Sussex County Historic Places

Sussex County Historical Society

82 Main Street
Newton, NJ 07860
973-383-6010

Amity School

Amity Road
Byram Twsp, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

The Amity School was built in 1840 and remained in continuous use until June 1936. When it was being built, Byram Township included part of Sparta Township and all of Stanhope and Hopatcong Boroughs. Students came from areas now known as Tomahawk Lake, Seneca Lake, Byram Cove, Bear Pond and Lackawanna Road. The building was sold in 1940 and later became privately owned. Local industries, farming, mining, charcoal production and railroad ties helped fill the school with students.

Augusta Hill Baptists Cemetery

Augusta Hill Road
Franklin Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

In 1750, several families left the Congregational Church of Mansfield, Connecticut and relocated to New Jersey with William Marsh, their spiritual leader. A log meeting house was built here and associated with the Baptist faith. The cemetery was used for three generations of the Morris family, neighbors and slaves. Moses Morris, buried here, served in the Frontier Guard during the French and Indian War and later during the Revolution.

Bell's Mansion

11 Main St
Stanhope, NJ 07874
973-426-9977

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Bell's Mansion was built between 1835 and 1840 by Robert P. Bell, a local businessman who served as president of the Morris Canal & Banking Company and owned various mills. The house overlooked the Morris Canal and later belonged to Herbert K. Salmon and the Salmon family for decades. It is now used as a restaurant.

DAR Van Bunschooten Museum

Route 23 North
Wantage Township, NJ

Photo by Bill Coughlin, courtesy of HMdb.org

Built in 1787 as the home of Reverend Elias Van Bunschooten, this Dutch Colonial house was part of a 1,000-acre plantation. The property includes outbuildings such as a wagon house, ice house and privy. The home was given to the Chinkchewunska Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1971.

Fredon

Phil Harden Road & Route 94
Fredon Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Fredon Township, incorporated in 1904, became the last town in Sussex County and the only community so named in the country. The name was proposed for the nation in the early 1800s and means a place of peace and freedom. The Route 94 crossroads, known as Coursen's Corners, became a town center in the early 1800s with a school, store and blacksmith shop.

Joseph Sharp's Iron Works

Gingerbread Castle Road
Hamburg, NJ

Photo by Mary Ellen Coghlan, courtesy of HMdb.org

In 1768, Joseph Sharp erected a forge and furnace on the Wallkill River. The village around Sharp's Iron Works became known as Sharpsborough and later Hamburg. The works were connected to Revolutionary-era industry, later reclaimed by Sharp's family, and the stone grist mill built in 1808 continued serving the agricultural community.

Old Schoolhouse and Firehouse Museum

Intersection of Passaic Avenue and Route 517
Ogdensburg, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Built in 1910 as Ogdensburg's fifth public school, the building was adapted in 1930 as the borough's first firehouse. In 1989, with support from state grants, the Ogdensburg Historical Society adapted it again as the Old Schoolhouse and Firehouse Museum.

Price's Switch Schoolhouse

Price's Switch and Meadowburn Road
Vernon Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Built in 1840, Price's Switch Schoolhouse was the last one-room schoolhouse to operate in Sussex County. It was moved to its present location in 1883 and survives with its coal stove, desks, chalkboards and outhouse, offering visitors a look at early education.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Route 94 South
Vernon, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Constructed in 1847 and incorporated in 1848, St. Thomas Episcopal Church is one of Vernon Township's historic landmarks. Parish records date to 1832, and the church is noted as an example of Carpenter Gothic architecture. It later served the Vernon Township Historical Society before reopening for worship in 1981.

The Iron Works at Andover

Route 206
Andover, NJ 07821

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

William Allen and Joseph Turner began ironworks here in the 1760s on land connected to a larger tract once belonging to William Penn. The iron was valued for steel production, and the mines, forges and furnaces were confiscated by the Continental Congress in 1778 because the owners were loyal to the British Crown. The Iron Master's house remains above the ravine where the iron works operated.

The Westbrook-Bell House

Old Mine Road
Sandyston Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

Built around 1701 by Johannes Westbrook, one of the earliest permanent settlers of the Minisink region, this homestead was later fortified during hostilities connected to the border dispute between New York and New Jersey. It is identified in the original page as the oldest house still standing in Sussex County.

Thomas Wolverton's Tavern

Pequest Road
Green Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

In 1735, Royal Governor Jonathan Belcher ordered Sussex County's government and courts moved from Log Gaol to the tavern-house of Thomas Wolverton until a permanent courthouse could be erected in Newton. The move reflected disputes over the county seat and took place during a period of frontier tension.

Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church

Yellow Frame Road
Fredon Township, NJ

Photo by Cherly (Rome) Thom, courtesy of HMdb.org

In 1887, a church and manse were erected along the Great Road, now Route 94, near the Warren and Sussex County line. The congregation began with a log church in 1750, built a second church in 1786, and later incorporated the yellow church under its present name.