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Sussex County History Today: State Fair roundup and other news

Sussex County /
| 16 Aug 2022 | 10:58
    Debbie Anderson, of Branchville, shows a PowerPoint presentation of the highlights of the Branchville Cemetery.
    Debbie Anderson, of Branchville, shows a PowerPoint presentation of the highlights of the Branchville Cemetery. ( Photo courtesy Bill Truran)
    A map depicting the location of burial grounds.
    A map depicting the location of burial grounds. ( Image courtesy Bill Truran)

One of the highlights of the year for me, and many others, is the Sussex County Fair, now also known as the New Jersey State Fair.

It is usually a warm and sunny day, the Saturday of the Fair. One significant event is the Miss Sussex County. There are a number of other ceremonies that take place during the week of the Fair, all of which show the richness of the county — the cows and livestock groomed and near perfection, the stately thoroughbred horses taken through paces with disciplined riders, and of course the food, rides and games.

One award ceremony is the History Awards. This year local history buffs and societies gathered for the recognition of three markers being awarded this year: Branchville Cemetery, Walpack Flatbrookville, and the Alm House and Potters Field.

Each of these historical markers was presented by the sponsor organization with a splendidly informative slide show on the projector of the Sussex County Building. For those who missed it, these slides will be mounted on the County website and also be hyperlinked to the image of the sign, and location of the sign when installed. The place where this information will be found is on the Sussex County website on the Sussex County History site. Here’s the landing page: sussex.nj.us/cn/webpage.cfm?tpid=17045.

In addition to awarding of the historical markers, recognition took place for the Senior Historian for this year. Presented as the George Washington Award, the announcement was for Mr. Alex Everett for his history-related services over many years.

A spot repair has been incorporated this year into the county historian’s responsibilities. Located near the Alms House and Potters Field is the Sussex County Welfare Home Cemetery. Some money has been provided for upgrade of the deteriorating signage at the entrance to the cemetery. These two burial grounds are near the Sussex County Library.

I thank the Sussex County Commissioners for their continued support of the program and of our wonderful history.