Roxbury Township Historical Society
The 1700's Silas Riggs House
The Blue Tour
Saturday, May 2, 2026
11am to 4pm
Roxbury Township Historical Society
The 1700's Silas Riggs House
Built in the mid-1700’s along an ancient Lenape Trail during the early stages of Roxbury Township’s renowned iron mining industry, this snug dwelling was lived in until 1961. Despite its primitive construction, in 1963 it survived an intact move a short distance to this site by the newly incorporated Roxbury Township Historical Society to save it from demolition. Restored as a living history museum filled with artifacts that tangibly communicate the township’s pre-Revolutionary history, the Silas Riggs House is listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places.
Newlyweds, Silas and Harriet Riggs from Mendham took occupancy of the house in 1805, and Silas became a significant contributor to the development and operation of the Morris Canal in 1821. In 1835, son Albert Riggs reopened the nearby Woodruff and Hopkins abandoned General Store, operating it during the canal’s heyday, turning over its ownership to Theodore F. King after King married Albert’s daughter Emma Louise Riggs in 1873.
Open hearth cooking will be demonstrated in the keeping room where a century's old Lenape mortar and pestle is displayed, discovered in the cellar of 111 Main Street, Succasunna’s Slaight’s 1700’s Stage Coach Stop, now an integral part of the current residence.
