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registered Ayrshire and Jersey cows. Fairlea Farms milk was known throughout Connecticut and until the late 1950's the barns could still be seen in back of the Lee home on Orange Center Road.

Mr. Lee was in the printing business and was a member of the Price, Lee and Adkins Company located in New Haven. Eventually this became the Wilson H. Lee Company. In 1929 it was moved from New Haven to a new brick building in Orange on the Boston Post Road just opposite the intersection of Orange Center Road. Mr. Lee died in 1948 shortly after his 95th birthday.

Center School Built

In 1909 the Town Fathers saw fit to build the Orange Center School. A brick structure, it consisted of four classrooms and was for pupils in grades 1 - 8. Also in 1909 an Episcopal mission was established in the old Tyler City School. This was the forerunner of the Church of the Good Shepherd. Sunday School services were held there starting in the fall of 1909 with one pupil, Frank Powers, who attended all winter. The next year he was joined by the four Peter Peterson children. In June, 1911 a large shed which would hold eight teams was built adjacent to the mission. On April 19, 1913, the Episcopal Chapel was consecrated. The cross on the steeple was one which had been removed from the steeple of the Episcopal church in Stratford which was the oldest church in the Diocese of Connecticut.

In 1917 when World War I was declared, 53 men from the small town of Orange answered their country's call.

West Haven Goes Its Way

There were many disputes between the northern and southern parts of the town which led to the division of the Town of Orange and Borough of West Haven. In 1848 the townspeople "took into consideration the expediency of dividing said Town of Orange into two towns." The vote was unanimously affirmative; however, there is no record of a petition having been presented to the General Assembly. In 1903 a special meeting was called to consider the division of the town but the committee at that time submitted an adverse report.

In 1907 the General Assembly passed a tentative charter creating the City of Orange. Presented to the voters of the town on September 5, 1907, the referendum was defeated in both voting districts.

Sub-division of the town came up again in 1910. On October 16, 1916, a commission of 12 was established to draft a new charter for the Town of Orange. It was not until June 24, 1921, however, that the division of West Haven from Orange was consummated by the special act of the General Assembly. Charles R. Treat of Orange, who was State senator at the time, introduced the bill which divided the town and borough into separate communities.

[picture caption] Top: Four horse-drawn buses carried youngsters to schools in 1909, the first year of public school transportation in town.
Bottom: A fleet of buses now transports town youngsters to the five elementary schools as well as the junior high school in Orange and the high school in Woodbridge.