Lying on the west bank of the New River on the Northern Highway is the largest settlement in northern Belize, Orange Walk Town. The town is 30 miles south of Corozal Town and 66 miles north of Belize City with a population of 12,000. The modern and the traditional make up the face of Orangewalk Town today. The mechanized sugar industry mixes with the old Mexican religious customs. The Mennonites driving horse and carts along-side the huge cane lorries which constantly lumber through the streets during the sugar harvest.

Historically the Orange Walk town was the scene for warfare between the Spanish and the Mayas. Mestizos fleeing from the Caste War in Yucatan arrived in large numbers in Orange Walk. The settlers were continuously attacked by Maya raiding parties, at which time the British built forts ( Mundy and Cairns) to ward off the attacks. In 1872, Orange Walk Town was attacked by a huge army of Icaiche Maya led by Marcus Canul. The town was successful in killing Marcus Canul and driving off the Maya, marking the last armed resistance by Maya in Belize.

The inflow of the refugees from the Caste War in 1850's has left its mark on the town. With the majority of the residents being Hispanic, they speak only Spanish, and food sold on the streets include tamales, salbutes and tacos. Orange Walk Town is not seen as a tourist destination, and this may become its greatest blessing. Uncommercial and relatively undeveloped for tourists, one can be assured of seeing the "real" Belize in Orangewalk Town. Even so, the town has all the basics: food and lodging, grocery and clothing stores, and restaurants.

This town was one of the nation's first settlements, a logging center. Later the residents became chicle tappers and maize farmers. Now the entire area is involved in seasonal harvesting and processing of sugar cane.

While Orangewalk is the political and social center of the district, many outlying villages contribute to the personality of this portion of the country. One group of outlying villages occupy the northwest corner of the country. Here, communities of Mennonites farm everything from sorghum to rice to dairy herds. The center of activity for the Mennonite communities is the typical Mennonite town of Blue Creek.