What to See in Newton - Top Sights and Attractions

Church in Newton, New Jersey. Christ Church, also known as Christ Episcopal Church, is a Christian house of worship located on the corner of Church Street and Main Street in Newton, New Jersey. It is a parish overseen by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The congregation first met on 28 December 1769 and was granted a charter by New Jersey's last Royal Governor William Franklin on behalf of Britain's King George III. Christ Church is the oldest church in Newton and the third oldest parish in the Diocese of Newark.

The current church building, erected in 1868–1869, is the second structure built at the site, and is an example of the Broken Ashlar or Rustic mode of Gothic Revival architecture patterned after medieval English parish churches. The interior nave features several stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the life of Jesus of Nazareth fabricated by J&R Lamb Studios. On 24 September 1992, Christ Church, Newton was included on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places as part of the Newton Town Plot Historic District which was approved and entered on the National Register of Historic Places on 12 November 1992.^[1]

Cemetery in Newton, New Jersey. Newton Cemetery is a cemetery in Newton, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1860, the 24.05 acres cemetery is in current use and is owned and operated by the Newton Cemetery Company.

It is the "new" cemetery in town—opening after the Old Newton Burial Ground (founded 1762) was filled.

The Newton Cemetery Company was incorporated on 22 March 1860 by an act of the New Jersey state legislature. It named seven men as "corporators", including Michael B. Titman, Moses W. Northrup, attorney Daniel S. Anderson, Samuel Cassady, the Reverend Nathaniel Pettit (of Christ Church, Newton), Thomas N. McCarter, and Whitfield S. Johnson. By 1866, the corporators had raised funds—approximately $16,000—to purchase a 26 acres (11 ha) tract of land from the heirs of Aaron Peck and open for burials. According to James P. Snell, the first interment was for Joseph A. Linn, who was buried in August 1867. Five years later, in 1872, a local newspaper reported that "the number of interments is about 340--a large majority of which were re-interments from other places".

Burial options at Newton Cemetery include interment in the cemetery's Mausoleum Chapel, erected in 1991.^[2]

Lake in New Jersey. Swartswood Lake is a freshwater lake located in Stillwater and Hampton townships in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. The lake is a 520-acre glacial lake that is the third-largest freshwater lake in New Jersey. The lake stretches 3 miles and 1 mile wide; and has an average depth of 22 feet with a maximum depth of 42 feet. The lake is the focus of Swartswood State Park a 3,460-acre protected area administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

Swartswood Lake is fed by the waters of Neldon's Brook (draining several lakes and Bear Swamp in Stillwater, Hampton, and Frankford townships; and by Indian Creek (or River) which empties Little Swartswood Lake to the north. The southern end of the lake was dammed by Charles Rhodes, Sr. in 1790 forming a mill pond in the narrow ravine at the lake's outlet, Keen's Mill Brook. The Brook flows into the Trout Brook near Middleville in Stillwater Township, a tributary of the Paulins Kill.^[4]

Cemetery. The Old Newton Burial Ground is a historic cemetery located in Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey. The cemetery was the primary burial ground in the town for a century after its establishment in 1762. As the burial ground would reach capacity, the state legislature incorporated the Newton Cemetery Company which began operating a new cemetery in 1867. After this time, interments would continue at the old burial ground intermittently until 1943. The burial ground contains the graves of members of local families from Newton and the surrounding areas, and includes several local and state political figures, prominent citizens, and veterans. While nineteenth-century sources attest 5,000 burials within the cemetery, a recent transcription lists only 1,287 individual known graves.

Old Newton Burial Ground is not in operation. The 1.66-acre (0.67 ha) property is owned by the Newton Cemetery Company. It is maintained in cooperation with the Sussex County Historical Society and Sussex County Sheriff's Office. The Old Newton Burial Ground was included as a contributing property within the Newton Town Plot Historic District, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.^[5]