Old and Forgotten Cemeteries of New Jersey

There are so many cemeteries and family burial grounds all over New Jersey, many of them have been around since the 1700's and 1800's when the state was full of farmland and woods. Land owners would use a spot on their farm to bury their family members, others may have been buried by a church that was functioning at the time, but may now be long gone. The farmland is also disappearing rapidly, giving way to new homes and roads. So what happens to the cemeteries or family burial grounds? Some of them are in plain site on the side of the road, while others are off the beaten path hidden from view. The visible ones are usually fairly well maintained by a church or a person who volunteers their own time to look after them, but the hidden ones are not as lucky. Many of them have simply been forgotten, lost in time. They are overgrown with brush, poison ivy and trees. Most of the tombstone names and writings have eroded away with time and have been damaged by falling tree limbs, wind, or vandalism over the years. These sacred places are in danger of being lost forever, some are already gone. The hustle and bustle of modern life goes on around them, yet most people don't know they exist, like "The Little Lost Cemetery" which is situated next to an on ramp to Interstate 287. Left over from an old orphanage and almost destroyed by the construction of the Interstate, until an organization took a stand to save it, and St Patricks' Cemetery that sits in an area that appears to be, "in the middle of nowhere", on top of a mountain in the woods of Rockaway. Some of the cemeteries listed require a bit of hiking, while others are very easy to get to. There are also veterans from different branches of the armed forces and different wars, such as World War 1 and the Revolutionary War. Multiple references were used to locate the cemeteries listed and I have personally visited each one in this book. I did not visit or document every cemetery in every town, I tried to focus on the older ones (1700 & 1800's) and the ones less obvious or visible.When visiting any cemetery remember to seek permission from any land owner where the cemetery resides on private property like The Luker Cemetery which is located in the backyard of a farm in Boonton, or the VanDuyne family burial ground in Towaco, which is on a small hill behind a house. Some heavily overgrown areas may be better visited in the colder months, but either way, dress appropriately. Be safe, and happy cemetery hopping!