Harrington Park Historical Society
P.O. Box 105, Harrington Park, N.J. 07640
201 768-2615
www.harringtonparkhistoricalsociety.com
501(c)3 Corporation
Recipient of the Bergen County 2011 Historic Preservation Commendation Award for the Old Burying Ground
Photo of Old Burying Ground
by Dr. Davis Ross
Upcoming Lectures & Events
All Lectures Are Held at the Harrington Park Library, 10 Herring Street, Harrington Park, New Jersey 07640
7:30 P.M. - 2nd Floor
All are welcome!
Proud Sponsor
of the
Harrington Park
Arts Council
"The Art of Today - The History of Tomorrow!"
A Legacy Project of the HPHS for the 350th Anniversary of the
State of New Jersey
To increase the interest of our community in the arts, to assist all who wish to make an artistic contribution, and to bring the artist and the community-at-large together in a mutually beneficial relationship. To develop, promote, and coordinate the arts at the community level as an expression of Harrington Park’s talents, needs, resources, and aspirations under the auspices of the Harrington Park Historical Society.
To learn more, please click on the Arts Council Button
or visit the Arts Council on
www.artscouncilofharringtonpark.com
and on Facebook - Arts Council of Harrington Park
GREETINGS !
Welcome to the Harrington Park Historical Society - we are glad you are visiting with us on our website! Please browse around our website to learn more about us and what we do.
We hope you will join us for our ten lecture series on various history subjects that range from local to the far away on interesting historical topics. We meet the first Monday of every month, except July and August, in the Harrington Park Public Library, 2nd floor, at 7:30 P.M.
Typically our meetings include a top notch speaker, question and answer segment, followed by a reception where you can greet our guest and enjoy some refreshment. Our lecture series is open to everyone and we do not charge a fee to attend.
In addition to our lectures the Society maintains and preserves two historic cemeteries in Harrington Park, namely; the Perry Cemetery, and the Old Burying Ground. The Perry Cemetery is a small family burial ground located on what was the farm of David Perry (1809-1871). The Old Burying Ground cemetery is part of the land apportioned to Garret Huybertsen Blauvelt, son of one of the original sixteen grantees of the Tappan Patent approved by the Governor of New York in 1686. Although there are believed to be earlier ones, the first known burial was in 1722 and the last in 1905.
Old Burying Ground
Photo by Dr. Davis Ross
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May 5, 2025 - General Meeting
Speaker: Eric Nelsen
Topic: "Found Drowned”
Most everyone loves a good mystery, and you won't be disappointed when you attend a presentation by Eric Nelsen
and his findings about an "unknown woman" and her untimely demise.
In the summer of 1873, the body of an “unknown woman” was recovered from the Hudson River along the Palisades. Her identification by her fiancé a few days later would lead to racially charged accusations of “a brutal murder” in the New York City press – and by September, a trial in Hackensack. Public historian Eric Nelsen will tell how the story behind the lurid headlines of the day in fact helps reveal a rich picture of life along the Hudson.
PLEASE READ AND RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR JOIN US AS A NEW MEMBER
As part of our mission, we are continuing to maintain and preserve the two historic cemeteries in our care, the Old Burying Ground and the Perry Cemetery. Now, we are reaching out to you, our members and friends to help us continue to keep these cemeteries in pristine condition, and to conserve these historical assets. Whatever you can donate at this time to accomplish this work, we cannot adequately express our sincere gratitude.
We hope you will continue to be as generous as you have been in the past when considering supplementing your annual dues this year. Those dues, which are fully tax deductible, are as follows:
Family $35Individual $30Youth (Under 18) $5
In addition to enjoying dual membership in the Arts Council of Harrington Park, HPHS members receive a discount on all Society events and activities (including fund raisers).
On behalf of the Harrington Park Historical Society, I look forward to welcoming you as returning (or brand new) members! Please call me (201-666-0566) or our President, Gerri Gibney (201-768-2615) if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Karen Goddard
Membership Secretary
Mail your check to P.O. Box 105, Harrington Park, New Jersey. Please include your name(s), address, phone, and email. Or, use the membership form noted above. Thanks!
HARRINGTON PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
SAVE OUR HISTORY!
Recently several historic headstones were desecrated at the Old Burying Ground on Tappan Road in Harrington Park.
Here is a short history of two of the broken headstones; Abraham Quackenbush (1768-1854) and his wife, Elizabeth Myers (1770-1807)) are part of the Abraham Myers family burial plot at the Old Burying Ground. In the middle of the 18th century, Abraham Myers received a royal charter from King George III to build a grist mill on the Hackensack River which his grandson John Bogert later operated and it thereby became known as “Bogert’s Mill.” The Myers family members interred in the plot are Abraham Myers, his wife Cathrena Nederman, daughter Cathrena, daughter Elizabeth and Abraham Quackenbush, son John Myers and wife Rebecca Durie. The markers are red sandstone.
As sole caretakers of this cemetery, the Harrington Park Historical Society will repair these monuments with your generous financial support.
If you would like to help the Society repair these stones, please send your donation to P.O. Box 105, Harrington Park, New Jersey 07640. Please make your check payable to the Harrington Park Historical Society. The Harrington Park Historical Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Corporation.
After the stones are restored, the Society will host a Tour of the Old Burying Ground for the donors who made the restoration of the stones possible. The tour will be followed by a reception.
If you have any questions or would like to get involved in this effort, please contact Gerri Gibney at 201 768-2615, visit their website, or on Facebook.
Eric Nelsen
Shown
On His Beloved Hudson
Eric Nelsen was hired as a seasonal employee at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey in 1992. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Montclair State University in 1997, and the next year became a full-time historical interpreter at the park.
He oversees the park’s historic Kearney House, where he’s helped to develop a unique “living history” program based on the house’s role as a nineteenth-century Hudson River tavern and homestead.
In the office, he supervises park publications, including the njpalisades.org website, brochures, and interpretive signs.
On days off, Eric enjoys being outdoors, getting into or onto the water, cycling, and time travel.
DUES TIME - PLEASE SEE BELOW!
