Orangedale

Orangedale is four miles northwest of Beeville on Farm Road 673 in central Bee County. When the Wangeman Ranch was subdivided into tracts, news that the productive soil would yield oranges and other fruits attracted settlers in 1906 from other states, particularly the Northeast. Consequently, the community was named Orangedale. The Friendship Baptist Church, built in 1906, and eventually a school, a store, and a gasoline station served the residents of Orangedale. In 1948 Orangedale had two schools, one business, and scattered residences. In 1990 only the church and several homes remained. By 2000 the population was thirty-five.