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New Jersey
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Sussex Sealjpg
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Map of New Jersey highlighting Sussex Countysvg
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100
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1753
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8 June
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Newton
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Vernon
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536
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1,388
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521
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1,350
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15
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38
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275%
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2000
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144,166
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2767
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1039
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wwwsussexnjus
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The (also known as '''Sussex County''') is the northernmost county in the , including the area of the present-day
Warren County (created from the southwestern half of Sussex County on
November 20 ,
1824 ). At present, it is the fourth largest county in New Jersey by area. The
County Seat of Sussex County is the
Town Of Newton 6 .
Though lacking much historical evidence, local tradition asserts that in the 1650s, along the
Delaware River , and in the decades subsequent,
Palatine Germans via
Philadelphia , and English colonists from
New England ,
Long Island ,
Newark , and
Salem County, New Jersey .
Early industry and commerce chiefly centered around
Agriculture ,
Iron Mining , shifting during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to focus on several factories and the
Mining of
Zinc . Today, Sussex County features a mix of
Rural Farmland ,
Forests and
Suburban Development at the western extent of the
New York Metropolitan Area . Though agriculture (chiefly
Dairy Farming ) is on the decline and because the county hosts little light industry, Sussex County is considered a "
Bedroom Community " as most residents commute to neighboring counties (
Bergen ,
Essex and
Morris Counties ) or to
New York City for work.
As of the
2000 Federal Decennial Census , 144,166 persons resided in Sussex County of which nearly 95% were
White . Sussex County is the 91st richest county in the United States with its per capita income being $26,992.
Sussex County was named by Royal Governor
Jonathan Belcher (1689-1757) for
Sussex in
England which was the ancestral seat of His Grace,
Thomas Pelham-Holles, First Duke Of Newcastle-upon-Tyne And First Duke Of Newcastle-under-Lyne (1693-1768), who at the time was the
Secretary Of State For The Northern Department , and later the
Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom (1754-1756, 1757-1762). Pelham-Holles, whose office oversaw British affairs in
North America , was Governor Belcher's political superior. During his term as Governor of New Jersey (1747-1757), Belcher named many
Municipalities in honor of important
British Political Figures , most of whom were superior to him in
Rank or
Precedence . It is believed that he did so in order to curry political favor and regain a level of standing that was diminished from his scandal which precipitated his removal from the
Governorship Of Massachusetts in 1741. Snell, James P. (ed.) History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881), 149 ff..Haffenden, Peter. "Colonial appointments and patronage under the duke of Newcastle, 1724–1739" in ''English Historical Review'', 78 (1963), 417–35.
Sussex, in England, was notable historically as
One Of The Seven Kingdoms of the
Heptarchy (A.D. 500–850), which were later unified under
Egbert Of Wessex (c. 770–839) into the
Kingdom Of England .
Under the 1664 deed from
Charles II Of England to his brother the
Duke Of York , and the subsequent deed that granted New Jersey to
Lord Berkeley and
George Carteret , New Jersey's northern border was drawn from a line at 41 degrees North Latitude on the
Hudson River to a point at 41 40' North on the
Delaware River . This line which granted New Jersey a significant swath of land in present day
Orange and
Sullivan Counties in
New York .Osborne, Peter. ''The New York-New Jersey Boundary Line: While New Jersey Dozed, New York Was Wide Awake'' Paper given before New York State Land Surveyors Association (1992) (Port Jervis, New York: Minisink Valley Historical Society, 1992). NO ISBN (Privately published)McAndrew, John. T. "The Boundary Dispute Between the Province of New York and the Province of New Jersey" in ''Journal'' (Goshen, New York: Orange County Historical Society, 1974-1975). NO ISBN (Privately published)Stapler, Mead. "Fort Cushetunk: Connecticut's Claim on the Delaware River" in ''The North Jersey Highlander'' (North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, Spring 1978).
With the boundary between the Provinces of
East Jersey and
West Jersey undefined, the land area that became Sussex County was first, briefly, under the auspices of
Essex County when it was established in
1682 . After the settling of the border with the
Keith Line (1687) and the subsequent
Coxe-Barclay Line (1688), this area was under the control of the West Jersey Proprietors and given to
Burlington County when it was established in
1696 . Burlington County ceded all the lands north of the
Assunpink Creek to
Hunterdon County in 1711. In 1739, Hunterdon County cede the land north of the
Musconetcong River —comprising the present-day Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties—to form
Morris County .Snyder, John P. ''The Story of New Jersey’s Civil Boundaries, 1609-1968.'' Bulletin 67 (Trenton, NJ: Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969), 8 ff.
In the years following the creation of Morris County, the area north and west of the
Musconetcong River grew in population to several hundred settlers. Given the lack of roads and the long, arduous journey to attend to the courts, government and other business at
Morristown , the county's seat, the residents of this area petitioned the provincial government to erect a new county.Snell, op. cit. On
8 June 1753 , Royal Governor Jonathan Belcher and his Council ordered the creation of the County of Sussex by the following boundaries:
"That all and singular, the lands and upper parts of said Morris County northwest of Muskonetkong river, BEGINNING at the mouth of said river, where it empties itself into Delaware river, and running up said Muskonetkong river, to the head of the great pond; from thence to the line that divides the province of New-York and said New-Jersey; thence along the said line to Delaware river aforesaid; thence down the same to the mouth of Muskonetkong…”Paterson, William. Laws of the State of New Jersey. (Newark, NJ: Matthias Day, 1800), 4.
At this time, Sussex County consisted of four municipalities that were founded before the establishment of the county:
Walpack (1731),
Newtown (1751),
Hardwick (1751) and
Greenwich Townships (1738). These townships would, over the next two hundred years, be carved into the twenty-four municipalities that comprise present-day Sussex County, and the twenty-two in present-day Warren County.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey’s Civil Boundaries, 1609-1968. Bulletin 67 (Trenton, NJ: Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969), 229 ff.
The first county seat was established on the lands of Jonathan Pettit, a local justice-of-the-peace and tavernkeeper in present-day
Johnsonburg in
Frelinghuysen Township , then part of
Hardwick Township . At the first meeting of the
Board Of Chosen Freeholders in 1754, monies were appropriated for the construction of a jail which was built from logs. This caused the village to be known as Log Gaol. Disputes between Pettit and the early county freeholders lead to the courts and county government to be held elsewhere in the subsequent years, including at the taverns of Thomas Woolverton (1719-1760) and Henry Hairlocker (1715-1777) in Newtown Township. In 1761, the Provincial Legislature and Royal Governor
Josiah Hardy authorized the construction of a courthouse and jail on the Newton Township lands of Jonathan Hampton (1720-1777), a surveyor and merchant from
Elizabethtown , one half-mile (0.85 km) from the tavern of Henry Hairlocker. This site, which became known as ''Sussex Court House'', is presently the
Town Of Newton .Honeyman, A. Van Doren. Northwestern New Jersey: A History of Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex Counties. (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1927), 589.
In 1824, heeding the petitions of the southern residents of Sussex County, the State Legislature ordered a line drawn across the county from the mouth of the
Flat Brook (where it enters the
Delaware River ) in
Walpack Township , through the village of
Yellow Frame in then
Hardwick Township to a point on the county's eastern boundary, the
Musconetcong River . The lands south of this line were ceded on
20 November 1824 to form
Warren County , named for
American Revolutionary War hero, Doctor
Joseph Warren (1741-1775) who died leading American troops at the
Battle Of Bunker Hill on
17 June 1775 .State of New Jersey. ''Acts of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey.'' (Trenton, New Jersey: n.s. 1824), 146-147.Honeyman, A. Van Doren. Northwestern New Jersey: A History of Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex Counties. (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1927), 589.
Native Americans, exploration, settlement,
Old Mine Road , Iron mining and forges, american revolution, french and indian war,
Zinc Mining, Merriam Shoe Factory, Paper Mill, Wheatsworth,
Agriculture and developments. Hay forks, Lusscroft and artificial bovine insemination,
The County of Sussex is governed by a
Board Of Chosen Freeholders that consists of five members elected at-large to serve three-year terms. Seats are elected on a staggered basis over three years, with two seats available in the first year, two seats the following, and then one seat. All terms of office begin on
1 January and end on
31 December . The Board of Chosen Freeholders is the center of legislative and administrative responsibility for the County of Sussex. It is responsible for writing and adopting a budget and overseeing the spending of funds appropriated by that budget.
Many county services do overlap those provided by municipalities within the county, however, the Board of Chosen Freeholders is responsible for the following tasks:
: ''"Public Safety and Emergency Management, Community College and Technical School, the County Library System, Social Services, Youth Services, Community Service, Mental Health, Division of Senior Services,
County Nursing Home
the Alms House , Environmental and Public Health Services, Mosquito Control, the Medical Examiner’s Office, the County Jail and Detention Center, Farmland and Open Space Preservation, Economic Development, Road and Bridge Maintenance and Repair, the Para Transit System and Transportation Planning, Solid Waste Planning, the County Master Plan, including Water Resource Planning."''
Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders , published on the County of Sussex (New Jersey) website (no further authorship information available), accessed
16 December 2006 .
As of 2006, Sussex County's
Freeholders are Freeholder Director Gary R. Chiusano (term ends
December 31 ,
2008 ), Freeholder Deputy Director Harold J. Wirths (2007), Steven V. Oroho (2007), Glen Vetrano (2009) and Susan M. Zellman (2009).
As with each county in New Jersey, three elected positions, known as "constitutional officers" are required by the
New Jersey State Constitution .
The office of
County Clerk , a position which is elected for a term of five years, is currently occupied by Erma Gormley (R). The office of
County Surrogate , elected also for at term of five years, is currently occupied by Nancy Fitzgibbons (R). The
County Sheriff , a position which has a term of three years, is currently Robert Untig (R).
The following are Sussex County's 24 incorporated municipalities:
Sussex County is a predominantly Republican area, as among registered voters, affiliations with the
Republican Party outpace those of the
Democratic Party by a ratio of three to one. All five members of the county board of Chosen Freeholders, all three county-wide constitutional officers, and all except a few of the 108 municipal offices among the county's 24 municipalities are held by Republicans.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,388
Km&2 (536
Mi&2 ). 1,350 km&
2 (521 mi&
2) of it is land and 38 km&
2 (15 mi&
2) of it (2.75%) is water.
High Point in this county is also the highest elevation in the state at 1,803 feet (549.5 m) above sea level. The county's lowest elevation is approximately 300 feet (90 m) above sea level along the
Delaware River near Flatbrookville.
Much of the county is hilly, as the part of New Jersey most solidly within the
Appalachian Mountains . However, the Great Valley of the Appalachians takes in a good deal of the eastern half of the county, allowing for land more amenable to
Agriculture .
Given Sussex County's location at the top of the state, it is bordered by counties in New Jersey as well as in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania. This region is often collectively known as the Tri-State Area.'', including the states of New Jersey, New York and
Connecticut . The following counties are adjacent and contiguous to Sussex County (in order starting with the northernmost and rotating clockwise):
Sussex County is served by a number of roads connecting it to the rest of the state and to both
Pennsylvania and
New York .
Interstate 80 passes through the extreme southern tip of Sussex County.
Interstate 84 passes just yards north of Sussex County, but never enters New Jersey.
New Jersey's
Route 15 ,
Route 23 ,
Route 94 ,
Route 181 ,
Route 183 , and
Route 284 pass through the County, as does
U.S. Route 206
Commuter Rail available from
Netcong, New Jersey on the
Morris & Essex Lines of
New Jersey Transit . New Jersey Transit also aims to open up the
Lackawanna Cutoff , which passes through Andover and Green Townships to commuter traffic, connecting Scranton, Pennsylvania with Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City.
Sussex County has three airports, all privately owned and catering to avocational pilots.
Sussex Airport , in Wantage Township, New Jersey, has a runway of 3,499 feet, Newton Airport, in Andover Township, New Jersey and Aeroflex Airport also in Andover Township.
Clear Channel Radio owns a cluster of 4 stations in the area.
- 102.3 WSUS FM - Franklin. Format: Adult Contemporary
- 103.7 WNNJ FM - Newton. Format: Classic Rock
- 1360 WNNJ AM - Newton. Format: Oldies
- 106.3 WHCY FM - Franklin. Format: Hot Adult Contemporary
The radio station WNTI, 91.9 FM, is broadcast from Centenary College in Hackettstown (Warren County). It is a commercial free, public station playing progressive music. It can be heard throughout most of Sussex County.
'',
May 7 ,
2006 .
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19500
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22534
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25549
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32752
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20346 1830n=
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21770
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22989
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23846
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23168
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23539
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22259
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24134
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26781
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24905
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27830
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29632
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34423
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49255
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77528
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116119
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130943
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144166
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153130
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2005
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{{cite web
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http://quickfactscensusgov/qfd/states/34/34037html
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QuickFacts: Sussex County, New Jersey
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US Census Bureau
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lost territory<br/>
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As of the
Census &2 of 2000, there were 144,166 people, 50,831 households, and 38,784 families residing in the county. The
Population Density was 107/km&
2 (277/mi&
2). There were 56,528 housing units at an average density of 42/km&
2 (108/mi&
2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.97%
White , 2.24%
Black or
African American , 0.11%
Native American , 1.71%
Asian , 0.02%
Pacific Islander , 0.74% from
Other Races , and 1.14% from two or more races. 4.84% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 20.4% were of
Italian , 18.1%
Irish , 16.0%
German , 7.2%
English , 5.9%
Polish and 5.2%
American ancestry according to
Census 2000 .
By 2005 90.9% of the county population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentage of African-Americans was down to 1.6%, which contrasted with the growth of the African-American percentage in most counties in the New York metropolitian area. Asians were still 1.7% of the population. 5.1% of the population was Latino.
In 2000 There were 50,831 households out of which 39.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.00% were
Married Couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.70% were non-families. 18.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $67,266, and the median income for a family was $73,335. Males had a median income of $50,395 versus $33,750 for females. The
Per Capita Income for the county was $26,992. About 2.80% of families and 4.00% of the population were below the
Poverty Line , including 4.10% of those under age 18 and 5.40% of those age 65 or over.
The
Sussex County Interscholastic League , or SCIL, is the high school athletic league for most high schools in the county.
Sussex County Chamber of Commerce
120 Hampton House Road
Newton, NJ 07860
973-579-1811
www.sussexcountychamber.org
Augusta is the site of
Skylands Park , a
Minor League Baseball stadium, home of the
Sussex Skyhawks . The Skyhawks play in the
Can-Am League . Skylands Park was the former home of the
New Jersey Cardinals (from 1994-2005), but the Cardinals moved to
State College, Pennsylvania making room for the Skyhawks.
- Armstrong, William C. ''Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersey'' (Lambertville, New Jersey: Hunterdon House, 1979).
- Cawley, James S. and Cawley, Margaret. ''Exploring the Little Rivers of New Jersey'' (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1942, 1961, 1971, 1993). ISBN 0813506840
- Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen. ''The Early Germans of New Jersey: Their History, Churches, and Genealogies (Dover, New Jersey, Dover Printing Company, 1895), passim.
- Cummings, Warren D. ''Sussex County: A History'' (Newton, New Jersey: Newton Rotary Club, 1964). NO ISBN
- Cunningham, John T. ''Railroad Wonder: The Lackawanna Cut-Off'' (Newark, New Jersey: Newark Sunday News, 1961). NO ISBN
- ''Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey Varies . Archives of the State of New Jersey, 1st-2nd series.'' 47 volumes. (Newark, New Jersey: 1880-1949). NO ISBN
- Honeyman, A. Van Doren (ed.). ''Northwestern New Jersey--A History of Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex Counties'' Volume 1. (Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, 1927).
- McCabe, Wayne T. ''Sussex County'' (Images of America) (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003).
- Schaeffer, Casper M.D. (and Johnson, William M.). ''Memoirs and Reminiscences: Together with Sketches of the Early History of Sussex County, New Jersey''. (Hackensack, New Jersey: Privately Printed, 1907). NO ISBN
- Schrabisch, Max. ''Indian habitations in Sussex County, New Jersey'' Geological Survey of New Jersey, Bulletin No. 13. (Union Hill, New Jersey: Dispatch Printing Company, 1915). NO ISBN
- Schrabisch, Max. ''Archaeology of Warren and Hunterdon counties'' Geological Survey of New Jersey, Bulletin No. 18. (Trenton, N.J., MacCrellish and Quigley co., state printers, 1917). NO ISBN
- Snell, James P. ''History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers''. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881). NO ISBN
- Snyder, John P. ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries 1606-1968'' (Trenton, New Jersey: Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969). No ISBN
- Stickney, Charles E. ''Old Sussex County families of the Minisink Region'' from articles in the ''Wantage Recorder'' (compiled by Virginia Alleman Brown) (Washington, New Jersey: Genealogical Researchers, 1988)
- Map of Jonathan Hampton (1758) in the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, New Jersey.
- Hopkins, Griffith Morgan. ''Map of Sussex County, New Jersey''. (1860) by the Sussex County Historical Society: Netcong, New Jersey: Esposito (Jostens), 2004.
- Beers, Frederick W. ''County Atlas of Warren, New Jersey: From actual surveys by and under the direction of F. W. Beers'' (New York: F.W. Beers & Co. 1874). by Warren County Historical Society: Harmony, New Jersey: Harmony Press, 1994 .
- ''Hagstrom Morris/Sussex/Warren counties atlas'' (Maspeth, New York: Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2004).
