History of Newton
Sussex County, New Jersey
1751 -- Newton was formed as New Town Precinct.
1786 -- Newton's Presbyterian congregation was formed.
1798 -- the designation as precinct was dropped from New Town Precinct.
1828 -- building of the Presbyterian stone church began at the corner of High and Church Streets.
1845 -- two sections of the township were given over to two new municipalities, Sparta and Lafayette Townships.
1845-1871 -- a wood picket fence enclosed the public green.
1853 -- Green Township annexed another portion of the township.
1853 -- the trustees of the Newton Academy, a private school for boys, moved the school to Anderson Hill (later renamed Academy Street).
1855 -- the Newton Academy renamed the Newton Collegiate Institute.
1861 -- Methodist church built. Torn down in 1963.
1864 -- Newton Township abolished and was divided into Andover Township, Hampton Township and the town of Newton.
post Civil War -- the Bentley Mansion on Main Street reflected the newfound wealth of the nation. Thomas Bentley was the owner of the local silk mill.
1871 -- Samuel Johnson built a brick storehouse at the corner of Main and Spring Streets.
1871 -- the Sussex Bank building erected.
1871 -- the Second Empire style Library Hall erected. It housed the Dennis Library, the post office, the Newton Operation House, and other businesses.
1873 -- W. W. Woodward hardware store extensively remodeled after a fire.
18o81 -- the Ryerson pharmacy built.
1883 -- Henry W. Merriam started building a Victorian gentleman's country villa at the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue.
1889 -- Merriam enlarged his house.
1895 -- ground broken for the Sterling Silk Mill complex. The Merriam Shoe Factory was across Sparta Avenue. The mill was razed in 1994.
early 20th century to 1923 -- the Newton slate quarry, located on West End Avenue, in operation.
1903 -- at the celebration of the town's 150th anniversary, the Park Block Building was the premier business structure.
1907 -- a postcard of this year shows the Merriam Shoe Factory to be of an impressive size.
by 1913 -- the Merriam Factory employed 550 workers.
1915 -- Spring Street change from dirt to concrete.
1929 -- demolishment of the last surviving wood-frame buildings on Park Place: the Lanterman and Iliff furniture shop and Thomas M. Kay's law office to make way for the new Sussex County Hall of Records..
1930 -- opening of the new Sussex County Hall of Records.
early 1970s -- all the buildings at the west end of Spring Street were demolished as part of an urban renewal program.
1974 -- the buildings of the Newton Collegiate Institute were torn down.
1980s -- realignment of many Newton streets.
1994 -- the buildings of the Sterling Silk Mill were razed.
Source:
Wayne T. McCabe. 2003. Images of America: Sussex County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.