The Roxbury Township Historical Society, Inc.
The 1700's Silas Riggs House
The Red Tour
Sunday, October 4, 2026
11am to 4pm
The Roxbury Township Historical Society, Inc.
The 1700's Silas Riggs House
When the Silas Riggs House, still a residence in 1962, was threatened by demolition, the volunteer Roxbury Township Historical Society negotiated with the developer to deed this early 1700’s snug dwelling to the society, envisioning it as a township museum in which to communicate the history of Roxbury Township, officially designated in 1740. Funds were raised for the structure’s intact move to this site on the same Lenape trail on which it was built. Additional fund raising and volunteer labor culminated in its authentic restoration and placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Silas and Harriet Riggs, newlyweds from Mendham, were the first documented inhabitants in 1805, hence its name, with Riggs becoming a major contributor to the development of the Morris Canal. Its design and layout are that of New England Cape Cods with a central chimney, a massive stone hearth in the keeping room and a “borning room” adjoining it. Daniel and Martha Cary from Roxbury, MA who settled here in 1742, in need of a place to live, could possibly have built it prior to construction of their iconic 1771 Stone House, still a residence at 208 Emmas Road, Ledgewood, also on the National Register.
In 1985, the Riggs House under different ownership had a sloping roofed one story room added to it, resulting in its being called the “Saltbox House,” reminiscent of old-time salt containers with sloping lids.
