Branchville Cemetery

Branchville Cemetery, Branchville (2022)

The Branchville Cemetery Association incorporated in January 1868. Its Trustees formed a committee to select property for the cemetery and later purchased the land that comprises the Cemetery from Nathaniel and Harriet Shepard Roe and the Weidenmuller families. The Veterans Circle section of the Cemetery was set aside in 1886 and deeded to the Captain Walker Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, “for the burial of all honorably discharged soldiers. No honorable discharged soldier shall dread a pauper’s grave.” More than 400 veterans are buried in this special area of the cemetery. The Paupers Hill or Alms House Section was set aside for those who had no money for a plot or a stone. Those buried here were placed under 6” square numbered markers, their names unknown. People of color are also buried in this section, their stones facing away from the cemetery as was required at the time. Branchville Cemetery serves as the final resting place for more than 3,500 people. Residents of this beautifully planned and maintained space range from the most notable citizens of the area to the unknown and unmarked graves of those who lived in and contributed to our community.

Erected by the Branchville Borough Historical Society and the Board of Sussex County Commissioners, submitted by Ms. Debbie Anderson.