I know it sounds morbid, but it isn't intended to be-- we are both historians, we visit with the utmost respect, and just like everyone else, these people wanted to be remembered. We almost didn't stop-- we had been looking for an old Dutch Meeting House that was memorialized in a roadside plaque. But as we drove passed, we noticed the shape of some of the markers, and, for lack of a better word, the nubs.
Finding an old community cemetery that allows for visitors is hard up here. Community graveyards, unlike more common church yards, don't share a denominational affiliation, which is another indication of its age. In colonial days most people did not indulge in faith-exclusive burial plots, all were welcome to enjoy their eternal rest in whatever after life they conceived. Now-a-days, most graveyards are communal, but we went through periods where each religion jealously guarded their own recipe for heavenly rest and the hallowed ground under which it could be reached. A lot of colonial era graveyards are simple family or neighborhood plots that would require permissions to explore. There was a Baptist Church nearby and a out-of-home business across the way, but that was it as far as the eye could see.
The Sons of the American Revolution and some local descendants had very kindly put up plaques commemorating which stones were historically linked to the war's veterans-- which was a good thing as most of the carvings had long since worn away.
If I had to guess, and I do, I would say that at some point the Baptist church (which boasted a one hundred year history in that spot, according to a freshly printed sign in the parking lot) took over the cemetery. It was still in use, with graves as recent as 2014. What an amazing place to be buried-- in a piece of land that holds the remains of the very first settlers in the region, all the way through time.
We are going to go back, maybe around the 4th of July, to pay our respects; and we are still determined to find the Dutch Meeting House. It has also inspired us to start wandering more and planning less, and discovering more of the hidden places around here.
Amazing what you can find when you aren't really looking, isn't it?

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