Civics
In 1735, Royal Governor Jonathan Belcher ordered Sussex County’s government and courts moved from Log Gaol to the tavern house of Thomas Woolverton (1717-1760), who served as justice of the peace and tax collector, until a permanent courthouse was erected in Newton in 1765. The move arose from disputes between county freeholders and Jonathan Petit, a surveyor and land speculator who tried to gain personal and economic benefit by locating the county seat on his lands. During the French and Indian War, ongoing hostilities between frontier settlers and Indians caused court sessions to be suspended in 1756-1757.
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New Jersey · United States
