The white clapboard building on the east side of the Orange green is known as The Academy. It is the second two-story structure to stand at this location. The first was built in 1812 as a school for students who paid a small tuition, hence the name The Academy. Classes were held on the second floor, while the first floor was used as an assembly room. In 1878, this building was moved and a new structure of similar design was built on the same site for use as a high school; it later became the Orange Town Hall. When the present Town Hall was completed in 1967, The Academy was turned over to the Orange Board of Education, which occupied the building until 1989, when it was leased to the Orange Historical Society.