Updated January 12, 2024

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The history of Landing, in Roxbury Township New Jersey is intertwined with the histories of Lake Hopatcong, Mount Arlington,  Hopatcong Borough and Morris County. In this short overview we will focus on Landing, while understanding how these communities were interrelated.

The history of Landing New Jersey is tied to three major developments:
 - The opening of the Morris Canal as an early commercial transportation route starting in 1827
 - The rise of busy railroad traffic through Landing and the railyards of Port Morris starting around 1870
 - The blossoming of Lake Hopatcong as a major Summer resort and tourist area starting around 1890.

THE COLONIAL PERIOD
1600's - - The Nariticong clan of the Delaware Indian Nation live on the east shore of Lake Hopatcong, with a large village on Halsey Island, which was at that time connected to the mainland. Dutch trappers start to have contact with the Nariticongs and with other Lenape Indians. In 1633 the Dutch established trading outposts in what became northern New Jersey.

1664 - -New Jersey becomes an English colony. Groups of Puritans settle Newark in 1666 and move inland.

1700's -- In the early 1700's, Native Americans began to sell off their land and leave the area. In 1708 they sold a large piece of land that included Roxbury Township. The deed for this transaction was written on an 18" x 28" piece of parchment and is still quite legible. It is available for viewing at the New Jersey Historical Society Museum in Newark. Around this date the first group of white settlers established homes in the area that became known as Landing. They belonged to a devout Christian group known as Rogerenes (or Rogerines), named after their founder, John Rogers of Connecticut (1648-1721). Some date their arrival in the Roxbury area as early as 1702, others as late as 1736. Their theology was similar to the Seventh Day Baptists and their practices much like the Quakers. The center of the settlement of about 20 families was Mountain Pond, it's name changed around 1912 to Lake Rogerene (or Lake Rogerine), long after the group had left. Their modest farms extended to the southern end of Lake Hopatcong, with a small cemetery in the Shore Hills section of Landing. By 1800 most had left the area, some joining another Rogerene group in South Jersey, others heading for Ohio or Virginia, while some others stayed in the area, blending in with the general population.

1740 -- On December 24, 1740 Roxbury was incorporated as the fourth township in Morris County. Within its boundaries at that time were the areas that later would separate and become Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mt. Arlington, Mt. Olive Township, Netcong Borough and Washington Township, in addition to parts of Hopatcong Borough and Stanhope. As a result of several of these communities pulling away and becoming independent over the years , Roxbury Township is now comprised of Succasunna (formerly Suckasunny, name changed 1888), Ledgewood (formerly Drakesville, name changed 1891), Kenvil (formerly McCainesville), Port Morris, Landing and Lower Berkshire Valley. Roxbury Township is just under 22 square miles in size.

1750's -- Lake Hopatcong was called Great Pond. Around 1750 an Iron Forge is built by New York City businessman Garret Rapalje near the southern end of the Lake at the point where it flows into the Musconetcong River. Called the Brookland Forge, it was located on what is now the Hopatcong State Park and it operated for at least 30 years. A dam built for the forge raised the Lake level by 6 feet, submerging areas of shoreline and cutting off Halsey Island and Raccoon Island from the mainland. The Lake became known as Brookland Pond.

1758 - - The "Treaty of Easton" completes the sale of Lenape Delaware Indian land to European settlers.

1776 thru 1783 -- Roxbury Township and the surrounding area become an important hub for producing Iron Ore and cannonballs to supply General George Washington and the Continental Army.

THE CANAL & RAILROAD COME TO TOWN

1804 -- The Essex - Morris - Sussex Turnpike is completed, running through Roxbury Township, a reliable Wagon Toll Road that sped up the movement of people and goods from the cities of the northeast to the wilds of northwest New Jersey. Specifically, the road went from Elizabeth, through Chatham, passed through Madison in almost a straight line, skirted  Washington's headquarters in Morristown; ran along Sussex Avenue in Morristown, and continued through Succasunny Plains, Drakesville (Ledgewood, the same route as today's Rt 46) and Stanhope to Newtown.

1822 - -While fishing at Lake Hopatcong, George P. Macculloch (whose house in Morristown still stands) dreamed up the idea of what was to become the Morris Canal. The canal was chartered in 1824 and would be an inexpensive way of moving large quantities of coal, timber, iron ore and other goods across New Jersey. It was designed by Professor James Renwick of Columbia College, the first American canal to climb hills. The Morris Canal would run for 103 miles joining the Delaware River at Phillipsburg with the Hudson River, a mule-drawn barge trip that took about 5 days.

1827 -- The canal company, having acquired the property, builds a new dam on the Lake to use the large body of water as a canal reservoir. A lock is built that raised boats to the level of the Lake. A bypass valve controlled the water flowing into a feeder canal that connected the Lake to the main canal. Lake Hopatcong was the Morris Canal's largest reservoir. The Lake was entered through a feeder of the Morris Canal. It then went to the lock at Brooklyn (a little settlement which gave the Lake the name of Brooklyn Pond.) Hopatcong State Park contains Morris Canal remains.  In this park, to the left of the beach, is a huge iron waterwheel on display, from Plane No. 3, which operated chains, later wire cables, pulling up the boats. At the gate control house, the visitor can see the locks under water at the edge of the Lake. Also here are the gatekeeper's and paymaster's house (built about 1830, still standing). West of the pumping station and the turbine, the broad open space was the basin of the old canal, which from here went to Lake Musconetcong. There were 23 separate inclined planes along the Morris Canal. Set in giant cradles, boats were hauled up rail tracks by chains to water levels as high as 100 feet. As different sections of the canal were completed, they were opened up for local use. On November 4, 1831, the first complete trip from Newark to Phillipsburg was completed. The canal was 90 miles long; and, the trip from Newark to Phillipsburg took about five days. The first full boating season was 1832. When it was completed to Newark in 1831, the actual cost was $2,104,413. In 1836 the eleven mile extension to Jersey City was added.

1830's -- A small community known as Brookland develops around the canal lock in what is now Hopatcong State Park. Another dam raises the Lake water level 6 more feet and the Lake becomes known as Lake Hopatcong and over time the name Brookland changed to Brooklyn after NYC's Brooklyn. 

1834 -- Charles Shipman, a partner in the Morris Canal Company, builds a sawmill near the top of Canal Inclined Plane Number 1 East, in the area now known as Shippenport. The Mill was powered by the 'bypass' water from the Plane.

1844 -- At Shippenport an Iron Forge was built by John Slade, to run by the 'bypass' water of the Morris Canal in summer after it powered the sawmill, and by a small natural stream at other seasons. It was located near the lower end of Shippenport Rd. The ore came from the nearby Mariot's Mine and the Gove Mine near Mountain Pond/Lake Rogerene. This forge was enlarged by new owner Anson G. P. Segur (a Dover banker) in the 1870's, and was still in working order when Munsell wrote of it in 1882, although it would have been small and primitive by post Civil War standards. Operations were discontinued circa 1885. The photo of its' ruins at right is circa 1895, and clearly shows the Bellows Wheel and Hammer Wheel. Photographer was Vernon Royal, who documented many area forges. The sawmill was 150 yards uphill. Alternate names for this busy area were Shippensport, Shipmansport, & Shippingport. Photo courtesy of Joe Macasek.

1850's -- The tracks of the Morris and Essex (later taken over by the Lackawanna) Railroad are laid through the area in 1854, but no station is built in Landing. Passengers going to Landing/Lake Hopatcong left the train at the Drakesville (now Ledgewood) crossing, and were carried by horse drawn carts over the bumpy roads up to the Lake.

1865 -- The Ogden Mine Railroad was built to carry iron ore from the mines in the hills of Jefferson Township to Nolan's Point at the north end of Lake Hopatcong, a distance of ten miles. This ore was transferred to canal boats which were towed by a steam tug across the Lake to "Brooklyn" lock. The boats went through the feeder to the main canal and then east or west depending upon their destination. The company derived at least 50,000 to 60,000 tons of ore freight a year from this business.

1866 -- The most prosperous year of the Morris Canal as it carried almost a million tons of freight. Among the commodities carried were lumber, coal, and iron ore. The canal's business will now dwindle as the faster railroads start to lure away the canal's customers.

1875 -- The railroad company orders the building of the iron steam tug "Lake Hopatcong" in Camden and it is sent to the Lake by canal.

1875 -- R. L. Edwards, a Wall Street banker, summers at Lake Hopatcong.  He purchases a 60 acre piece of land on the west shore at Bishops Rock and Bonaparte Landing. Edwards builds his "cottage," known as Wildwood, only one of four houses at the time on the west shore and becomes the founding father of Hopatcong Borough. At his own expense he built a 7 mile wagon road to Landing to facilitate purchases since Hopatcong had no stores at that time.

1880 -- During 1880 the amount of Iron Ore carried by the Morris Canal was 108,000 tons. With a boat normally carrying seventy tons, over 1,540 boat loads were needed to move this cargo. When you consider that the Canal did not "run" on Sunday and during the coldest part of the winter (frozen water), those 1,540 boat loads had to be moved over a span of less than 280 days, an average of over 5 Iron Ore boats per day, not to mention the additional boats for Coal, Timber and other products. This was the last "big" year for Canal shipping.

1881 -- Much of the Canal Iron Ore business was lost when the Central Railroad of New Jersey took over the Ogden Mine Railroad and laid track to connect it to the NJ Central RR  High Bridge Branch in 1881. Commercial shipping on the Canal would dwindle during the next 2 decades, the quicker railroads having taken much of the business.

1880s -- Hundreds of local residents are employed in the Lake Hopatcong Ice Industry, cutting Ice on the lake and shipping it by rail to Newark, Paterson and New York City areas before the days of electric refrigeration. Five commercial Ice Houses are around the Lake, with the 'Mountain Ice Company' having a very large Ice House in the Silver Spring section of Landing, off Yellow Barn Ave., near the site of today's Nixon Public School.
A detailed 1887 map of Landing shows Dynamite and Gunpowder works on the grounds of the American Forcite Powder Mfg. Co., later renamed the Atlas Powder Co., located on the southeast shore of Lake Hopatcong. Eventually Atlas would have almost 130 buildings, barns & sheds on their 400 acres that spanned the area along the Lake & up the hill from Shippensport Road to what is today Rogers Drive.  A Railway spur from the Lackawanna served both the Ice House and the Explosives Company. The King brothers, Theodore F. King and William E. King, ran 2 stores on the corner of Lakeside Blvd. and Landing Road. During this time the bridge over the canal and railroad in Landing was made of Iron with wooden planks as a roadway. In the early 1880's the Lackawanna Railroad built a Passenger Station at  Drakesville (modern day Ledgewood). Horse drawn carriages would then take people up the bumpy road to the lake.  By 1886 the Landing/Lake Hopatcong Railway Station on the Lackawanna Line was built. Steamboats would wait on the Morris Canal in Landing for the passengers to disembark from the train.

1886 -- The "Lake Hopatcong Steamboat Company", commonly known as the Black Line, was founded. The company provided service from the "new" Landing railroad station, built around 1886, to all areas of the Lake by means of a 'feeder canal' that traveled from the Lake at the area of the State Park and connected to the Canal in the area of the current Landing Shopping Center. (The Canal ran parallel to the RR tracks in this area) From there the boats used the Canal to come right up to the Rail station platform, where passengers simply crossed the platform to board the boat sitting in the Canal. (the south end of the Lake was extremely shallow at that time with only rowboats able to pass). The trip back to the Lake took them through the Canal Lock, where the boat was raised to the Lake's higher level. The Lackawanna Railroad, the Black Line & the Canal cooperated in business.

THE LAKE BECOMES A SUMMER RESORT
1890's -- This era saw the blossoming of Lake Hopatcong as the Summer Resort of choice by both the wealthy and the newly middle-class. The wealthy would rent large furnished houses, (called cottages!!) on the waters edge. The middle-class would often set up large canvas tents on wooden platforms and dwell in these for a week or more. All would enjoy the cool "mountain air" afforded by the advertised "1,200 foot elevation of the Lake" (an exaggeration of its' actual 926 foot elevation), a welcome summertime relief from the sweltering cities. Many would come up for the weekend and stay in one of the Hotels or rooming houses that sprang up around the Lake. Most everyone traveled to the Lake via Train, disembarking either at the Central Railway of New Jersey Station at Nolans Point or at the Landing Station of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western  Railroad. From there they most often traveled to their Lakeside destination via Steamboat!! The roads were poor to non-existent, and besides, the Steamboats were part of the attraction of the Lake! With a growing cluster of Hotels and luxury homes, Mount Arlington was created on November 1, 1890 by splitting away from Roxbury Township. The odd, twisting border between Landing/Roxbury Township and Mt. Arlington seen on maps was created when certain precincts voted to secede, while others did not.

In 1890 the "Hopatcong Steamboat Company", known as the 'White Line' was founded by Theodore F. King to compete with the established "Black Line". This was a bold move, as the "Black Line" was owned by the same financial syndicate that owned the Lackawanna Railway and the Morris Canal. They had the ability to tax all boats using the Morris Canal and it's "feeder extension", which ran from the deep water of the main part of the Lake right up to the Landing RR Station. It seems that King  tried either to undercut his competitor, the Black Line, by avoiding the Morris Canal tolls or could not come to an agreement with them so he used small boats to ferry people from the shallow dock at Landing to his Steamboats waiting a half mile away in deeper water. The Black Line charged passengers a fifty cent fare each way from the railroad station, a sizeable amount in 1890 ! Experienced travelers knew that after they got off the train they could walk across the bridge at Landing and board one of King's boats which only charged a twenty-five cent fare to go out to the hotels and forty cents to return. In July 1891, the Morris Canal and Banking Co. retaliated by lowering the water level on the lake. This resulted in the White Line not being able to operate their small boats from the Landing.

The largest Steamship on the Lake, the White Line's double-decker side-wheeler "Hopatcong" at Landing dock, circa 1905. Other White Line boats were the single deck side-wheelers Alametcong and the Musconetcong. Smaller boats were the Flossie II and the Nariticong.

The "Sallie D" fully loaded.

Undeterred, Theodore King responded by dredging the swampy area at the southernmost part of the Lake, thereby creating Landing Channel which made it possible for White Line steamboats to come within a block of the Landing Rail Station. The Black Line and The White Line boats continued to compete for passengers. The Black Line boats were painted black and were mostly identified with work from the Canal, being able to pick people up at the Landing Rail Station as the Canal used to run within yards of the platform. The White Line was strictly for travel on the Lake itself. If a passenger along the shore wanted a ship, they would hoist a flag from the dock of their Hotel. The boats made connections with the trains, or the boats could give you a ride up and down the Lake. The boats had such names as the 'Mystic Shrine', the Sallie D, the D. L. Bryant, the Bessie Williams, the 'Andrew Reasoner', the Dream, the Uncle Dan and the 'Fanny'.

1890s -- the Jersey Central carried 50,000 persons every summer to Nolan's Point where amusement and picnic parks were in existence. The railroad has tracks that followed the shore of Nolan's Point and then swung into Minisink and Morris County Junction.

The Nolan's Point Villa was considered to have been the best of the Lake hotels, costing $2.00 per day. The Hotel Breslin in Mt. Arlington was the most popular as it was large, had terraces, spacious flower beds and a great view of the Lake.

At times more than 500 people arrived all at the same time at the Lackawanna train station at the south end of the Lake.

1892 - On April 18 the explosive works of the American Forcite Powder Company, a short distance from the train station, blew up in a series of blasts killing seven men, including J. D. Smith, the Superintendent. This brought about pressure to scale down the scope of the operations, which was done, until World War I demands brought it back to full operation for a short time.

1898 -- Hopatcong breaks away from Byram Township and establishes its own municipality, the Borough of Brooklyn, later renamed Hopatcong. Brooklyn had three hotels, no churches and no stores.. 

1900 thru 1939-- Eventually there would be over 40 hotels and rooming houses all around the Lake to handle the tourists. The Lake became a popular destination for Vaudeville stars who had time off in the summer when most theaters closed. The entertainers associated with the area as summer residents or tourists included Bert Lahr, Joe Cook, Jeanette MacDonald, George Burns and Bud Abbott. During this time, Henry Scheer (1860-1933), of the influential Scheer family of Ledgewood,  built and operated the Silver Spring Park on Lake Hopatcong, in Landing - a truly remarkable hotel, offering a steam merry-go-round, a shooting range, a ball field, boats for rowing and fishing, and a "fine line of confectionery".

1901 -- Hudson Maxim, born in 1853, is a scientist and inventor who comes to the American Forcite/Atlas Powder Co. in Landing as a leading researcher. He was involved with improving explosives and made the first smokeless powder in the U.S. It was adopted by the U.S. Army. In 1901, he invented Maximite, a high explosive bursting powder 50% more powerful than dynamite. When used in torpedoes, Maximite resisted both the shock of firing and the greater shock of piercing armor plate without exploding until it was then set off by a delayed-action detonating fuse, another Maxim invention. He purchases much land in rustic Hopatcong, sub-dividing it into house lots and contributes greatly to commerce around the Lake. He regularly has well known guests at his Estate House, Maximhurst, built in 1904. His famous castle-like boathouse on the Lake was completed in 1906. During this time Maxim was a familiar sight around the Lake, careening along the dirt roads at high speed in his open car, all the while steering with just one hand, his other was blown off in an explosives experiment. Maxim died, amazingly, of natural causes in 1927.

1908 -- The "New" Landing Bridge is completed. Built of stone and masonry, it continues to stand to this day. Trolley service comes to Landing. The Morris County Traction Company Trolleys come from Dover and up to the Lake. The tracks were built over the new bridge in 1908, and extended up Mt. Arlington Blvd. to the picnic area and beach at Bertrand Island in 1910. The clubhouse for the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club is built on Bertrand Island. The "Lackawanna Cut-off" begins construction across New Jersey at this time, it is a Railway Engineering marvel, running in a straight level line from just north of Port Morris to the Delaware River. Instead of following the contours of the land, it uses massive amounts of fill and long bridges to traverse valleys. The two large arch bridges which still stand and cross Center Street in Landing/Port Morris are the starting point.

1912 -- The Mountain Ice Company in the Silver Spring section of  Landing has a huge wooden storage hanger, which burns to the ground in a fire so large the flames lit up the sky all around the Lake. In 1913 an even bigger storage building was built in a fireproof construction of a steel frame and two layers of sheathing of hollow ceramic tile with insulating properties. At the time of it's construction, it's 56 foot height made it the largest Ice House in America. It was said to be able to hold 100,00 tons of ice. It was the largest single-span construction in the USA until Radio City Music Hall was built. It stood near the current day Nixon School. With the advent of electric refrigeration, it closed in 1935 and was torn down in 1939. For years afterward, Children would play on the large mounds of brick tile left at the site after the demolition. Nearby, the home of the plant's Superintendent, the 'Cary' or 'Carey' house, built with the same tile exterior, still stands at 285 Mt. Arlington Blvd.

1918 - - Explosives used in railroad building and mining had been manufactured in the Landing area for many years. As World War One raged, demand for explosives was up, and many workers were added, with the Hercules Powder Company renting the entire Westmoreland Hotel for their employees.

1920 - - On December 14 an Explosion Destroys a Building of Atlas Powder Company at Landing, killing four men. The building, in which dynamite was made, was scattered over half a mile of ground and only a ten-foot hole marked the place where it stood. (NY Times quote emailed by Ralph)

1920s -- The Lackawanna Railroad route, with its' station in Landing, becomes the predominant rail link to Lake Hopatcong,  surpassing the Central Railroad of New Jersey station at Nolan's Point. With decreasing Government purchasing after WW I, and increasing land values, the Atlas Dynamite Powder Co. ceases operation in 1923.  In 1922 the Westmoreland Hotel (near the site of today's Station Hardware) had a fire and closed. Shortly thereafter, in 1925, a Restaurant called 'The Westmoreland Dining Room' opened a short distance away at 130 Landing Rd to serve customers who were regulars at the popular Hotel room. 

1924 -- The formal shutting down of the Morris Canal as well as the removal of the Steamboat Dock at Landing.

1925 -- The current dam is built in what became the State Park. 

1928 -- Two significant events this year: The death of Theodore F. King and the Morris County Traction Company trolley from Morristown through Landing and up to Bertrand Island ceased operation in February, replaced by a bus line.

1930's -- With the Economic Depression of the 30's, people no longer "weekend" at the Lake in large numbers. The Grand Hotels around the Lake start closing, including the last one in Landing: The Silver Springs Park House. Though the Hotels were gone, a number of Restaurants around the Lake became popular, including 'The Westmoreland Dining Room' on Landing Rd, which was operated by Johnny Apostolik, brother of Walter Apostolik, the Editor of 'The Lake Hopatcong Breeze'. Johnny served both local residents as well as "Show Business Folks" who either vacationed at the Lake or who were performing in Summer Stock. Some of these 'Summer tryouts' for Broadway took place at the "Lakeside Summer Theatre", located in the building that now houses Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home on Landing Road. Some of the shows here from the 1930's  thru the 1950's were directed by Herbert Machiz, a Broadway Theater Director, who though not well known to the public, was highly regarded by leading actors of the day. Summer performers here included Jackie Coogan, John Carradine & Bela Lugosi. One of the regular summer performers during this era was Orson Wells, who maintained an active running 'tab' at the Westmoreland Bar.

THE MODERN ERA
1945 - Present -- The post war building boom comes to Landing, with many fine suburban homes built and older summer homes converted to year round use. In 1947, a fire took the Obdyke General Store/Landing Food Market at the southwest corner of the Landing 'hub'. This opened the way for the 1950 Construction of the Emmet Supermarket. In 1961 a new Post Office is built on Lakeside Blvd, and the old small stone octagonal building at the corner which had served that purpose became a Real Estate Office until it was torn down around 1970. During the post war years, Landing children attended the Elementary School in Port Morris. In 1969 Nixon Elementary School was completed, leading to the closing down of the old Elementary School in Port Morris in June, 1971. A prominent name during this time was Emmanuel 'Manny' Selengut, who as owner of much property in Landing, developed the "Shore Hills Estates"area in the 1950's & 60's, building many homes through his Company, S & S Construction. Many of the streets in Shore Hills are named after his family and friends, i.e; Mansel Dr. = Manny Selengut; Davesel, Henmar, Edith and Dinah are others. Some other streets are named after historical figures including Vail, Rogers, Logan, Morse, King & others (sounds like a good subject for a new web page!). Chaplin Builders constructed other homes during this time. In the early 1970's the Landing Shopping Center was built on Lakeside Blvd, filling and paving over a small pond and section of the Morris Canal where children would go to catch frogs. In 1980-81, one of the two roads that connected Landing with Netcong, Kings Highway, was blocked and closed at the Netcong border, leaving Center Street through Port Morris our one link to Netcong.

2015 - The new Landing Park Recreation Complex was dedicated. Consisting of 4 Baseball/Softball fields, a Picnic Grove, Playground, Walking track and Concession stand, it will used by all Roxbury teams. Also in 2015, the Shippenport Road firehouse home of Roxbury Fire Co. 2 was doubled in size to accommodate modern fire trucks.

2022 - State of New Jersey completes purchasing 2 buildings near the Landing Bridge in preparation for tearing them down and building a new bridge with double the width, and a wider roadway approach. Demolition is planned for Spring 2023, with Bridge construction to start thereafter. Two lanes of new bridge will be built before old bridge taken down, then 2 final lanes added.

Even with all the new homes built, many remnants of the Landing of 100 years ago remain, including:
The Canal Lockkeepers House at the State Park (circa 1830), the Landing Masonry Bridge (long may it stand!!), the brick and stonework foundations of the Morris Canal and Saw Mill off Shippenport Rd., the Railroad Station Building on Landing Rd., several houses on Lakeside Blvd, several houses on Shippenport Rd, the thick reinforced concrete bunker walls of the Atlas Dynamite Powder Co. still visible on Mt. Arlington Blvd near Rogers Rd, (and many more of their walls now buried), several ponds off Shippensport Rd and behind the Gulf Sta. which were formed when fill was taken from them for the Railroad bed in the 1850's, the 'Carey House', at 285 Mt. Arlington Blvd., the King Cottages in the Kingsland section and several houses along Center Street in Port Morris which were stores at the turn of the century.

This page can only begin to cover the rich history of Landing. Although this site is an independent effort, we appreciate and commend the work of the 3 area Historical organizations:

1. We recommend a visit to the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum at the State Park, open Sunday afternoons 12-4 PM in the Spring and Fall. Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, PO Box 668, Landing, NJ 07850  tel# 973-398-2616. Members receive their informative Newsletter. Join!!

2. The "King Store" at 211 Main Street in Ledgewood, operated by Theodore F. King from 1874 through 1928, is now open for short tours on the second Sunday of each month from 1-4 PM. Operated by volunteers from the Roxbury Historic Trust, this is well worth a visit. Books detailing Roxbury and local history are on sale, along with souvenir postcards. The Trust is also restoring the 1881 King Victorian House. Roxbury Historic Trust Inc., 209 Main St, Ledgewood, NJ 07852   tel# 973-927-7603  or 973-584-7903. 

3. The Roxbury Township Historical Society operates the historic Silas Riggs 'Saltbox' House at 213 Main Street in Ledgewood, usually open on the second Sunday afternoon of each month. They also sponsor an evening lecture series, open to the public, as well as the very popular "A Saltbox Christmas", an Open House with an Olde Fashioned Christmas Soup Supper, held in early December, free to the public. They work co-operatively with the Historic Trust, together staffing the 3 buildings that make up the Ledgewood Historic District. Roxbury Township Historical Society, PO Box 18, Succasunna, NJ 07876.  tel# 973-584-6931 or 973-584-2676. 

Information for this page came from a variety of sources, including:

Beck, Henry C. "TALES AND TOWNS OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY". 1964. Rutgers University Press.
Bolles, John R. & Williams, Anna B.  "THE ROGERENES", 1904, Stanhope Press, Boston.
Crayon, J.P. "Rockaway Records of Morris County, N.J. Families". 1902
Hosking, Annie S. & Meeker, Harriet  "THE HISTORY OF ROXBURY TOWNSHIP" Vol. I & II  Roxbury  Township Historical Society
Kane, Martin. "HOPATCONG - A CENTURY OF MEMORIES" , Arcadia Publishing
Lee, James. "TALES THE BOATMAN TOLD" 1973, reprinted by Canal Press 1989
Lewis Publishing,  "Biographical History of Morris County New Jersey".  1914
Lum, Edward H.  "Genealogy of the Lum Family" 1927
Macasek, Joseph.  " GUIDE TO THE MORRIS CANAL IN MORRIS COUNTY" 1996
Munsell, W.W.  "History of Morris County, New Jersey",  1882, reprinted in 1967 by Morris County Historical Society
Murray, Stuart A.P.  "HISTORY OF HOPATCONG BOROUGH" , 1976 Hopatcong Bicentennial Committee
Seraly, Ruthann & Lyman, Frances; "OLD HOMES OF ROXBURY TOWNSHIP", Roxbury Township Historical Society
Thompson, Mary Wolfe. "THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN WOLFE", 1961, privately published
Wolfe, Theodore F.  THE ROGERENES, an article in THE DOVER IRON ERA, July 18, 1890
ROXBURY HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK, 1929
The Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum,   PO Box 668,  Landing, New Jersey  07850
"THE LAKE HOPATCONG BREEZE" - Various Issues

plus Oral Histories from Tom Valiante, Barb Seckler, George Vesel, Charlie B., Joe F. and Don T. shared with the Website Editor.
This page includes much original research by the Editor. If used elsewhere, this website must be cited.