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Everyone is welcomed. Cold Spring Cemetery is an historic site and the resting place for many famous figures including immediate descendants of the Mayflower. But there are hundreds of everyday people, both local to the greater Cape May region and more distant places, who have found their final resting place here. As a non-profit, non-denominational cemetery, we welcome people of all faiths and walks of life. Cold Spring Cemetery began as a ministry of the Cold Spring Presbyterian Church and was founded in 1714 to serve all citizens of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and that commitment to welcome all continues to be an important part of our mission today.
Located on 780 Seashore Road, Cape May, Cape May County, New Jersey. Also known as Old Red Brick Church Cemetery.
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The Cold Spring Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian church in Cold Spring, New Jersey, founded in 1714.
The historic two-story red brick building located at 780 Seashore Road in the Cold Spring section of Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. The current church building, known as "Old Brick", was constructed in 1823 by Thomas H. Hughes, who was also the architect of Congress Hall in Cape May, New Jersey. This red brick building replaced a frame and shingle church erected in 1764, which itself replaced a 1714 log meetinghouse. The church's cemetery, Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery, is the site of a 1742 grave (that of Sarah Eldridge Spicer) and of the most Mayflower descendants anywhere outside Massachusetts. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1991, for its significance in settlement, architecture, religion, and government.
The congregation was founded in 1714. The first regular pastor was John Bradner, who served from 1715 until 1721. Hughston Hughes was pastor for one year, starting in 1726, before being dismissed for "his too free use of intoxicating drinks."
Samuel Finley was pastor for several years. Finley, who was a graduate of the Log College, later became president of the College of New Jersey, the predecessor of Princeton University. Another Log College graduate, Daniel Lawrence, was pastor from 1752 until his death in 1766. His tombstone in the adjacent graveyard was inscribed
In yonder sacred house I spent my breath,
Now, silent, mouldering here I lie in death,
Those silent lips shall wake and yet declare,
A dread amen to truths they publish there
The two hundredth anniversary of the church was celebrated on August 16, 1914. President Woodrow Wilson sent a congratulatory letter.