REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY

First Presbyterian Church and the "Old Burying Ground" Cemetery
326 Bloomfield Ave.
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The church's website contains the following information about its Revolutionary War era history: [1]

"The village of Caldwell, then known as Horse-Neck, was settled in approximately 1740 when about thirty-five families made their homes in the area just south of the Avenue. Attending church on a Sunday was a half a day journey to Orange, usually on foot, because of the lack of adequate roads and no bridges. As the area continued to grow, it became ripe for missionary work. Meetings came to be held in Horse-Neck on the Sabbath with visiting clergy such as Rev. Joseph Grover and Rev. James Caldwell. If a minister was not available for a Sunday, copies of old sermons were obtained and read. In the early 1770's so many people attended these meetings, that talk grew of building a house of worship. However, under the encouragement of Rev. James Caldwell, those early founders of the church put that dream on hold in order to fight for their freedom from Great Britain.

"The first step towards organizing a congregation in Horse-Neck was taken under the leadership of Rev. James Caldwell. On July 17, 1779, a tract of land lying in what is now the center of the Borough of Caldwell, was given to the First Presbyterian Church in Horse-Neck "for the purpose of erecting a proper building and buildings for the support and convenience of the public worship of Almighty God, and for the support and comfort of such minister of the Gospel of the Presbyterian denomination... and also for the use of a place for burial for said Congregation and Inhabitants."

"The building of a meeting house began in 1782, but due to the Revolutionary War, they had difficulty getting labor and material, so the meeting house was not completed until the close of 1786. The Old Parsonage, as the building was called, was located near the present site of St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, and had living quarters for the minister on the first floor and one large room on the second floor that was used as the sanctuary. Then, in February of 1787, the church at Horse-Neck took advantage of a law passed by the state legislature and became a corporate body under the name and stile of The First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell."

A boulder plaque in front of the church has a tribute to the Reverend James Caldwell:
"Rev. James Caldwell, in whose honor this community was named, early espoused the country's cause in the War for American Indolence. Chaplain - deputy quartermaster - General in Washington's army. Sterling patriot- fearless preacher. Martyr on Freedom's Alter." [2]

The cemetery, known as the  "Old Burying Ground" was in use circa 1788-1881, and contains the graves of veterans of the Revolutionary War, as well as the War of 1812 and the Civil War. [3]

Among the graves is a memorial to mark the grave of General William Gould. Gould served as a captain in the New Jersey Militia during the Revolution, and fought at the Battle of Monmouth. He later served during the Whiskey Rebellion of 1894, and was made a General during the War of 1812. He was a member of the New Jersey legislature from 1805 to 1817. [4]