A nonprofit group working to restore the gatehouse at a historic Dover cemetery got good news last month, when it was awarded two preservation grants totaling more than $270,000 from the Morris County Board of Commissioners.
Now, the Orchard Street Gatehouse Association must raise $68,000 in matching funds to qualify for the money, which they hope will pay for raising the 1875 gatehouse and restoring its crumbling foundation.
The first step in that effort is an online fundraiser launched on July 20 to enlist the public to "ensure that the stories of those who came before us are not forgotten." It had raised $1,250 as of July 22.
"There are over 120 veterans buried in the cemetery from the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and Vietnam," wrote Paul Wood, secretary-treasurer for the group.
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"Founders and prominent members of the area were all buried here," he said. "This cemetery served Dover, Wharton, Mine Hill, Randolph and Rockaway for many years."
Established in 1851 — though some graves predate that — Orchard Street Cemetery is the oldest existing burial ground in Dover. The mining community there dates back to the 18th century, though the town was not incorporated until 1869.
Saving the gatehouse
Cared for by a small group of volunteers, the cemetery is among two dozen sites sharing $2.6 million this year in historic preservation grants funded by Morris County taxpayers and approved by the commissioners.
The Orchard Street group received two awards: One, for $217,000, will support the first phase of a restoration of the cemetery's Carpenter Gothic-style gatehouse, a sturdy wood structure built on a crumbling brick foundation. Raising the building off the foundation would be the costliest part of the process.
The second grant of $53,000 will cover expenses to produce architectural and construction documents for the next two stages, exterior and interior restorations of the gatehouse.
While the structure itself is solid, the foundation "is collapsing, and we estimate that without this work, within a couple of years, the Gatehouse will collapse," Wood explained on the GoFundMe page.
"Your contribution, no matter how small, helps us foster a deeper connection to our shared past and strengthens our community," he said.
Dover cemetery's out-of-pocket caretakers
All of Orchard Street's volunteers, including Wood's wife, association President Barbara Wood, have contributed their time as well as money to maintain the grounds and restore the graves. That includes Keith Titus, a nearly daily presence who has spent thousands on equipment and materials to clean and reposition fallen graves.
"I think it's important to honor the people who really built this town," said Titus, 72, a former town alderman who still lives in the Dover house where he grew up. "Whether they were a congressman or an ironworker, I don't discriminate."
Depending on the response to the GoFundMe campaign, the group will consider additional fundraising, Wood said. There is no deadline to raise the money, but the terms of the county grants require them to separately raise 20% of the estimated $338,000 restoration total, or about $68,000.
Wood has not yet spoken with town officials about contributing to the cause, but he plans to, he said.
"They have been good to us in the past," added Wood, who noted town workers take care of lawn maintenance outside of the gate along Orchard Street.