NOTE: If you know of an important event that took place in Sussex Co., NJ that should be added to this list,
please contact me.
| 1609 | The area now known as Sussex Co., NJ was first explored by the Dutch |
| 1640 | The first settlerscame to the banks of the Delaware River. |
| 1709 | Provinces of New Jersey were divided and boundaries defind. Sussex Co. within the boundaries of Burlington. |
| 1713 | Hunterson County is divided off from Burlington included that part of Northern NJ which is now Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren Counties. |
| 1738 | Morris County was formed from Hunterdon and included that part which is is now Sussex and Warren Counties. |
| 1753 | Sussex County became a separate county and included all that which is now Sussex and Warren Counties. The county was divided into four (4) townships; Walpack, Newton, Hardwick and Greenwich. |
| 1754 | Wantage Township formed from Newton. Oxford and Mansfield-Woodhouse were set off from Greenwich. |
| 1759 | Montague was set off from Walpack. |
| 1762 | Sandyston Township was set off from Walpack and Hardyston was set off from Newton. |
| 1764 | Knowlton Township was set off from Oxford and Hampton set off from Newton. |
| 1776 | Start of the Revolutionary War. |
| 1777-79 | Indian raids on Montague and the Minisink Valley. |
| 1782 | Independence Township is set off from Hardwick. |
| 1792 | Vernon Township was set off from Hardyston. |
| Dec. 1795 | Matthias "Cutlip" GOTTLIEB was executed in Newton for butchering his wife. |
| 1796 | First Newspaper was issued called the "Farmer's Journal and Newton Advertiser." (Only published for about one year.) |
| 1797 | Frankford Township was set off from Newton. |
| 1798 | Byram Township was set off from Newton. |
| 26 Jun 1812 | Mary COLE was hanged for murdering her mother . |
| 06 Jul 1813 | First issue of "The Sussex Register" was issued. |
| 30 Jun 1820 | Peter BRAKEMAN was executed for murdering peddler Francis E. NICHOLS. |
| 25 Jan 1822 | Wilhilmus VANAUKEN executed for murder of wife Leah in Montague. |
| 1824 | Warren County is set off from Sussex County. Stillwater and Green Townships are set off from Hardwick within the borders of Sussex County. Hardwick within the borders of Warren County. |
| 1845 | Sparta Township was set of from parts of Hardyston, Newton and Byram. Lafayette is set off from Newton and Frankford. |
| 13 Oct 1857 | The first Sussex County Agricultural Fair and Exhibition was held. |
| 23 Jan 1862 | John CRUNER was hanged for shooting Allen SKELLENGER of Sandyston. (This case would have been considered self-defense today.) |
| 1864 | Andover Township, Hampton Township and the Town of Newton were set off from Newton Township, and as a result of this action, Newton Township ceased to exist. |
| July 1875 | John HUGHES was hanged for the brutal murder of his wife in Ogdensburg. He hit her six time in the head with an axe and then set fire to their house. |
| 1878 | Diptheria epidemic in the spring. |
| 24 Apr 1880 | Frederick CRILL was hanged for the murder of his daughter, Eliza BABCOCK near Hamburg. |
| 1904 | Fredon Township was set off from parts of Stillwater, Andover, Green, Hampton and Newton, establishing the current township boundaries of Sussex County. |
"History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey", by James P. Snell. (1881)
"One Hundred Years of THE SUSSEX REGISTER and County of Sussex", published by The Sussex Register. (1992)
"The Historical Directory of Sussex County, New Jersey" by Edward A. Webb. (1872)
"NORTHWESTERN NEW JERSEY, A History of Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex Counties" by A. Van Doren Honeyman; Vol. 1-4. (1927)
"A Pictorial Sampler of Historic Fredon" by Judith Cummings Kaiser. (1994)Back to Nancy Pascal's Genealogy Pages