536 Square Miles of farms, villages, woodland, lakes and streams:
That is Sussex County. It is a rural part of the greater area encompassing what is known as the
Metropolitan New York. As a matter of fact - except for the hilly terrain it might have become as densely populated as much of the rest of New Jersey (The most densely populated state of the Union). Back in the old days - the area was truly inaccessible. In 1794 a farmer near
Branchville was quoted in the newspaper - complaining that the region was losing its rural character because of the turnpike (Hwy 206). Some weeks as many as two or three ox teams would pass through the area.
The British hated the prospect of patrolling the hilly region in revolutionary times, and avoided it as much as possible. That was good for the Colonials, who managed to
mine a great deal of iron from the region to feed the armories. As it turns out, near to the border of the county is a modern remnant of that inaccessibility.
Picatinny Arsenal is just down the road in
Morris County.
About 15 square miles of the county are covered in water - either lakes, streams or rivers. Many parks in
Sussex County are featured along or around these lakes and streams. Some of the largest lakes are
Culver Lake,
Swartswood Lake,
Lake Mohawk,
Highland Lakes and
Lake Owassa. Sometimes you will find a mix of
Dutch and
Lenape Indian names for the streams or other features. Some of the key streams are The
Pequest (Lenape), The
Walkill (Dutch)
The Flat Brook (English), and The
Muscenetcong (
Lenape). The biggest lake in New Jersey,
Lake Hopatcong (Lenape), almost borders the Southern end of Sussex County. Actually the Muscenetcong is mostly in
Warren County and it follows along some of the old
Morris Canal - another major transportation artery that 19th century engineers carved out around the
outside of Sussex County.
The Delaware river is not navigated by commercial traffic this far up but it is a tremendous recreation resource for the area.
The Delaware River (named for the
Delaware Indians - the original family of the Lenape), is the lowest point in Sussex County. Looking up from its surface near the Northwest corner of the county you can see the highest point. There is an obvious spire stabbing at the sky from the top of the
Kittatinny Ridge. Appropriately named, it is called "
The High Point Monument". The whole area is encompassed in the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Almost the entire Western side of the county including the Kittatinny Ridge is either state or national preserves. It is a hiker's, biker's, boater's paradise. Other
mountainous areas of the county are also designated
state or commercial recreation areas
. Near Vernon you'll find
Wawayanda State Park and tremendous hiking trails through the valley
along Black Creek.
Several ski facilities are in
this part of the county around
Vernon and Highland Lakes. You'll find
summer water parks in regular use at the same locations.
All throughout the county you will find state or county maintained hiking trails. Those along the
Appalachian Trail of the
Kittatinny Ridge are the more famous, but dozens follow ridges or valleys or old
rail paths in every corner of the county. Just to the East of
Sussex County is the
Mahlon Dickerson Preserve, another fantastic area to enjoy hiking and nature. To the South is
Alamuchy State Park with even more fishing, boating and hiking wonders.
Sparta developed a hiking preserve in and around
Sparta Mountain and the old
Edison Mines area. This location and many more are fun to explore.
Geocaching sites are found all over the county and provide extra incentive to get out and find something new.
Speaking of mines - there were once many of them in the county. Some still remain as viable businesses - but primarily as
quarries. You can learn a great deal about the mining era around the Franklin and Ogdensburg area by visiting the
museum at the Franklin Mines, and the
Sterling Mining Musem in the same, Walkill Valley.
One drawback to the rough terrain is that major transportation arteries were cut North of the county (I-84 in New York) and South of the county (I-80) but not
through the County (The Morris Canal of 1830 avoided Sussex County as well) . The story is similar regarding the rails.
For rail transport to NYC for instance, the best access is from the South end of the county, traveling to Dover, NJ or
Mt. Arlington. Something on the order of 70 percent of Sussex County residents work
OUTside the county, so those who commute to the
Eastern commerce centers like NYC - who also
want a country home - life, are probably wise to consider the South end of the county as a home base.
There has been talk for 25 years of bringing back a rail head to Sussex County. A prominent remnant of the old railroad days is the seemingly straight-as-an-arrow man made "mountain rail bed
slicing across the South end of Sussex County.
The Lackawanna Cuttoff was built about 1910. By 1960 it was no longer in use. The tunnels are obvious landmarks and the ridge of the railbed itself is quite prominent from the air.
Like the Morris Canal, a wonder in its day, the
Lackawanna Cutoff had only a few decades of steady use and then was abandoned.
The primary arteries inside the county are Hwy 15, Hwy 206 , Hwy 94 and Hwy 23.
Check the map to see how these roads help you to access the Interstates or the rails.
One of George Washington's imported Generals,
Casimir Pulaski, was
assigned to patrol the
NW portion of the county, the Delaware River and the
Walpack Valley. He was in charge of a group known as
Pulaski's Legion. They were mounted dragoons.
The General became so bored with the lack of interest from the British that he begged for and received a re-assignment to South Carolina. It was in South Carolina that a cannonball ended his career. Maybe he should have just been happy and stayed in
Sussex County and taken up
fly fishing.
copyright Vic Campbell, Buzz Creek - 2009
More Links
Lake Mohawk ..
NJ Soil Types ..
NJ Topography ..
NJ Cities ..
Sussex Co. Planning Maps ..
NW NJ Geology and History DVDFlickr Photos of NJ to Enjoy ..
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1.02.28
This is a draft for my new e-books to be released in a few months.Volumes are being added now. If you read a "volume" like "THE GEOGRAPHY" and you think some feature should be added or you know of a great link that might expand on the thought - please add a comment in the area provided below the chapter. 
