Wayne T. McCabe, a fifty-year resident of Sussex County, is active in preserving and publishing local history. He serves as President of the Sussex County Historical Society and is a National Park Service qualified architectural historian and a licensed professional planner with 44 years of experience in historic preservation.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn – 1950
Attended Brooklyn Technical High School – majored in Architecture (1968)
Attended State University of New York – Delhi and Rutgers University at New Brunswick – Associates, Bachelors and Masters degrees in City and Regional Planning and Policy Development, with concentration in historic preservation
Came to Sussex County – June 1974 – served as Senior Planner and Principal Planner for the County Planning Department (1983)
Started his own firm in 1980 – consulting in the field of planning and historic preservation
New Jersey Licensed Professional Planner – 1977 to present
National Park Service qualified Architectural Historian – 1985 to present
Taught at Drew University for 14 years in the historic preservation program
Served as consulting architectural historian to 25 municipal historic preservation commissions throughout New Jersey
Served as:
President – Culver Brook Restoration Foundation Inc. (Past)
President – Kuser Mansion Inc. (Past)
President and Historian – Newton Rotary Club (1988-1989)
Chairman – Newton Historic Preservation Commission (Past)
President – Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce (1988 to 1991)
President – Friends of Horton Mansion Inc. (Past)
Treasurer and founding member – Preservation New Jersey, Inc. (Past)
Vice President and founding member – Friends of Waterloo Village Inc. (Past)
Recording Secretary – Sussex County Historical Society (4 years) (Past)
President – Sussex County Historical Society (2014 to present)
Chairman – Board of Trustees, Harmony Hill United Methodist Church (Past)
Historian – Harmony Hill United Methodist Church (Past)
Trustee – First Baptist Church of Newton (Past)
President – Board of Directors, Highlands Workshop (Past)
Sussex County Historian (2004 to 2019)
Received the Historic Preservation and History awards from the D.A.R. – Chinkchewunska Chapter (2010 and 2011)
Received Annual Award from the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office – Individual Preservation Effort in New Jersey – 2003
Received “Newtonian” Award from Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce for career efforts to preserve the physical history of Newton (2021)
Has written or co-authored 18 books about Sussex County History.
Has written 12 Historic Preservation Elements of municipal master plans and 13 municipal historic preservation ordinances.
Served as architectural historian on staff at Waterloo Village Historic Site (2015 -2020)
As County Historian:
coordinated the county historic marker program for the last four years,
provided technical assistance to local historical societies,
writes a weekly column in the Sunday New Jersey Herald about Sussex County history (2014 to present)
given over 80 lectures to local civic organizations regarding specific events or subjects relating to the history of Sussex County.
History Columnist – New Jersey Herald (2014 to present) – weekly illustrated column (published on Sundays) on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to the history of Sussex County.
President – Historic Preservation Alternatives, LLC (publishing company of local historic purblications) 1979 to present
President – Wayne T. McCabe & Associates, Inc. (civil engineering, land surveying and planning) 1985 – 2012
Partner – McCabe and McCabe, LLC in Newton (planning and cultural resources preservation) 2012 to 2021
Married to Marge Currey McCabe for last 18 years. Has two adult daughters (Martha and Frances) who both reside in Newton.
Books Published
Written and published 17 books on local history in Sussex County and 2 outside of Sussex County. Two books to be published in 2023:
History of Architectural Styles in Sussex County
Byram Township – A Gazatteer
