The Presbyterian Church of Madison has just completed a survey of the Revolutionary-era Hillside and Bottle Hill Cemetery, the resting place of many of Madison’s early leaders. It is located on Main Street opposite Madison Junior School. Recognizing the enormous historical importance of this site, the church commissioned Jablonski Berkowitz Conservation, New York architectural conservation experts, to inventory the cemetery in spring and summer 2004.
The public is invited to consult this cemetery survey, which includes photos, locations, and detailed descriptions of nearly 2,000 markers in alphabetical order. This document is available for genealogical and historical research in the Madison Historical Society wing of Madison Public Library on Keep Street.
As this inventory points out, 250 years have taken a toll on some of the cemetery’s oldest gravestones. Starting in spring 2005, the church will begin the critical task of restoring many of these broken or eroded markers. Restoration will require the combined efforts of professional conservators and local volunteers.
The Main Street site actually contains two neighboring cemeteries in one. The older section on the hill, called Bottle Hill Cemetery, surrounded the original Presbyterian Meeting House when it opened in 1748. The graves of many of Madison’s founding fathers and Revolutionary War soldiers can be found here, including the 1777 table-top marker of Presbyterian pastor Azariah Horton and the grave of Gibbons, architect of Drew University’s Mead Hall. Many of the older brownstone markers here, with their elaborate inscriptions and ornamental carving, are historically significant. The lower Hillside Cemetery, first opened in 1878, was acquired by the Presbyterian Church in 1970.
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