Rockaway Township will receive $226,400 from Morris County to restore the historic Hibernia Library, one of 35 preservation projects the county funded this month.
The Morris County Board of County Commissioners approved $4.92 million in Historic Preservation Trust Fund grants on July 8, 2026, supporting historic sites in 20 municipalities across Morris County. The Rockaway Township grant will pay for exterior work on the building, including repair of the stone foundation and retaining walls, repair of the concrete stairs, and painting.
The Hibernia Library sits at 419 Green Pond Road in the Hibernia section of Rockaway Township. It occupies the former Church of Hibernia, a Carpenter Gothic building constructed in 1869 with funds from the area’s iron mining companies. The Rockaway Township Lions Club acquired the building in 1969, and it has served as a branch of the Rockaway Township Free Public Library since 1970.
“Morris County has now awarded more than $61 million from our Preservation Trust Fund to restore and preserve 142 historic sites since 2003, when voters overwhelmingly supported dedicating a fund to protect our important historical resources,” said Commissioner Thomas J. Mastrangelo, liaison to the Office of Planning and Preservation.
The Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund Review Board recommended this year’s projects after its annual review. About 86 percent of the 2026 funding supports construction work at 16 sites, while the rest covers planning and other non-construction projects.
For Rockaway Township residents, the grant means one of the community’s oldest landmarks will get long-overdue repairs while keeping its doors open for years to come.
