Welcome to the Historical Society of Orange Park
Let's make our community a better place!
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Hello there!
Caring for our Neighbors
Taking care of our neighbors makes for a stronger community. Looking out for one another ensures a safer and happier neighborhood. When we all do a little, we can do so much!
Quarterly Meeting
Orange Park in the 1960's
Quarterly Meeting: 5:30 PM, Tuesday, June 6 at the Clarke House
Our next quarterly meeting will be held at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, June 6 at the Clarke House located at 1039 Kingsley Avenue. Our featured speaker will be Mr. Eugene Nix. Eugene will share his recollections of growing up in Orange Park in the 1960’s. The 1960’s were a time of transition for Orange Park. In many ways it was still a small town where children could roam freely and traffic was not an issue but outside forces were driving growth in the area, changing the character of the town in the process. We look forward to seeing you on June 6.
Earl Harrington Community Service Award
American Legion Post 250 Riders Honored for Community Service
At the Carrie Clarke Day event on March 4, The Historical Society of Orange Park recognized a very special and dedicated group of volunteers with the Earl Harrington Community Service Award. The American Legion Post 250 Riders have had a longstanding relationship with the Society and the Veterans Memorial of Orange Park.
The Post 250 Riders have been both promoting and fundraising for the Veterans Memorial since it was a watercolor rendering on a piece of paper. They began fundraising for the Veterans Memorial by selling hamburgers and hot dogs at Adamec’s Harley Davidson on Wells Road and continued doing that for years to help procure the funds necessary to break ground on the Veterans Memorial. They have donated funds from their activities for years and most recently supported the maintenance project of paver replacement with a donation from their membership of $2,000!
Their commitment to this project is evidenced by the fact that the Post 250 Rider’s team has been a part of every single Veterans Day activity beginning with the groundbreaking ceremony on November 11, 2011, the dedication ceremony in 2012 and every Veterans Day ceremony since then. Their dedication to the Veterans Memorial and Orange Park community is worthy of the spirit and intent of the Earl Harrington Community Service Award.
Activity News
Clarke House Tours
The Clarke House, built in 1912 and located in Clarke House Park, 1039 Kingsley Avenue, is open for tours the second Sunday of each month from 2 PM to 4 PM. Sunday afternoons are the perfect time for a leisurely tour of the house, both upstairs and downstairs.
Please note that our scheduled open house tours for June have been cancelled. Tours will return on the second Sunday of July.
20th Anniversary: Orange Park Memories
The 1960's
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, the Historical Society of Orange Park is highlighting the town’s history, decade by decade. This month we look at the 1960s.
The town got a new library in the 1960s, on the site of the old Normal School. The first graduating class of Orange Park High School was celebrated in1962. The following year, the Orange Park Athletic Association was created offering generations of town kids a chance to play ball. The Garden Club installed a Blue Star Memorial on Highway 17 (now located near the Veterans Memorial) and the Monkey Farm operations moved to Atlanta’s Emory University. Regular passenger railroad service with a stop in Orange Park ended. Caleb and Fricka Massee, bought Mira Rio and converted it into Club Continental. The Orange Park Lions Club started in 1966.
In the late 1960’s, Navy Cmdr. Michael Hoff brought his wife, Mary and five children to live in Orange while he served in Vietnam. He never returned but Mary’s POW flag made history on his behalf. In 1969, the Rotary Club of Orange Park started. By the end of the decade growth in the town took the population over 2,600.
