Community Corner

Bethel AME Church Hosts Juneteenth Service at Historic Squirreltown Cemetery

Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery.

The congregation at Bethel AME Church has invited the public to take part in a historic memorial service to celebrate Juneteenth at the Bethel AME Cemetery, also known as Squirreltown Cemetery, on Throckmorton Street on Saturday, June 18 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States and has been an African-American tradition since the late 19th century. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth. As of 2011, 39 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to officially recognize Juneteenth.

Bethel AME's celebration will reflect the meaning of Juneteenth and the honoring of the individuals buried at the cemetery.

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Squirreltown Cemetery contains the graves and markers of former slaves, black Civil War Veterans and members of Bethel Church and the early Freehold community. The plot is located on the side of a small hill near the St. Rose of Lima Cemetery. Many of the headstones that are still visible and readable bear the rank of the soldiers and the letters USCT for United States Colored Troops. Most of the ranks on the gravestones were those of private.

Bethel AME Church had its beginnings near this cemetery. More than 100 years ago, the site where the church and the cemetery were located was known as Squirreltown. It is now surrounded by a scattering of modern homes.

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