Penns Neck Cemetery

Penns Neck Cemetery
Entrance to Penns Neck Cemetery, 2019
Interactive map of Penns Neck Cemetery
Details
Established1737–1746
AbandonedYes
Location
West Windsor, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°20′13″N 74°38′21″W / 40.33694°N 74.63917°W / 40.33694; -74.63917
TypeFamily
Owned byPenns Neck Cemetery Association (defunct)
Size0.19 acres (0.077 ha)
No. of graves80 to 100
Find a GravePenns Neck Cemetery

The Penns Neck Cemetery, also commonly called the Schenck-Covenhoven Cemetery or the Old Conover Graveyard, is a 1730s/40s defunct burial plot within West Windsor, New Jersey.

The cemetery is now surrounded by the "West Windsor Meadows Neighborhood" campus, which opened in 2024.[1] Although this campus is owned by Princeton University, the cemetery is not,[2][3] and its last owner was the Penns Neck Cemetery Association, which is believed to have been dissolved at some point in the early 20th century, leaving the cemetery "orphaned".

The cemetery is currently maintained by the University and the congregation of the Princeton Baptist Church of Penns Neck.[3]

Status

The cemetery has been deemed "eligible" for the National Register of Historic Places by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office since 1997.[4] It is one of New Jersey's oldest extant colonial burial grounds and almost all of its stones date from the mid-1700s until the late 1800s. Its oldest legible gravestone dates from 1746, and the only exception is one burial in 1941.[5][3]

The cemetery is also one of West Windsor's earliest surviving colonial sites, containing the interments of several Township founders, some early area settlers, and possibly a few American Revolutionary War soldiers.[3] It was historically used by residents of the nearby 18th-century community of Penns Neck.

Since the 1880s, several surveys have been made of the cemetery's contents, which currently include 80 to 100 burials, marked by around 130 headstones, footstones, and vaults.[6][7][8][5][3] The gravestones are composed of several different materials, including sandstone, marble, and slate. While some are quite legible, others are cracked, broken, flaking, or even missing altogether. A handful of missing stones are identified in older surveys,[7] but do not show up in more recent surveys.[5][3]

History

Origins

In 1693, William Penn acquired over six thousand acres of land in the area as an investment;[9] however, it is unknown whether he or his family actually visited this territory.[10] In 1737, John Van Couwenhoven and Garret Schenck, both from Monmouth County, purchased the land from Penn's sons;[11] they too are not confirmed to have ever actually lived on the site. Instead, starting in 1737, by which point the territory was known as "Penns Neck",[10] they divided up the tract into distinct parcels and deeded it to their descendants.[12] The cemetery was built in the 1730s or 1740s, bisected by the property line dividing two of these parcels.[13][14]

Throughout the 1700s, these children, grandchildren, and others deforested the landscape and cultivated large farms throughout the "Penns Neck" tract.[15][16] Also in this century, other families settled in the area, establishing the "Penns Neck" neighborhood. Many are represented in the cemetery's tombstones, including members of the Cruser, Dye, Stout, Martin, Oppie, Van Dyke, and other families. As the decades passed, the "Penns Neck" community expanded, and this cemetery – the only one for several miles in any direction – grew with it.[3]

Ownership succession

In 1812 and 1813, two deeds split the cemetery off from the surrounding land as a separate tract.[17][18] Over the next several decades, it was largely held privately by the Schenck family, although other families were still permitted to bury their dead here.[19] However, after a succession of generations, the Penns Neck community decided to ensure that its preservation would not be wholly dependent on familial succession. Thus in 1877 they formed a corporation known as the "Penns Neck Cemetery Association."[20]

The previous year, one of the Association's members, Eliza Tilton, had donated $500 for the cemetery's upkeep, and funded the construction of the surrounding fieldstone wall.[8] This wall is oriented at about 45 degrees to most of the graves, because while the graves – the large majority of which predate the wall[5] – were laid out east-to-west, the wall was instead oriented parallel to Route 1 in the southwest-northeast direction, and Washington Road in the southeast-northwest direction.

Clarissa Schneck became the last individual owner of the cemetery when she formally transferred its ownership to the Penns Neck Cemetery Association in 1878.[21] Few records remain that would otherwise provide insight into the Association's actions over the years. Although it is also unknown for how long the Association operated, none of its original members survived until the 1930s, and few community members had stepped up to take their place, rendering the Association effectively non-existent and the cemetery legally "abandoned" from that point onward.[8][22]

Subsequent caretakers

In 1941, the last burial occurred in the cemetery, for Sarah Eleanor Martin. In the same decade, Princeton University purchased hundreds of acres of land surrounding the site, but not the cemetery itself, which remained a separate tract.[23][24] The land around remained farmed for the next several decades. However, with apparently few, if any, locals caring for it, the cemetery slowly degraded over this same period, as weeds and trees grew and stones eroded and broke. In 1969, the Historical Society of Princeton formed a committee to restore the cemetery. Indeed, seven years later a significant community effort cleared weeds and repaired stonework,[25] but future maintenance efforts were infrequent before 1993, when the Historical Society of Princeton bequeathed stewardship responsibilities to the Princeton Baptist Church of Penns Neck. The church has acted as its informal caretaker ever since, performing period maintenance alongside Princeton University.[3]

The cemetery was deemed "eligible" for the National Register of Historic Places by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office in 1997.[4] However, full placement on the Register has not yet occurred. Princeton University has begun using its land in the surrounding area, starting construction of its "Lake Campus" in 2021,[26] later renamed the West Windsor Meadows Neighborhood.[3] All of the surrounding farmland has since been replaced with sports facilities, graduate student housing, grass and wildflower fields, a parking garage, and other institutions. The cemetery is currently in the middle of grass fields used as a cross-country course, and remains periodically cleared of weeds.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Meadows Apartments". American Campus Communities. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "Brunswick Pk". NJ Property Records. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Penns Neck Cemetery". The Historical Society of West Windsor. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  4. ^ a b Guzzo, Dorothy P. Letter to Lynn Rich, Program Manager, Division of Project Management, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office, March 10, 1997.
  5. ^ a b c d Felcone, Joseph J. (January 1982). "Mercer County Gravestones: Schenck-Covenhoven Burial Ground". Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey. 57 (1).
  6. ^ Woodward, Evan Morrison; Hageman, John Frelinghuysen (1883). History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of the Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Peck – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ a b Beekman, George Crawford (1901). Early Dutch Settlers of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Freehold, N.J.: Moreau Bros – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ a b c Frederick, Wilhelmina Schenck (1938). The Schenck-Covenhoven Burial Ground on the Jewell Farm at Penns Neck.
  9. ^ Hamilton, Andrew, John Barclay, David Mundie, Thomas Warne, John Reid, George Willocks, and William Penn. Ms. "Indenture." New Jersey State Archives, 1693. Conveyance of Penns Neck tract to William Penn from the Proprietors of East New Jersey – May 16, 1693. Even though the deed bears a date of May 16, 1692; this is due to differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Located in the New Jersey State Archives: E (EJ): Folio 45 (SSTSE023).
  10. ^ a b Schenck, Garret, and Albert Schenck. “Indenture.” Middlesex County, November 28, 1737. Deed from Garret Schenck to Albert Schenck – found in New Jersey State Archives, East Jersey Deeds Volume F-2 p. 461. The term "Penns Neck" is first found in this deed.
  11. ^ Schenck, Garret, John Covenhoven, Thomas Penn, Richard Penn, and John Penn. Indenture. New Jersey State Archives, 1737. Deed of 6,500 acres from the heirs (sons) of William Penn to Garret Schenck and John Covenhoven. Located in New Jersey State Archives F-2 (EJ): Folio 380 (SSTSE023).
  12. ^ Reynolds, John. "Map of Schenck Lands." 1737. Map. Survey of the 6,500+ acre "Penns Neck" tract, created in November 1737 John Reynolds for Garret Schenck and John Van Couwenhoven in 1737. Located at the Rutgers Special Collections, Manuscript Map Drawer #12,005. Shows the division of the Penns Neck tract in preparation of allocating it to Garret Schenck and John Van Couwenhoven's families.
  13. ^ Covenhoven, Cornelius, Covenhoven, John. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1773. Deed from John Covenhoven to Cornelius Covenhoven, found in New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 17, Page 97. The southwest property line of the parcel outlined in this deed's metes and bounds bisects the cemetery.
  14. ^ Covenhoven, John, Schenck, John. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1768. Deed from John Covenhoven to John Schenck, found in New Jersey State Archives, East Jersey Deeds Volume E-3, Page 344. The northeast property line of the parcel outlined in this deed's metes and bounds bisects the cemetery.
  15. ^ Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of New Jersey (1939). Old Princeton's Neighbors. Princeton, N.J.: Graphic Arts Press. OCLC 965319454.
  16. ^ "Penns Neck". The Historical Society of West Windsor. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  17. ^ Kovenhoven, William, Schenck, John C., Stout, Jacob S. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1812. Located in New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 11, Page 106.
  18. ^ Schenck, John C., Stout, Jacob S., Worth, Samuel. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1813. Located in New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 11, Page 107.
  19. ^ Penns Neck Cemetery Assn., Schenck, Clarissa. "Deed.” Mercer County, 1878. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 118, Page 508. This deed describes the succession of Schenck ownership of the cemetery between 1812/1813 and 1878, when this deed formally transferred the cemetery to the Penns Neck Cemetery Association.
  20. ^ Wikoff, J H, Andrew L Rowland, James S Schenck, and Alexander Schenck. “Certificate of Incorporation of the Penns Neck Cemetery Association.” West Windsor, New Jersey, June 29, 1877. Recorded in the Mercer County Clerk's Office on June 27, 1877, in Volume "A" of Corporations, Page 217.
  21. ^ Penns Neck Cemetery Assn., Schenck, Clarissa. "Deed.” Mercer County, 1878. Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 118, Page 508.
  22. ^ Rowland, A. S. (1934, March 7). Princeton, NJ. Per the text of this letter, Alexander S. Rowland sent a key to the Penns Neck Cemetery gates to the Nassau Herald in the hopes that the Herald could convince the local community to look after the cemetery. The letter mentions that "...none of the former trustees are living; and no one is available to appoint their successors." A copy of this letter is available at the archives of the Historical Society of West Windsor.
  23. ^ Trustees of Princeton University. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1948. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1048, Page 487.
  24. ^ Palus, Matthew M, and Lyle C Torp. Phase I Archeological Survey for Development of the Princeton University Lake Campus, West Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. Silver Spring, MD, February 2021. HPO Project #17-1263-2. Prepared by the Ottery Group of Silver Spring, Maryland.
  25. ^ "Old Burying Ground on Washington Road, Itself Now Buried in Vines, Will Undergo Restoration." Town Topics. April 8, 1976.
  26. ^ Clack, Julie. "Princeton breaks ground on Lake Campus Development". Princeton University. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
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