West of the Hackensack River on a hill in Little Ferry sits Gethsemane Cemetery, a small African American burial ground. The Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs is inviting the public to commemorate Black History Month at the historic cemetery.
Gethsemane Cemetery was neglected and vandalized for so many years that few gravestones and markers remain. Buried there are formerly enslaved people and two Civil War veterans.
“It memorializes life because I look at past generations and we stand on their shoulders. So if we stand on their shoulders, we should protect them, we should recognize them and we should honor them,” historian Arnold Brown said. Brown spearheaded efforts to make the cemetery a historic site and restore the ground. The cemetery was created in 1860.
Cynthia Forster, director of cultural and historic affairs for Bergen County, said, “This is a cemetery that is telling us a lot about our history here in Bergen county.” The cemetery holds the remains of roughly 500 people. Panels posted throughout the cemetery allow visitors to learn more about them. Self-guided tours can be taken Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
