Representative Orange Merwin

Orange Merwin (April 7, 1777 – September 4, 1853) was a United States Representative from Connecticut and a prominent figure in the state’s early nineteenth-century political life. He was born in the Merryall section of New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut, where he attended the local common schools. Raised in a rural community, he became acquainted early with the agricultural economy that dominated the region and later devoted much of his life to farming and related pursuits.

Merwin’s formal education did not extend beyond the common schools, but he emerged as a respected local citizen and landholder. Engaging in agricultural pursuits in and around New Milford, he developed the practical experience and community standing that underpinned his entry into public service. His familiarity with the concerns of farmers and rural residents helped shape his political outlook during a period when Connecticut was transitioning from its colonial-era institutions to a more modern constitutional framework.

Merwin began his political career in the Connecticut House of Representatives, serving as a member from 1815 to 1820. During these years he participated in state legislative affairs at a time of growing pressure for constitutional reform and broader political representation. In 1818 he was chosen as a delegate to the Connecticut constitutional convention, which produced the state’s first formal constitution and ended the colonial charter system. At that convention he served as a member of the committee of twenty-four charged with drafting the new state constitution, placing him at the center of one of the most significant institutional changes in Connecticut’s early history.

Following his service in the lower house, Merwin advanced to the Connecticut Senate, where he served from 1821 to 1825. His tenure in the Senate coincided with the early implementation of the 1818 constitution and the reorganization of state government under the new framework. In this role he continued to represent the interests of his region while participating in the refinement of Connecticut’s legislative and administrative structures in the post-charter era.

Merwin entered national politics in the mid-1820s. He was elected as an Adams candidate—aligned with the supporters of President John Quincy Adams and the National Republican tendency—to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1829. Representing Connecticut at a time of growing sectional and partisan realignment, he sat in Congress during debates over internal improvements, tariffs, and the evolving role of the federal government. He did not seek renomination in 1828, thus concluding his congressional service after two terms.

After leaving Congress, Merwin returned to Connecticut and resumed his agricultural pursuits in New Milford. Remaining active in public affairs, he sought statewide office and was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut in 1831. Although he did not attain that office, his candidacy reflected his continued prominence within the state’s political circles and his ongoing association with the Adams and National Republican elements that later fed into the Whig Party.

In his later years, Merwin continued to reside in New Milford, where he maintained his farming interests and local connections. He died in New Milford, Connecticut, on September 4, 1853. He was interred in Center Cemetery in New Milford, closing a life that spanned from the Revolutionary era through the early decades of the American republic and that was marked by significant contributions to both Connecticut’s constitutional development and its representation in the national legislature.