From its founding in 1928, Don Bosco College was a Roman Catholic seminary connected with the Salesian Order. In 1992, Sussex County bought the campus to develop a newly founded two-year college, Sussex County Community College, founded in 1992.

Don Bosco College was a Roman Catholic seminary located in Newton, New Jersey. Opening in 1928, it was operated by the Salesian Order (Society of St. Francis de Sales) until it was closed in 1989 and its 179-acre campus sold to the Sussex County, New Jersey government on June 22, 1991 for US$4,209,800.[1][2]

History

Seminary

When the seminary opened, the campus consisted of the mansion of merchant, leather-goods manufacturer and railroad executive John A. Horton (1807–1858), built in 1857–1858, which became the "St. Joseph’s House of Studies" and improved to accommodate class rooms, dormitories, recreation rooms, and study hall to accommodate about fifty novices.[1] In 1930s, ground was broken on an imposing three-story, red-brick building which was dedicated in 1931.[1] Several other academic buildings and a gymnasium were constructed in the 1960s.

Summer camp

The campus was used in the summers as a camp for boys 8–15 until 1998. From 1991 to 1998, the Salesians leased the campus during the summers for summer camp, keeping that open during those years. The campus consisted of a pond used for swimming (until 1977 when a pool was built), boating, and fishing, and additional camp facilities were located on a hill on top of the campus. The hilltop camp consisted of a chapel, barrack style residential cabins, dining hall, & an outdoor covered area for communal events. Every day the boys would wake early, go to chapel, eat a hot breakfast in the dining hall, and engage in activities including archery, rifle range shooting, horseback riding, and boating. Afternoons included a snack time and theology lectures by the Salesian brothers who ran the camp as well as the similar morning activities. There was a day and resident camp. For resident campers, evenings included an after dinner entertainment consisting of skits or performances by campers or the brothers. An outdoor swimming pool was built in 1977 and used until after the camp's closing in 1998, of at which time it was razed. During the school years the Salesian order hosted Boys' Club for boys 7–15 on Saturdays until 1993 as well.

Present usage

Since the purchase, the campus has been converted and expanded as the main campus of Sussex County Community College (SCCC), a public two-year county college. Several new buildings have been built on the campus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wright, Kevin Newton NJ: Pearl of the Kittatinny – "The Horton Mansion Former Don Bosco Campus, now Sussex County Community College" (Retrieved July 10, 2012)
  2. ↑ Sussex County Clerk's Office (Newton, New Jersey), Register of Deeds. Deed between the Salesian Society, Inc., a corporation of the State of New York being the parent company of Don Bosco College and the Salesian Society of New Jersey, Inc., and The County of Sussex, a political division of the State of New Jersey (10 May 1989, filed 22 June 1989) in Deed Book 1662, page 022 et seq. (Instrument No. 89-39284).

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