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The County of Sussex (also known as Sussex County) is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2000 Federal decennial census, 144,166 persons resided in Sussex County. Sussex County is the 91st wealthiest county in the United States with its per capita income being $26,992. The county was founded on 8 June 1753 from portions of Morris County.[1] The county seat of Sussex County is the Town of Newton[2].
[edit] History[edit] Origin of the county's nameSussex 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.[3][4] 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. The -sex suffix indicates the Saxon areas, of people from Saxony; Sus-sex for south Saxon, Es-sex for east Saxon, Wes-sex for west Saxon, and Middle-sex, as opposed to the Anglia names, for the areas of the Angles, Anglos, who came from Angle-land in what is now Denmark. [edit] Settlement of Sussex CountySussex County was under the Wisconsin Glacier which lasted from 21,000 B.C to 13,00 B.C.. This glacier covered the top of Kittatinny Mountain. End moraines are in Stokes State Forest, Augusta, Hampton Twp., and Andover Twp. After the Wisconsin Glacier melted due to a change in climate, plants and grasses slowly grew. The area was still cold, so the landscape was that of Tundra or Tiaga Biome. Mastadons roamed the area. Mastadons were found at Highland Lakes date 8940BC + or - 200 years, in Swartswoods Lake, in Liberty Twp. dated 9045 BC+ or - 750 years, and Orange County , New York dated 7910 BC+ or - 225 years and 8050 BC + or -160 years. Caribou bones were found at the Dutchess County Cave near Florida, NY. Paleo Indian sites have been found at the Zierdt site in Montgue, the Plenge Site in Great Meadows and at the Harry's Farm Site in Paraquarry Twp, Warren County in which charcole has been dated to 5430 BC + or - 120 years. Charcoal Dated 8640 BC+ or - 300, has been found at the Paleo Indian camp on Broadhead Creek in Pa. near the Delaware. The caribou bones found in the Cave near Florida, New York site dated 10,580 BC + or - 370 years. This suggests that Paleo Indians lived in the Sussex County are as far back as 10,310 BC to 10,950 BC. Eventually the Lenape settled in the area and the time of their arrival is unknown. Before the Lenape arrived in Sussex County, other native Americans have occupied the area. By the time the Dutch and other Europeans arrived in the very late 1600s to early 1700s the region was settled by the Lenape. The Lenape had a trail that went from the Delaware River through Culvers Gap to Augusta, to Newton, to Cranberry Lake and then to Stanhope. From there it probably went to Landing and to the Rockaway River near Rockaway. In Denville the trail may have divided, one going to Morristown and the other going to Parsippany.(Philhower 1924). The Lenape trail is also shown on William Fadden's map. The Little Ice Age may also effected settlement of Sussex County. Beginning in the early 1600's, winters became longer and summers shorter. Frost lasted longer into the growing season and started earlier. This would effect the growing of crops by settlers. Several years of crop failure or low production may have sent settlers back to the warmer areas of the coastal areas. The Kittatinny Valley and the Flatbrook Valley would definitely been effected by the temperature change, as these area's are among the coldest in the state. This cold would also have effected Lenape populations as crop failures or low production of food, would have resulted in starvation. From a map of William Fadden in 1778 shows several roads going through Sussex County. The map does not show the Paraquarry mine or a road that leads to the Paraquarry area. Instead the map shows a road going from the Port Jervis area, south along the eastern side of the Delaware River to Minisink Island, where the road forks three ways. The one road goes through Culvers Gap. The second road goes south to the village of Walpack where it then turns west to cross the Delaware River at Walpack Bend. The road continues on the western side of the Delaware and proceeds south. The third road crosses the Delaware at Minisink Island and goes southeast which is along the western side of the Delaware River. In 1615, 3 men left Fort Nassau near Albany NY and traveled south along the Delaware to where they were captured in 1616 by Native Americans near Schuykill River and the Delaware River. This area is south of Easton, Pa. It is unknown the route that the 3 men traveled. They may have traveled through Sussex County or may have traveled though Pennsylvania. This is the earliest record of Europeans traveling near or in Sussex County. After this, Governor Kieft's War, 1643 to 1645 and the Esopus War of 1655 to 1660 and the Peach War 1655 to 1657, would have prevented colonization in New Netherland, which today is called Sussex County. There was hostile relations between the Dutch and the Native Americans at this time. In 1664 the English gained control of New Netherlands. Relations with the Native Americans became better and people slowly moved into Sussex County. However due to land purchases in the early 1700's and the Walking Purchase of 1737, in which 3 men started walking north from Neshaminy Creek, Pa., northward. One man made made it to Port Jervis, NY area , in which the Native Americans were forced to sell all of this land, which was hundreds of square miles. This was land of all of eastern Pennsylvania. Due to this, relations with the English became poor. When the French and Indian Wars started in 1665, some Native Americans sided with the French. By the 1750's, nearly all Native Americans were gone from Sussex County. This was due to the land purchases. Native Americans moved to western Pennsylvania, the Ohio Valley and to Eastern Canada. The French and Indian Wars which started in 1754 to 1763, had an effect on colonists who lived in Sussex County. Small forts or fortified homes made a line from Phillipsburg to Port Jervis area. Seven fortified homes were along along the Delaware River in the Sussex County area from Walpack Bend to Port Jervis. These forts are shown on the map drawn by Jonathon Hampton in 1758. Indian raids took place on farms of colonists. Farm houses and barns were burned. People were killed. Due to this, settlement of Sussex County came to a halt as no colonist wanted to venture into the northwestern part of Sussex County during this war. Sources indicate that first continuing settlement by European colonists began circa 1690-1710, by Dutch settlers from New York along the Delaware River, and in the decades subsequent, Germans via Philadelphia, and English colonists from New England, Long Island, Newark, and Salem County, New Jersey. [1] [edit] Government[edit] Board of Chosen FreeholdersThe 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 January 1 and end on December 31. 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:
As of 2008[update], members of the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders are Freeholder Director Glen Vetrano (R, term ends December 31, 2009; Hampton Township), Deputy Director Jeffrey M. Parrott (R, 2010; Wantage Township), Phillip R. Crabb (R, 2008; Franklin Borough), Harold J. Wirths (R, 2010; Wantage Township) and Susan M. Zellman (R, 2009; Stanhope).[5] [edit] Constitutional officersAs 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 selected 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). [edit] Municipalities The following are Sussex County's 24 incorporated municipalities:
[edit] PoliticsSussex 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. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, George W. Bush carried the county by a 29.6% margin over John Kerry, the largest margin for Bush in any county in New Jersey, with Kerry carrying the state by 6.7% over Bush.[6] In 2008, John McCain carried Sussex County by a 20.6% margin over Barack Obama, McCain's best showing in New Jersey, with Obama winning statewide by 15.5% over McCain.[7] Also, Sussex County is the home county of Scott Garrett, who is by far the most conservative congressman from New Jersey. He represents almost all of Sussex County along with Warren County, northern Passaic County, and northern Bergen County. The southeast corner of Sussex County is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen. [edit] Geography[edit] Physical geographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 536 square miles (1,388 km²), of which, 521 square miles (1,350 km²) of it is land and 15 square miles (38 km²) 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. Sunrise Mountain in Stokes State Forest has an elevation of 1653 feet. The county's lowest elevation is approximately 300 feet (90 m) above sea level along the Delaware River near Flatbrookville. Sussex County has two Geophysical provinces. The first is the Ridge and Valley Province which occupies about two thirds of the county, the west and central section. The second is the Highlands Province which is the eastern third of the county. The Kittatinny Mountain traverses the western section of the county and goes in a northeast-southwest axis. Walpack Ridge runs from Walpack Bend and follows the Delaware River to Port Jervis. Between Walpack Ridge and the Kittatinny Mountain is the Flatbrook Valley which is drained by the Little and Big Flatbrook streams. To the east of Kittatinny Mountain is the Kittatinny Valley. This is part of the Great Appalachian Valley which goes from Canada to Alabama. The Walkill River drains the northern part of the Kittatinny Valley and the Paulinskill River drains the central and southern section of the Kittatinny Valley. Sussex County has four river drainages. The first is the Walkill River which starts at Mohawk Lake in Sparta and travels north into New York and empties into the hudson River. The second is the Paulinskill which starts near Newton, travels north to Lafayette, then heads west. The River flows through Augusta and the turns southwest where it flows though Blairstown and drains into the Delaware River south of Columbia, NJ. The third is the Pequest River, which starts in Andover Twp. travels south to Great Meadows where it turns west and flows to Belvidere, where it drains into the Delaware River. The four is the Big Flatbrook, which starts in Stokes State Forest at Steam Mill and travels in a southwesterly direction, west of the Kittatinny Mountain and drains into the Delaware River near Flatbrookville. All of these rivers are well known trout streams, which are stocked every year by NJ Fish and Game.
[edit] Adjacent countiesGiven 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.[8] The following counties are adjacent and contiguous to Sussex County (in order starting with the northernmost and rotating clockwise):
[edit] National protected areas
[edit] Economy and other factorsEarly 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. Though agriculture (chiefly dairy farming) is on the decline and because the county hosts little 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. [edit] TaxesProperty taxes in Sussex County have always been historically lower than its neighboring counties. Taxes on an acre of land, depending on the condition and size of the house, could be as low as $1500 a year. Typical property taxes in the county are in the $3000-$5000 a year range. This is due to low local spending, regional schools, modest Police Departments, and many municipalities have a volunteer Fire Department. [edit] TransportationSussex 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 four public-use airports, all privately owned and catering to recreational pilots. They are Sussex Airport, in Wantage Township, which has a runway of 3,499 feet, Newton Airport in Andover Township, Andover Aeroflex Airport also in Andover Township, and Trinca Airport in Green Township, which has a 1,900-foot grass runway. [edit] Television and radio broadcastingClear Channel Radio owns a cluster of four stations in the area.
FST Broadcasting Corp. owns WTBQ, just north of Vernon, NJ.
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. Calvary Chapel of Howell, NJ broadcasts WRDR The Bridge FM with towers in Northern New Jersey and Southern New York.
Public radio (NJN - New Jersey Public Radio); primarily NPR but also an American Public Media outlet: [edit] CrimeHeroin use has been on the rise and shows no signs of improvement despite efforts of law enforcement and community groups working to fight the problem. [edit] Demographics
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 144,166 people, 50,831 households, and 38,784 families residing in the county. The population density was 277 people per square mile (107/km²). There were 56,528 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile (42/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.70% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 3.30% 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 2006, 90.3% of the county population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentage of African-Americans was up to 1.7%. Asians were now 1.9% of the population. 5.3% of the population was Latino. In 2000 There were 50,831 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% 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 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the county was $67,266, and the median income for a family was $73,335 (these figures had risen to $79,434 and $89,302 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[15]). Males had a median income of $50,395 versus $33,750 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,992. About 2.8% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over. [edit] Education
The Sussex County Interscholastic League, or SCIL, is the high school athletic league for most high schools in the county. [edit] Tourism and recreation[edit] State and federal parks
[edit] Recreational activities
Sussex County Chamber of Commerce 120 Hampton House Road Newton, NJ 07860 973-579-1811 www.sussexcountychamber.org [edit] Sports franchisesAugusta 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. [edit] Notable people in or from Sussex County[edit] Politics, military and public service
[edit] Arts, letters, and entertainment
[edit] Science, technology and medicine
[edit] Business
[edit] Sports
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] References and other resources[edit] Notes and citations
[edit] Books and printed materials
[edit] Maps and atlases
[edit] External links
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