Town of Orion

Orion, commonly referred to as Orion Township, is a rural municipality found in Richland County WI Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.2 square miles (93.8 km²), of which, 35.8 square miles (92.7 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it (1.19%) is water. The population was 628 at the 2000 census. Using the January Preliminary Population Estimates provided by the WI State Department of Administration, there has been a decline in population. Prelim_Est_Alpha_2024.pdf (wi.gov) The preliminary estimated population for 2024 is 542 with 419 residents to be of voting age. The unincorporated communities of Orion and Twin Bluffs are located within the town of Orion. Our town is a picturesque rural area that made up of hills, valleys, woodlands, and fields with the Wisconsin River being our southern border.

Originally called Richmond, at a town meeting held on December 20, 1856, board members approved a name change and Richmond became Orion. Board Members held their first meetings at various homes in what is now the unincorporated community of Orion. On October 24, 1912, a small piece of land was leased to the Town of Orion at the intersection of County Hwy O and County Hwy OO for the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) to be in place if the Town of Orion used the land for Town Hall purposes. That lease is still in effect today, though the Town of Orion will soon return the land to the family which leased it to us originally. The town built the white building to use as its Town Hall shortly after and it served the town of Orion for many years.

At some point, primarily due to lack of facilities, the town began to use the basement of the Ash Creek United Methodist Church, located on Henery Clark Lane for elections and annual town meetings events that lasted more than an hour. The town used the church basement for many years, and they were grateful to have a place to hold elections and annual meetings. The board continued to use the Ash Creek Methodist Church through 2023 hold monthly meetings in the old town hall until January 2024.

Eventually, the town determined they would build a new town hall funded in part by money received through a grant. Construction on the new town hall began in late 2023 and the building was completed in March of 2024. Board members held the first board meeting in the new building in February of 2024.