementary schools along with three middle schools and West Orange High School, the only high school in the township. Dedicated to their education, the township of West Orange invested several millions of dollars into upgrading the school campuses just a few short years ago. One of the most popular neighborhoods because of the schools, the Gregory section, was the topic of one of our recent blogs.

For complete information on the West Orange school district, visit the West Orange Public Schools website.

Many of the township’s 46,000 residents travel to New York City and Newark for work. Both of these areas are easily accessible through major connecting highways, excellent train and bus service as well as through adjacent towns. West Orange even runs a free jitney bus service to both Orange Station and South Orange Station. 

If you are looking for recreational activities, you will find several reservations – including South Mountain and Eagle Rock – in which you can hike to your heart’s content on the many trails. Ball fields are available for residents as are bridal paths. You can also fish, jog or even go horseback riding. The Turtle Back Zoo along with the South Mountain Ice Skating Area are part of the facilities of the South Mountain Reservation Complex.

The town is very proud of its theatrical nature and calls itself home to many actors, Broadway stars as well as artists and musicians. Many residents belong to one of the five country and golf clubs that exist within the township as well.

One very famous community is Llewellyn Park, best known as the first residential development that took place in America. It consists of 175 homes sprawled out on multi-acre lots. It is a prestigious retreat that that envelopes the type of design that is famous throughout the architecture in West Orange, the European design. 

Thomas Edison is undoubtedly the most famous citizen to ever live in West Orange. He resided in West Orange from 1887 through 1931 when he passed away at his estate, known as Glenmont. As a tribute, his laboratory and home have been preserved and are currently maintained by the National Park Service.

West Orange is also home to the very first movie studio that ever existed – Edison’s Black Maria. It remains, to this day, a media hub with several radio stations calling the town home and Verizon running a central office right on Prospect Avenue.

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