Roxbury Township, New Jersey History

This website celebrates the history of Roxbury Township in Morris County, New Jersey. Our Town was founded in 1740 and has a rich heritage. Originally a center for Iron Mining and forges that supplied George Washington and the Continental Army, our community grew with the cutting of roads east and west and the building of the Morris Canal in 1827. Roxbury was a major hub for the Canal, with Lake Hopatcong as a water source. Four Canal inclined planes and two locks were located within Roxbury, with many businesses established during the 19th century to service the Canal. Local explosives plants would supply dynamite for the mines and railroad building and employ generations of Roxbury Township residents.

By the 1880’s the Railroad would overtake the Canal for Commercial transportation and Roxbury exploded in growth with 2 major and competing rail lines. By 1890 Roxbury was ‘the’ gateway to the busy resorts of Lake Hopatcong, which remained one of the region’s most popular summer destinations for over 60 years. The coming decades brought a ‘boom time’ of new train stations, schools, homes and businesses, yet always in an orderly sort of way.

This site is also growing and we’re adding pages of historical photos and articles on local history. We recently added several pages that were sent in by readers. We’ll expand the Roxbury High School Yearbook pages as they become available and presenting the results here. We welcome YOUR scans of YOUR RHS Yearbook, see the ‘About’ page for tech info before starting. Even though this website started in 2004, a special feature is a ‘look back’ at how this site looked in 1912. Sound impossible, well just click on the “1912 Webpage” button to the left. Check back periodically, we’ll be adding new pages as time allows. This website is focused on the history of the Roxbury Twp. communities of Ledgewood, Succasunna, Kenvil & Lower Berkshire Valley. For info on Landing & Port Morris, see our links page for the website: www.southorange.org