South Orange-Maplewood School District history

The Eclipse Stage Line operated in 1830 between the hotel and Newark.

Then in 1836, the Morris and Essex Railroad developed a single track between the Village and Orange and operated a horse-drawn cart.

In 1843, another office was opened to serve the thirty families nearby.

Joanne Butler In-House Counsel District Title IX Coordinator 525 Academy Street Maplewood, NJ 07040 e: jbutler@somsd.k12.nj.us p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext 1849

In 1862, he began to buy large plots of land to begin his conversion.

The first telephone exchange was opened in Orange on December 6, 1879.

Given the rise in population and the greater need for more detailed higher education, in 1885 Columbia was designated to serve as a "high" school for the community.

Electric power was brought into the Village about 1888, although most of the streets are still lit by gas lamps.

In 1904, complete separation of Village and Township was effected by action of the State Legislature, after South Orange had agreed to remain in the school district.

The 1927 building, which is still the main center of the current school, has had three additions built to handle larger population numbers generated by the 'baby boom' following the Second World War.

In all, six different sites were used until 1937 when our present first class Post Office was opened on Vose Avenue in a new building of its own.

In March, 1972, a separate police station and Municipal Court building on South Orange Avenue was completed.

A part of the 1985 celebrations for the centennial of the high school was the creation of the Hall of Fame, which highlights illustrious graduates.