Berlin Cemetery - Berlin, NJ
N 39° 48.027 W 074° 56.457
18S E 505055 N 4405611
There is a local sign of history posted to the front of a very old cemetery office which once doubled as a school house and church.
Waymark Code: WMAEWJ
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 01/06/2011
Views: 5
Before this was built, this exact site was home to a log cabin. King George the III, of England, deeded the land to Samuel Scull for 5 shillings. The deed was written in 1766 on sheepskin. The present day building bears that date over the entrance. The deed covered 3 acres "beginning at a White Oak standing at the Fork".
The log cabin was used by the Presbyterian Church and was open to all denominations. It later served as a district school. The cabin was replaced by the present day building about 1850 and continued to serve as a school until the late 1870's. Renovations were made in 1971. The siding was made to the exact size of the original clapboard.
The cemetery fell into neglect and in 1884, the Berlin Cemetery Associtation was formed and continues to this day.
There are some famous folks buried here, among them are a Lenape Indian family, 3 Hessian soldiers, Thomas McCann (Civil War soldier), Arthur Eldred (the first Eagle Scout in the United States, and Carlton R. Rough (a World War II Medal of Honor winner). Several of the Berlin's founding fathers are buried here including Richard Moss (the first settler here), Thomas Wright (first owner of a charcoal buring works and the Berlin Hotel), Samuel Scull (tavern owner), and Joseph L. Thackara (prominent merchant and Berlin's first railroad station agent).
The sign reads:
Historical Site
BERLIN CEMETERY
Established in the early 1700's, many of
the area's first families are buried here.
John Brainerd, famed Indian missionary,
also preached here.
Camden County
Cultural and Heritage Commission