Rachel Mongiovi

Historian & Writer · County Brief

Rachel Mongiovi is a historian and writer whose work begins where the best local history often does: close to home.

A lifelong resident of Sussex County, New Jersey, Mongiovi writes about the people, places, legends, scandals, mysteries, and forgotten stories that have shaped the county over generations. Through her Sussex County Chronicles, she has made it her mission to dig beyond the familiar names and dates of history and uncover the stories that might otherwise disappear—the farmer whose name survives only in an old newspaper, the forgotten village that vanished from the map, the local character who became a legend, the political fight that once consumed a town, or the strange story that generations of residents continued to tell.

Her approach to history is both deeply researched and deeply personal. She works through old newspapers, government records, maps, archival collections, historical publications, and other primary sources, while also recognizing the importance of the traditions and stories passed down by the people who call Sussex County home. The result is history written not as something distant and untouchable, but as a living record of the communities, personalities, and lives that came before us.

Mongiovi studied history and political science and completed graduate study in public administration and leadership. Her career has taken her well beyond the traditional classroom. She worked in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as an intern for two Members of Parliament and later returned to New Jersey, where she successfully advocated for legislation addressing identity theft, testifying before a Senate committee and witnessing the bill's passage on the Senate floor.

She also spent six years with the National Park Service at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, working in visitor services and interpretation. That experience deepened her appreciation for the connection between landscape and history—and for the stories that can be found in the places people pass every day without knowing what happened there before.

Today, Mongiovi brings those experiences together through her writing, preserving the history of the county she has called home for a lifetime.

Her work is ultimately about more than the past. It is about people. It is about making sure that the voices, lives, struggles, triumphs, oddities, and stories of those who came before us are not lost simply because the world moved on.

Because every town has its stories. Sussex County has more than its share—and Mongiovi intends to make sure they are remembered.

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