The Sussex Fire Department in a 1909 parade. (Photo courtesy of Bill Truran)
The guest historian this week is my friend from Sussex Borough, Mario Poggi, president of the Sussex-Wantage Historical Society.
We walk down Main Street in Sussex Borough and are taking a journey back in time.
Attached to the Hornbeck Block is the Union Block. The Union Block was built in 1886 and had the Farmer’s National Bank of Deckertown, then Sussex, firmly embedded right in the corner spot.
It had just moved from its former location down the road on Bank Street. That is the current location of Pinkel’s Funeral Home.
The borough’s first post office opened in the Union Block. It also had a jewelery store and a drug store. The Pulaski Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 163 met upstairs, as did other Masonic groups and the Edwin Francis Cooke Grand Army of the Republic Post 16. Upsala College even held classes in this building.
As we keep walking, we pass a small park. Deckertown Commons is its official name. There were once several buildings here, one of which was the home of the Farmers Union Telephone Co., a grocery store and a clothing store.
In 1991, these buildings were torn down as part of a Main Street renovation project.
Next, we come to the Crescent Theatre. Built in 1917, it is still used today as a playhouse. It opened July 24, 1917, to a packed house of 600 people watching the silent movie “Miss George Washington,” which was accompanied by a 14-piece orchestra.
The theater is the only property in Sussex Borough that is on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. It went through different renovations, becoming a movie theatre and even a community center.
Eventually, it became a playhouse again. Drama Geek Studios owns the building and is its permanent resident, serving the tri-state area with outstanding shows.
Next to the theater is the Independent building. The Sussex Independent printed its weekly newspaper in this building from 1870 to 1952. Now it is apartments.
Next on our walk is what remains of the Fountain Square Inn. A once great and elegant establishment, it began its journey in 1823, built by Peter Decker’s grandson.
It grew over the years with the DeCamp House, Chardavoyne’s, Chrisman House, Wickham House and Goble Inn, the oldest operating hotel in the county. Now it stands ready to be razed and reborn again but this time with rental apartments and the promise to look very similar to the original inn.
Next, we have the Wolfe Granite Memorials building. A.E. Wolfe started this company in 1873 on Newton Avenue. In the early 1900s, he moved to this building. The business is still creating great memorials under the ownership of Nancy Bookbinder.
Behind it is the former property of the Ewald Shoe Co. The original building was built in 1888 and also had as its occupants the Booth Brothers Knife Co., Pelgram & Meyers Silk Winders, Monroe Dairy Supply and finally the Radio-Kimmel pocketbook company.
The building burned to the ground in 1937. The first factory building in Deckertown was gone. Many years later, it was replaced with a smaller building, which is currently 100 Main St. and sits idle.
Well, let us cross Main Street and start walking back toward Newton Avenue. We cross at Spring Street, which has a plaque on a side wall saying this is the spot of Peter Decker’s first homestead. Perhaps it was or perhaps it was at the present day 29 Hamburg Ave. Historians continue to ponder this.
As we walk along Main Street back toward the way we came, we come to what is known as the Sussex Block. The Sussex Block is not like the other three blocks in the borough. It is not one building but rather five smaller attached buildings.
The first, on the corner of Main Street and Newton Avenue, was completed by 1885 and functioning as a dry goods store with offices on the second floor. By 1890, all five were completed and in use.
Some of the original stores here were Potters Double Store complete with a huge Potters Store metal sign on the roof spanning the length of the two stores; Edsall’s variety store; and the Harness shop, which had a Louis Larsen-created silhouette on the roof depicting a cowboy on a horse.
As we cross Newton Avenue, we continue to the Hornbeck Block and to the Sussex-Wantage Historical Society Museum at 37 Main St. The museum opened March 2, 2024. It had two showcases and some pictures on the wall.
Now, only 1 1/2 years later, there are five showcases displaying artifacts from Sussex Borough and Wantage Township, with one showcase dedicated to Sussex County artifacts. The walls are packed with pictures, documents, diplomas and signs, an original 1860 Hopkins map of Sussex County and much more. There are three file cabinets full of research material from Sussex Borough, Wantage and Sussex County.
Going down the center of the museum, there are long tables with ample seating, with binders which have letters, pictures, documents, programs, etc. from throughout the county. One can spend hours going through all of the information here.
I have worked extremely hard to build an inclusive place where everyone from all walks of life and from all parts of Sussex County and New Jersey can come and step back into the past for a while. We welcome schools, groups and individuals. While our usual hours are every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., we will open on any day for a group, school or if you happen to just be visiting the area. Call ahead so we can make the arrangements.
The museum is free, and donations are gratefully accepted. We do not receive grants or government assistance, so memberships and donations are our only source of income.
Well, I hope that you enjoyed our little walk through this very historic town. Today, Sussex Borough has something for everyone in Sussex County. There are great restaurants, a great coffee shop, wellness shops, barber shops, a pharmacy, newspaper store, antiques, a home fashion store, a hairstylist, a dog groomer, entertainment and more all in these historic buildings.
I wonder what people passed through these doors more than 100 years ago.
I invite you to visit our website at swhistoric.org, reach out to me by email at swhistoric@gmail.org, or call or text me at 973-864-7852.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com He is the author of “Lewis Morris and the Declaration of Independence.”