Old Scots Graveyard, Historic cemetery in Marlboro Township, US.
The Old Scots Graveyard is a roughly one-acre cemetery on Gordon's Corner Road in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, about 195 feet above sea level. Most headstones are brown sandstone, and ground-penetrating radar work reported in 2001 confirmed about 122 grave sites, with up to 140 more unmarked. A thirty-foot-square, 3.5-foot-high mound in the center supports the tall Boyd Monument.
The burial ground was established in 1685 and belonged to the first Presbyterian church in North America, with its meetinghouse built in 1692. These two institutions developed together as Scottish settlers created their religious community in the colony.
The thistle carvings are on the 1899 Boyd Monument, not on the headstones: Scottish thistle surrounds a shaft of Scottish and Vermont granite and Irish Graystone, stones chosen because the first Presbytery drew men from Scotland, Ireland and New England. The monument also carries seals of the Presbyterian churches of Monmouth County, the USA and Scotland, and the Scotch Irish Society.
The cemetery is accessible on foot with open paths between the graves for visitors to walk through. It is best to wear comfortable shoes since the ground is uneven in places.
The 25-foot Boyd Monument was unveiled on June 14, 1900, after shipping delays pushed back its planned October 1899 ceremony. Its granite came from Scotland and Vermont with Irish graystone, and a 5-foot spire lost in the 1950s was replaced during the 2002 refurbishment.
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