02/14/2026
Black History in Cape May County: The Grave Beside the Parkway
If you’ve ever driven the Garden State Parkway near Whitesboro (Exit 6), you may have noticed a single gravestone standing quietly along the roadside, but maybe not. That stone belongs to Noah Cherry (1831–1907), a Black Civil War veteran who served in Company H of the 36th United States Colored Volunteers and later helped build the early community of Whitesboro, even constructing his own home by hand on Main Street.
What many people don’t realize is that his grave once stood within what locals called the “old graveyard,” an early burial ground for Black families who settled in Whitesboro in the late 1800s and early 1900s. When the Parkway was built in the 1950s, much of that land was cleared. Some graves were moved, others were not, and over time many markers and records disappeared. Noah Cherry’s headstone is one of the few that remains visible today.
Nearby burial spaces, including the Queen Esther Household of Ruth Cemetery, reflect the work of Black churches, lodges, and women’s mutual aid societies that cared for families and ensured proper burials when many institutions would not.
Community members still place flags at Noah Cherry’s grave and help maintain the site so the story is not lost.
The next time you pass that stretch of road, remember:
You are not just passing a highway
you are passing the old graveyard,
a Civil War veteran,
and the enduring history of a community that refused to be forgotten.
