Today a sty for stately suburbs, Sussex County was once a bastion for swine.
Roughly 30,000 pigs – four for every three people – lived in the county in 1850, U.S. Census records show. Sussex County farmers that year claimed to have shepherded 8,300 sheep, harvested 21,000 pounds of beeswax and produced 1.8 million pounds of butter on 245,000 acres of farmland.
While milk cows and the grain to feed them once reigned supreme, Sussex County is now home to a wide variety of farming from llamas and rabbits to sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds. The total farmed acres nonetheless total less than 60,000. The hogs number fewer than 550.
New Jersey Herald
NEWTON The Town Council unanimously approved a $13.4 million budget, with an increase of about $125,000 from the 2020 budget.
The increase will amount to about $12 per year on the average property owner s tax bill, which is calculated to be $2,779 per year. Town Manager Thomas S. Russo said the average residential assessment in town also went up from $185,150 to $185,221.
In his presentation, Russo said the town s share makes up about a third of the property owners tax bill, Newton School District about 50% and the county s portion at 14.3%. The county library tax and county open space tax totals just about 1% of the tax bill.
He said he was going to restore the original farmhouse but after putting on a new roof, it was discovered the interior walls could not be moved. We left it as is, he said of the house, which can still be restored with the original floor plan.
“This is a beautiful, rural area and very worthy of preservation, he said. I am relieved to know that while the farm may be sold, it will never be developed.
He said there are certain properties that should never be developed because it is important to honor our history, our culture and our unique landscapes.