In 1998, the Orange Commercial Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register for its distinctive architecture and its association with the history of politics, government, commerce, and transportation in Orange. The district contains the town's oldest public, religious, and commercial structures, and 61 of its 74 buildings are considered contributing resources. Two buildings were already individually listed before the district was formed: St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, constructed in 1833, and the Italian Villa-style Orange County Courthouse, constructed in 1859. Downtown buildings include the Miles B. Lipscomb Store, built about 1855; the Virginia Central Railroad Depot, built about 1926 after earlier rail lines had served Orange and later abandoned in 1936; and a group of commercial and residential buildings rebuilt after the 1908 fire, including the Gill Hardware Building, Hankins House, Waugh Furniture buildings, Willis Hardware Building, Willis Building, Wilbur Theater/Rohr Building, Sherman Pool Room-Billiard Building, Coleman Pool Hall Building, and Levy Building. Orange's timeline reaches from the establishment of the county court at Timothy Crosthwalt's Tavern in 1749 and the first courthouse in 1752 through the first post office in 1776, subdivision of the town in 1800, rail arrival in 1854, a Civil War cavalry skirmish on Main Street in 1862, nearby winter quarters of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1863-1864, formal incorporation in 1872, the destructive 1908 fire and extensive rebuilding from 1909 to 1917, later civic and commercial changes in the 20th century, and the 1998 reopening of the train station as a transportation hub, visitors bureau, and community center. Since 1992, the Orange Downtown Alliance has led revitalization efforts, helping sustain this two-and-a-half-centuries-old courthouse town as the hub of commerce and government in Orange County.
