Stillwater Cemetery facts for kids

The Stillwater Cemetery is a special place where people are buried. It's located in a small village called Stillwater, in Stillwater Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA. This cemetery has been used for over 260 years!

A Look Back: Early Burials

People started burying loved ones here around the 1740s. This was soon after the first settlers, who were German families from a region called Palatine, arrived in the mid-1700s. The gravestones from these early German burials are very interesting. They have detailed carvings and special German symbols. Some even have old German writing on them!

The Church's First Homes

The cemetery grounds were also home to the first two buildings of the Stillwater Presbyterian Church. When it first started, this church was a "union church." This means it served two different Christian groups: the Lutheran and German Reformed faiths. For a while in the late 1700s and early 1800s, people called it the "Dutch Meeting House."

The First Log Church

It's thought that the very first church building was a simple log cabin. It might have been built as early as 1745 or 1750.

The Stone Church Building

Later, between 1769 and 1771, a second church was built. This one was made from local fieldstones. The church groups used this stone building from 1771 until 1837. After that, they moved to a new church building. The new one was made of wood in a style called Greek Revival. It was built about a quarter-mile north of the cemetery.

The old stone church was taken down in 1847. People say that the stones from its walls were used to build a stone wall around the southern and western edges of the cemetery. There's even a stone carved with the year "1771." Many believe this was the original cornerstone of the church. It was placed into the cemetery's main gate.

Important People Buried Here

Many important people are buried in Stillwater Cemetery. This includes several dozen brave veterans who fought in different wars. These wars include the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War.

• Casper Shafer (1712-1784): He was an early settler in the area. He also worked as a miller. Casper Shafer was a leader in New Jersey's government. He was part of the Provincial Congress and the New Jersey General Assembly from 1776 to 1779.
• Maureen Gearhardt (died 1972): She was known as a "Coca-Cola girl" in the early 1900s.
• John George Wintermute (1711-1782): He was another important early settler of Stillwater.
• Andrew Newbaker