The latest from the Sussex County Historical Society Facebook page…
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Sussex County Historical Society - NJ
Sussex County County Historical Society, Hill Museum
82 Main Street
Newton, NJ 07860
973-383-6010
http://www.sussexhistory.org/
The Garden State: Where Ideas Grow![]()
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The Walpack Historical Society invites guests to join us for “A History of Inventing in New Jersey: From Thomas Edison to the Ice Cream Cone”, by Linda J. Barth on Sunday, August 17th, 2025. The event will take place at the Walpack Center Church in Walpack Center at 1 pm. Guests are encouraged to come early to socialize and shop our bookstore. Linda’s books will also be available for purchase. Please remember, the bridge on Main Street is closed. All guests must access Walpack Center using NPS 615.![]()
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Many people are familiar with Edison’s “invention factory” in Menlo Park, where he patented the phonograph, the light bulb, and many more innovations. Yet many other ideas have grown in the Garden State, too—New Jerseyans brought sound and music to movies and built the very first drive-in theater. In addition to the first cultivated blueberry, tasty treats like ice cream cones and M&M’s® are also Jersey natives. Iconic aspects of American life, like Bubble Wrap®, the boardwalk, the Band-Aid®, and even professional baseball itself started in New Jersey. Life would be a lot harder without the vacuum cleaner, plastic, and air-conditioning, and many other important advances in medicine and surgery were developed here.![]()
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Join author Linda Barth as she explores groundbreaking, useful, fun, and even silly inventions and their New Jersey roots.![]()
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Short bio![]()
Linda Barth has been a fan of New Jersey for a long time. A lifelong resident of the Garden State, Linda has written two books on the D&R Canal and three children’s picture books, Bridgetender’s Boy, Hidden New Jersey, and Alice Paul: Champion of Women’s Rights. She has also authored A History of Inventing in New Jersey: From Thomas Edison to the Ice Cream Cone and New Jersey Originals. With her husband she has published The Millstone Valley Through Time and Somerville Through Time. She has also contributed to the Encyclopedia of New Jersey.![]()
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Linda Barth spent 45 years in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, teaching fourth grade and then substituting after retirement. She is the executive director of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and president of the D&R Canal Watch, a friends organization of the D&R Canal State Park.
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WHS will be offering tours of the Van Campen Inn, Walpack Center Church, Rosenkrans Museum, General Store and Post Office as well as the Barn on Sunday, August 10th from 12 pm to 3 pm. ![]()
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This event is weather dependent. Please check our Facebook page for any updates posted on the day of the event.![]()
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#walpackhistory #walpacknj
🗓️ Today in NJ history: The Sterling Hill Mine Tour & Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey opened to the public on August 4, 1990 and now draws over 40,000 visitors each year. It’s one of the oldest mines in the United States—first worked sometime before 1739—and known for its glowing Rainbow Tunnel and rich mining history. Have you been?![]()
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🛍️ History fan? Check out my designs at the-historygirl.redbubble.com
The model of the Chatterbox is now in the Hill Memorial Museum, 82 Main Street, Newton. We are open on Fridays, 9-1 year-round; and Saturdays 9-12 during the summer.
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