Cropwell Friends' Burying Ground - Marlton, NJ - Churchyard Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Cropwell Friends Meeting House, which is still a church, was typical of old rural Quaker meetinghouses. In 1785, Evesham's Quakers first bought three acres to build a school and later, a brick meetinghouse in 1809. This is the only tangible, non-residential link to the original Colonial Quaker settlements of Evesham Township.

Some sources have this cemetery also listed as Cropwell Friends Burial Ground. Members of the Meeting used both interchangeably. I spent about an hour Thanksgiving morning cataloging and counting burial markers and stones. I counted 463 total graves. Included in this total are combination graves sharing one memorial stone. I noticed the most common family names are those of the founding fathers of our community and of local establishments, streets and public schools. The most common name was Cooper. Other names which appear with equal regularity are Barton, Stokes, Lippincott, Parvin, Evans/Evens, Ballinger, Gardiner & Sharpless.

Some of the grave markers are nothing more than a rectangular-like stone/rock shoved in the ground. Some names are forever lost to time. Family names are buried together and if you take the time to notice, you can figure out the lineage and who married to begin a new family lineage. The newest grave I found was from 2006. The oldest I found I believe was from 1815, but it was hard to tell for sure. I am certain that several persons in the cemetery were definitely born in the late 18th century...so cool!

I remember some controversy in the early 80s when the road had to be widened to accommodate the growing population of Cherry Hill and Marlton. Parts of the Meeting House had to be taken and turned into pavement. This is why some of the graves are a mere two to three feet from the road. At this time, the fence was rebuilt as it appears today and a light was installed at the intersection.

Personal Note: I have lived about a mile from this historic place for the last 40 years. I have seen road expansions, neighborhoods built, business expand, traffic lights installed and local populations explode, all about the meeting house. Despite all of this, Cropwell Friends Meeting House has remained unchanged, a permanent fixture in a changing world and a testament to simplicity, equality, peace and community.

Name of church or churchyard: Cropwell Friends' Burying Ground Approximate Size: Large (100+)

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/09/2009 Grunriese visited it