God's Acre
Site Brief:
Founded: Prior to 1867
Location: Port Jervis, NY
Additional name(s): N/A
Affiliate group(s): N/A
History:
The God's Acre site was deeded to the Town of Deerpark, NY, in 1867 with the restriction that it "continue" to be used for burying the Town's poor. Sometime between 1855 and 1860 the Wickham Church, which is the oldest African American congregation in Port Jervis, NY, then a village in the Town of Deerpark, built their own first church in the vicinity of the burying ground. Their current church, located in Port Jervis, was built in 1898.
In October 1883 a segregated community of color that had been located just outside of the Port Jervis village limits in the Town of Deerpark from at least 1863 was mandatorily moved to near the God's Acre area. Since 2017 the approximately 2 acre, wooded God's Acre parcel has been owned by an adjoining Jewish cemetery that was founded in 1909. There is no intention to use it for burials but rather to prevent development there and to serve as a buffer for their own cemetery. Interments are currently known to have continued at God's Acre until at least the mid-1920s. While its designation as a potters field means it was not exclusively for the African American community, it stands to reason that those with the poorest jobs and lowest income may have been among that segment of the population. Research has been challenging but continues including with the tentative hope of the USDA assisting with a GPR survey in October of this year (2023).
BCN Contact Information:
Friends of Robert Lewis
1892RobertLewis@gmail.com