Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association

Dover, NJ

About Us

The Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association was formed in 2019 with the goal of assisting the Dover Cemetery Association in the preservation and restoration of the Orchard Street Cemetery. Our goal is to gain historic recognition of the Gatehouse as well as the cemetery itself. The Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association works in conjunction with the Dover Cemetery Association, the organization which has run the Orchard Street Cemetery since 1854. When the cemetery was founded in 1851, Dover was still a part of Randolph as were Mine Hill and Port Oram (Wharton).

The Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 3500 men, women, and children from the greater Dover area, primarily Dover, Randolph, Wharton, and Rockaway. There are over 125 veterans from the War of 1812, the Civil War, The Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam as well as well as peacetime veterans. There are many of the founders of Dover, Wharton, and Rockaway, civic and industrial leaders, and ordinary citizens of the area. Unfortunately, many burial records have been lost through the passage of time, fire, etc. so a full accounting of the burials will most likely never be realized as many people were buried without a stone memorial through choice or economic reasons.

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Sponsors, Benefactors, and Corporate Members for 2025

Benefactors:

Curtis and Lois Brown
The Cleave Family Trust
The VanOrden Family Trust
Vega Assets Management / Christian Vega
William Hedges Baker Post 27 American Legion

Corporate:

Anonymous
Peter Rogers
R. Keith Titus
Paul and Barbara Wood

Board Of Directors

President

Barbara A. (Cloughley) Wood

Barbara has lived in Dover since she was a few months old and is a product of the Dover Public School system. After getting her teaching degree, she began teaching in the Dover School System in 1991. She retired from the Dover Public School System in 2023.

In general, Barbara has been tied to the Dover community all of her life and she has a few personal ties within the cemetery. Her kindergarten teacher is buried in the cemetery as is Mrs. Hummer, an elderly childhood neighbor who told her stories of "old Dover."

Treasurer

R. Keith Titus

Keith has lived in Dover all of his life. His family roots in Dover stretch back at least 200 years. After college, Keith had a long career in Fixed Assets and Property Accounting retiring from Kraft Foods. He is also a former Alderman in Dover serving for many years in that role from the 1970's into the 1990's.

Having lived in Dover all of his life and with a long familial history in town, Keith has family members buried in Orchard Street dating back to his third great grandfather as well as many members of the community he knew growing up.

Recording Secretary/Historian

Paul K. Wood

Paul was raised in nearby Flanders and moved to Dover in 1999. He has been a Woodworking teacher at Roxbury High School since 2009 after teaching at Morris Knolls between 2005-2009.

In helping to form this Association, Paul's interest in History was really sparked by walking through this cemetery. Seeing all of the veteran's graves brings the history of America encapsulated in a small town cemetery alive in a tangible way.