Cemetery survival retains area’s history
By: Mae Rhine
Here’s a chance to help preserve some history in Lambertville.
The historic Mount Hope Cemetery will hold its annual Spring Field Day Saturday, May 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Volunteers are needed to spend the afternoon pruning trees and shrubs, pulling weeds, gardening and doing general yard work. There’ll be refreshments later in the day.
Although the cemetery has a professional landscaper to cut grass, it relies on volunteers to keep the grounds in good condition. Those who want to help should go to the main entrance on South Franklin Street at 11 a.m. or call 397-5675.
The cemetery was founded in 1800 and officially incorporated in 1848, making it one of the oldest cemeteries in western-central New Jersey. The cemetery itself is a microcosm of the history of the city as many of its leading citizens from the 19th and early 20th centuries are buried there.
This cemetery was once a haven for vandals and loitering juveniles, but thanks to its volunteers, that problem has largely been eliminated.
However, the Mount Hope Cemetery Association needs more help than just volunteers helping to groom the grounds. It needs cash to keep running the cemetery.
Thanks to bequests over the past decade, the association once again has a perpetual-care fund. Unfortunately, the interest about $3,000 a year isn’t enough to meet the cemetery’s annual expenses of about $12,000.
There have been donations of about $4,000 a year from local residents, and occasional sales of burial plots help offset costs. But the association still is operating at an annual deficit of $4,000 to $5,000.
And selling more burial plots about 1,000 still are available is not the answer as a major increase in sales would result in a substantial increase in work for volunteers each time there is a burial. As association president John Holly says, turning it into a commercial enterprise would mean hiring a manager and caretaker.
Grants and donations appear to the only solution. Perhaps the City Council or other knowledgeable residents could help by pointing the association in the right direction or applying for a grant on its behalf. Every little bit will help.
Let’s preserve this area that is so rich in history.
For more information, call 397-5675 or visit www.mounthopecemetery.org.