Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Old Burying Grounds - Orange, NJ
Originally on (what was then) the "outskirts" of town, the old (Presbyterian) burying grounds at 420 Main Street (southwest corner of Main and Scotland Road) contains some of the oldest tombstones in the state, some of which date back to before the Revolutionary War.
In the 1920's, the First Presbyterian Church built their second building (the first one was located a few blocks east, and lost to fire) on the site, after careful relocation of several grave sites.
In doing so, they also notably improved the brick retaining wall around the site.
The First Presbyterian Church lives on today as of the oldest congregations in the Oranges, having served its parishioners since 1812.
The "then" photo is not specifically dated, but was most likely taken pre-1900 as the Dispatch Rider statue (erected at the corner for the 1907 Orange Centennial celebration) isn't there yet.
The "now" photo was taken in May of 2007.
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I just found a photo of this church from my grandmother's things and she wrote on the back that her father Hugh Wylie was a mason and helped to build the church. She was born in 1916, so I am thinking that is must have been the 1921 construction that she was referring to.
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