West Orange is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, set on the eastern slope of the Watchung Mountains about 17 miles west of Manhattan. With roughly 49,000 residents spread across approximately 12 square miles, it is a substantial inner-ring suburb that blends late-19th-century estates, classic mid-century neighborhoods, and modern condominium development. Its most famous address is the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which preserves the laboratory complex and Glenmont estate where the inventor lived and worked from 1886 until his death in 1931. It was in these buildings that Edison and his staff refined the phonograph, the alkaline storage battery, and the motion picture camera. The township's residential character is anchored by Llewellyn Park, one of America's first planned residential communities, a gated enclave of sprawling estates and landscaped grounds laid out in the 1850s. Beyond it, West Orange offers a wide mix of older colonials, postwar ranch and split-level homes, and condominium buildings that give the township an unusual range of housing types for an Essex County community. Distinct sections such as St. Cloud and the hillside areas along the township's main corridors contribute individual neighborhood identities. West Orange appeals to commuters and families drawn by its schools, open space, and relatively quick access to New York City. NJ Transit bus routes serve the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and residents can connect via a township jitney to nearby rail stations with direct service to Penn Station. The township's daily life revolves around a mix of professional households, longtime residents, and newcomers who value a larger home and more green space than the urban markets across the Hudson. The wooded slopes of the Watchung Mountains, the township's own parks, and the dining and cultural amenities of neighboring Montclair and South Orange round out everyday life for residents.