Smith's Meeting House Burial Ground - Port Republic, NJ
N 39° 31.123 W 074° 29.719
18S E 543380 N 4374463
From 1800 to 1838 a Meeting House once stood here and consequently a cemetery developed as a result. Although the church was gone before 1840, the cemetery continued to be used until the turn of the century.
Waymark Code: WM4JAX
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2008
Views: 26
Off to the side of Park Avenue, up a small hill and through a clearing you will happen upon a historical sign which marks this location. Walk further still and you will see a cemetery. Many of these graves are from the Revolutionary War era.
There are about 75 total burial sites. Most of them are unreadable. Some are in a "special" section with metal bar fencing surrounding it. There is a separate stone memorial for the Revolutionary War as well as a marker for the erstwhile Meeting House which once stood here. This is where the posted coordinates should take you.
There is a D.A.R (Daughter's of the American Revolution), General Lafayette chapter, marker which records the name of a Revolutionary War veteran. This can be found immediately to the right once you enter the cemetery grounds. Based on a literature review of these markers and past experience I am fairly certain this was most likely placed in the mid-20th century.
As far as the official marker is concerned, this is only the second ever official NJ historic marker I have ever found. Like the other one in Haddonfield, this one is also from the 30's ( I am about 90% sure) and was posted by the New Jersey Commission on Historic Sites. The text on the marker reads:
"Smith's Meeting House. Built by Micajah Smith about 1800. Named Methodist Union Chapel at Blackman's Mills when incorporated in 1837. Micajah, John Van Sant, privateer captains and Jonas Morse and James Bell Revolutionary soldiers are buried in the church yard."
While this is an official marker placed, there is an official local marker placed by Atlantic county on S. Main Street, next to the road, about a hundred feet or so from the cemetery. This was probably added a good 50 to 60 years after the original metal marker. It reads:
"In 1800, Micajah Smith built a Methodist Church on this site. Smith, a Revolutionary privateer captain, is buried here" The waymark for this marker may be found here --> (
visit link) and a pretty decent supporting website for the marker may be found here --> (
visit link)