Sussex County Historical Society | Sussex County, New Jersey, USA

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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

Sussex County County Historical Society, Hill Museum
82 Main Street
Newton, NJ 07860

973-383-6010
http://www.sussexhistory.org/

Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

4 days ago

As many of you know, NJ Transit is rebuilding the Lackawanna Cutoff from Port Morris to a new station site in Andover. The right of way has been cleared west of the Roseville tunnel to the new Andover station site where an area has been cleared for the station and a parking lot. The interior of the tunnel has been waterproofed. It is hoped that Amtrak will continue the rebuilding of the Cutoff to Scranton, Pa. You can read about the building of the original Cutoff in 1908 to 1911 in local Sussex county newspapers in William Strait's "Building the Lackawanna Cutoff" which is available for sale from the Sussex County Historical Society. Go to our expanded bookstore on our website at www.sussexhistory.org and click on shop to see our book offerings. Paypal is accepted. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

6 days ago

🌲⚔️ OLD SUSSEX COUNTY FOLKLORE – THE FRONTIER SOAKED IN BLOOD ⚔️🌲📍 Sussex County, New Jersey (1755–1756)Before Sussex County became quiet farmland, forest trails, and lakeside towns...this land was a violent frontier — a border between survival and death 🌳🔥During the French and Indian War, the northern edge of New Jersey was caught in a brutal struggle between British settlers and Native American war parties allied with the French.Small groups of Lenape warriors moved silently through the forests and river valleys, striking isolated homesteads without warning.What today feels peaceful once echoed with gunshots, screams, burning cabins, and desperate escapes.⸻🪓 THE HUNT–SWARTWOUT RAID (1756)(Near today’s Swartswood Lake & Hunts Pond – Sussex County)One Lenape war party first approached the home of Daniel Harker, but seeing nearly a dozen militia men gathered there, they chose not to attack.Instead, they traveled further down the Delaware Valley toward the homes of Anthony Swartwout and the Hunt family.💀 The attack was swift and devastating.The Lenape ransacked and burned the cabin, killing: Anthony Swartwout, his wife, and three of their childrenOther members of both households were taken captive.Among them were Thomas Hunt and an enslaved man from the Hunt household, who were marched north to Canada and sold into servitude to a French military officer.Thomas Hunt would not return home for nearly four years, finally freed after the Treaty of Easton in 1758.Two surviving Swartwout children — a son and daughter — were held by the Lenape for over a year before being returned.⚖️ The tragedy grew even darker.Another captive, Benjamin Springer, was later arrested and hanged for the murder of Anthony Swartwout.Swartwout’s young son testified against him — yet years later, when Thomas Hunt returned, he insisted Springer was already a prisoner when he first saw him and that no one had actually witnessed the killing.The truth was never fully known.Today, Swartswood Lake and Hunts Pond sit quietly where terror once ruled — their calm waters hiding a violent beginning 🌊.Some locals still claim cold fog gathers suddenly near the shoreline, even on warm evenings...⸻🔥 THE MUSCONETCONG VALLEY ATTACKS (1755)(Northern Sussex County wilderness)Further east through Sussex County’s forested valleys, settlers along the Musconetcong faced repeated raids.Homes were burned 🏚️Livestock stolen 🐮🐷🐑Families killed or taken captiveSurvivors fled into the woods, hiding for days with little food or shelter.Militias rushed to build blockhouses and frontier forts — but fear ruled the land.Even now, early morning mist often rises thick along the riverbanks, and old-timers once whispered that the valley never truly forgot the blood spilled there.⸻🏡 THE PAULINS KILL RAIDS (1756)(Western Sussex County)Along the Paulins Kill — today a peaceful river winding through farmland and woods — Lenape war parties struck scattered homesteads.Cabins were destroyed 🔥Crops stolen 🍎🌽🥕Settlers captured or killedFamilies who survived fled toward fortified settlements, abandoning everything they owned.What is now quiet countryside was once a landscape of fear and flight.Some still say shadows move strangely along the riverbanks at dawn... 👀🌲⸻🌲 A FRONTIER THAT FORGED SUSSEX COUNTYThese were not isolated events.They were part of a violent chapter that shaped Old Sussex County — a land once known as one of the most dangerous frontiers in colonial New Jersey.Before roads.Before towns.Before peaceful lakes and hiking trails...This region was a war zone.👻 The forests remember.🌊 The rivers remember.🔥 The land remembers.And beneath the calm beauty of today’s Sussex County lie stories of survival, tragedy, and forgotten violence that helped shape the county we know now.⸻📜 From the Pig Drover...to Jenny Jump...and now the blood-soaked frontier —Old Sussex County is built on stories far darker than most realize.And they’re worth remembering.#OldSussexCountyFolklore #FrontierViolence #HuntSwartwoutRaid#SwartswoodLake #HuntsPond#PaulinsKill #MusconetcongValley#FrenchAndIndianWar #HauntedNJ#GardenStateHistory #WeirdNJ#ForgottenSussexCounty ... See MoreSee Less

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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

1 week ago

With the celebration of America 250 during 2026, and people thinking more about our history, I thought it would be a good time to share one of Sussex County Historical Society newsletters here on our Facebook page. If you like what you see, and would like to receive more newsletters, please consider joining our Society, and help with the preservation of our County’s rich history. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

1 week ago

127 years ago on February 13, 1899, Sussex County had a blizzard. The following photographs from the George Watson Roy Collection show downtown Newton after that blizzard. ... See MoreSee Less

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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ

1 week ago

The Historical Society has updated the book store on our website. We are currently offering a Sussex County Sampler. This is a group of four publications. First is High Point of the Blue Mountains by Ronald J. Dupont Jr. and Kevin Wright, the definitive history of High Point from prehistory through the Kusar family to the development of the park. Next we have a reprint of the classic That Ancient Trail by Amelia Stickney Decker about the Old Mine Road. For the cemetery fans we have Behold and See, As You Pass By, a selection of epitaphs from the Old Cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church of Sparta 1787-1924 written by Mary Elinor Eppler. And last we have a pamphlet Sussex County Place Names by Myra Snook. It lists some of the early place names in the county with a brief history. To order go to our website www.sussexhistory.org/ and click on the “shop” tab and make your selection. PayPal is accepted. ... See MoreSee Less

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