The Three Centuries of Ledgewood: A Journey Through Drakesville

If you turn off the roar of modern Routes 10 and 46 onto Main Street in Ledgewood, the air seems to change. You are entering the Drakesville Historic District, a pocket of Roxbury Township where three distinct buildings stand side-by-side, serving as a physical timeline of New Jersey history.

Ledgewood was once a vital stop on the Morris Canal, a town that bustled with boatmen, teamsters, and traders. Today, through the work of dedicated volunteers, this “bustling canal town” has been preserved as a window into the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

1740: The Silas Riggs Saltbox House

The oldest resident on the block is the Silas Riggs House. Built around 1740, it is a classic example of “Saltbox” architecture—a style named for its resemblance to the lidded wooden boxes used to store salt in colonial kitchens.

• The Design: The house features an asymmetrical roofline: a short, steep pitch in the front and a long, dramatic slope in the back that reaches down to the first floor.
• The Resident: While the original builders are unknown, Silas Riggs owned the home in the early 1800s. He was a tanner who fueled the local mining industry by making leather pouches to haul iron ore.
• The Rescue: In 1962, the house was moved to its current location to save it from demolition. Today, it represents the rugged, agrarian roots of Morris County.

1827: The King Store (A Canal Time Capsule)

Next door stands the King Store, a sturdy rubble-stone building that owes its existence to the Morris Canal.

• The Engineering Marvel: The Morris Canal (completed in 1831) was famous for its inclined planes. Rather than using dozens of locks to move boats over New Jersey’s mountains, the canal used water-powered winches to pull barges up and down railways. One of these planes was located right here in Ledgewood.
• The Store: Originally built in 1827, the store became a booming business under Albert Riggs and later his son-in-law, Theodore King. It served as a general store, post office, and social hub for the “canallers” passing through.
• The Lock-Up: When Theodore’s daughter, Louise King, closed the store in 1929, she didn’t clear it out. She simply locked the door. For nearly 50 years, the building sat untouched, preserving 1920s inventory on its shelves. When it was finally reopened in 1976, it was a perfect time capsule of a vanished era.

1881: The King Homestead

As Theodore King’s canal wealth grew, he moved out of the cramped quarters above his store and built the King Homestead just a few hundred feet away.

• The Architecture: The home is a beautiful mix of Italianate and Queen Anne styles, reflecting the Victorian taste for complexity and elegance.
• The Murals: Inside, the dining room is covered in a lush, pastoral mural painted in 1936 by an English artist named James Marland. He reportedly painted the masterpiece as a “thank you” for the King family’s hospitality during the Great Depression.

If You Visit

Drakesville Historic Park is managed by the Roxbury Historic Trust, a group of volunteers who have spent decades peeling back layers of stucco and paint to reveal the original beauty of these homes.

• Location: 209 Main Street, Ledgewood, NJ 07852.
• The Experience: The park is most vibrant during the “Second Sunday” open houses (typically held April through December), where you can step inside the King Store and see the original 19th-century counters and shelves.
• The Walk: The district is located on a section of the old Sussex Turnpike, a route originally used by the Lenape. You can still see traces of the Morris Canal bed nearby.

---

For More Information

• Roxbury Historic Trust (www.roxburytrust.org)