There are many small towns around this neck of the woods (more that I want to get out to with my camera as long as the weather holds) BUT Bloomfield boasted having a Quaker cemetary.
And for some reason - god only knows why - I LOVE cemeteries especially old ones.
I wandered around Bloomfield - poking into almost all the small shops - before I went looking for the cemetery. The tourist information had said it was on the main street. I had walked it from one end to the other (or so I thought) without finding this cemetery. I finally gave up got in my car and decided to zig zag my way back to civilization. I drove down the main street for a bit - just checking there was nothing more I had missed...... and spotted this small sign between two houses that said simply "Cemetery". I did a U-turn and came back.
The sign was there - but honestly no sign of any cemetery. I stopped the car. There was a driveway -- which appeared to belong to one - if not both of the houses - and I shrugged and thought what the hell - if anyone questions me - maybe they know where this cemetery is........
Slowly I made my way down the windy driveway - and there - behind the houses - was an iron gate -- and just beyond that the cemetery!!
I drove slowly in............ it was a cemetery alright - but all the headstones looked newish........ I followed the car tracks around - and there on the far side of the cemetery - under some very old trees were obvious old headstones. I pulled the car off the car track as much as I could - and got out. I wandered over ............ and yes - the neat rows of headstones dated back to 1820's ............
I wandered up and down the rows - reading as many of the headstones as was possible - it's amazing the history you can learn from headstones. Whole families buried together - side by side. That doesn't happen too much anymore.
I think the thing that amazed me the most -- was the longevity of these folk. I don't know the average life span back in the 1800's but I sure don't think it was as long as today..... yet headstone after headstone proved me wrong. There were more 80 and 90 year olds buried there -- then young folk.....
For some reason - in all my visits to old grave yards - I always feel a deep abiding peace. My soul feels quiet - I feel comforted and safe. Weird eh????
Anyway - here are some pics of the Quaker cemetery..............
