Ghosts of the Past Cemetery Tour
Submitted by Alex Shipley
“Rahway Works” is the theme for the 2024 presentation of the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association’s annual program “Ghosts of the Past” Cemetery Tour to be held in the historic Rahway Cemetery on Sunday, October 6. The tour will feature industrialists, artists, writers, architects, factory workers, and laborers.
This year marks the 30th year of this unique program where visitors are escorted to the gravesites of selected individuals from Rahway’s past to meet costumed actors who present their biographies. The tour will include sculptor John Frazee, industrialist William Squier, architect Seymour Williams, and author Carolyn Wells. Visitors will also be taken to the graves of members of the working class including Catherine Anderson, innkeeper at the Merchants and Drovers, factory workers Elmer Bogart and Octave Challiet, Ambo, an enslaved woman, and clock maker Isaac Brokaw. Factory owners William Flatt, Andrew Jardine, and John Urmston will give information about their manufacturing businesses.
Tours start at noon and groups leave every fifteen minutes with each tour lasting approximately two hours. Tour time reservations are recommended to ensure a desired starting time. Walk-ins are welcome and may register for tours throughout the day. Admission for this educational tour is $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for members of the Association and seniors (65+), and $5.00 for children (12 and under). Parking is available at Parkside Plaza, 1600 St. Georges Avenue which is located a half block from the Museum.
To make reservations, visit the Museum’s website at merchantsanddrovers.org. For more information call the Museum office at 732-381-0441.
