Located among the beautiful rolling hills of Sussex County, the
rural farmland of Wantage Township has been providing fruits of nature since before the Revolutionary War. The town of Sussex (formerly Deckertown) was a significant milk-shipping center that has long provided fresh agricultural products to the nearby cities. Set between the Kittatinny Ridge and the Hamburg Mountains, Wantage was settled in the early 1700s and incorporated as a township in May 1754. The township contained many hamlets, including Beemerville, Libertyville, Mount Salem, Colesville, and, until October 14, 1891, the village of Deckertown, which officially became Sussex Borough on March 2, 1902. As the area grew and developed busy main streets with stores and railroad stations, agriculture and livestock farms thrived--even producing famed horse Goldsmith Maid, known as the "Queen of the Trotters." Family roots have always run deep in these communities, and some notable family names include Decker, Kilpatrick, Cortwright, Beemer, Von Bunschooten, and Kanouse.
Today, Sussex and Wantage continue to boast the rural traditions that have attracted families for decades.
