ADAMS-LEEK-McKEEN CEMETERY PHOTO TOUR

The Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery is a private cemetery started in the late 1700's by the Leek family, the original owners of the property adjacent to the Wading River Bridge. As the property passed down to the McKeen and Adams families, so did the use of the cemetery. Now owned and maintained by the Bridgeport Memorial Society, burials are limited to members of Leek, McKeen, and Adams families.

Before you begin your tour, we recommend that you read about the Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery: (1) on page 1 of the following link . . . GO TO THE BASS RIVER GAZETTE, ISSUE #5. Use your browser's BACK ARROW to return to this page; and (2) in the Rev. John Pearce's book, "Heart of the Pines" (pp 598-608) available on loan from the Bass River Township Community Library and on sale at the Tuckerton Seaport.

Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery Location Map

The Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery, on a small rise overlooking the Wading River Bridge, is a short walk off Leektown Road. The GPS coordinates are: 39.619072,-74.494944.

Park Your Car On Leektown Road

The Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery is of Leektown Road (Rt 563) on a wooded rise between Chips Folly Road and the old McKeen Hotel which is now a private residence. If you plan to walk through the cemetery, park your car on Leektown Road, as the Old Bridgeport Memorial Society who owns and operates the cemetery prefers that cars not be driven on cemetery property. Exceptions may be made if you are handicapped or have difficulty walking.

Turn Down the Lane Along The Split Rail Fence

Walk from your car to the split rail fence that reaches out to Leektown Road from the surrounding woods.

Walk Down The Lane

Turn down the shady lane and walk slowly, taking care to look around you.

Look To Your Right

As you walk down the lane, look to your right. The few tombstones standing in the woods outside the Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery's chain link fence are the only reminder that the old Bridgeport Friends Meeting House stood here with its adjacent cemetery . The old Meeting House is long gone but the few Quaker tombstones stand as silent sentinals providing evidence of it's previous existance.

Look To Your Left

Now, look to your left. You will see the modernized back end of the old McKeen Hotel that is now a private residence. Those who lived and worked here so long ago now lie on the hill, their tombstones bearing the McKeen name.

Straight Ahead

As you reach the end of the lane, look straight ahead. You will see a large cedar tree next to a shallow depression in the ground. That marks the location of cellar hole of the original Leek store. Use the concrete marker as a reference point.

Up On The Hill

Look to your right and you will see the entrance to the Cemetery at the top of the small hill which overlooks the Wading River Bridge.

The Sign By The Gate

The sign hanging to the right of the cemetery gate announces that you have arrived.

Walk Through The Gate

As you walk through the gate, you will see most of the McKeen tombstones on your left.

A Noteworthy Tombstone

Take note of Catherine McKeen's tombstone. She was the proprietress and postmistress at the old McKeen Hotel for many years. Never married, she is buried to the right of her bachelor brother, Samuel. Many visitors mistakingly believe that Samuel is Catherine's husband because their tombstones are of a similar style stand side by side. Her father, Robert, who purchased the Wading River property from the Leek family lies nearby.

An Unusual Tombstone

Notice the George McKeen tombstone lying in a row surrounded by an iron pipe border. It's inscription, bearing a set of three birth and death dates, provide evidence of the high infant motality rates of the time and a family who desperately wanted a son, George Towers, in the family. The p-arents, John Franklin and Hannah McKeen, can be found a few tombstones to the left.

The Leek Family Tombstones

You will find the old Leek family tombstones to your right as you pass through the gate. The oldest identifiable Leek stones are just simply stones engraved with the initials "JL" and "P". A modern day stone identifies these mysterious initials as belonging to John Leek, Sr. (1715-1777) and his wife, Phoebe. John's father, Stephen (died 1753), the orininal Leek to settle in the area, and his third wife, Sarah, is likely buried nearby under one of the dozen or so unmarked field stones.

Unmarked Stones

To the south of John and Phoebe's initialed stones, toward Leektown Road, lie a small group of unmarked stones, likely belonging to the old Leek family.

The Most Visited Tombstone

Probably the most visited tombstone in the cemetery is that of Capt. John Leek, Jr. (1735-1790) who served in the American Revolutionary as part of the Burlington County Militia. His wife Martha lies to his right.

The Adams-Coffee Connection

A modern style tombstone bears the name of Anna S. Coffee, a name that seems out of place in this small country cemetery. Anna Staza Adams, niece of Catherine McKeen, inherited the old McKeen Hotel and the surrounding property along the Wading River after the deaths of Catherine and Samuel McKeen. Anna ran the old hotel and tended the Wading River bridge for many years. Thus, the property owner surnames from which the cemetery received its current name, Adams-Leek-McKeen, was now complete. Anna married George Coffee late in life, resulting in the name "Anna S. Coffee" on the tombstone.

The Alice Weber Legecy

Alice Adams, the grandaughter of Anna Adams Coffee, inherited the old McKeen Hotel property and the adjacent cemetery at the death of her grandmother. So that the cemetery would be kept preserved for the descendents of the Adams-McKeen-Leek families, she deeded the cemetery land to the newly formed Old Bridgeport Memorial Society in 1959. Her stone bears her Weber marriage surname.

Today's Watchman

Today, Alice Adams Weber's nephew, Stephen Eichinger, as an Old Bridgeport Memorial Society trustee, tends the cemetery in the loving family tradition.

Tombstone Photo Requests

This ends our photo tour of the Adams-Leek-McKeen Cemetery. It may resume should anyone request a posting of a specific tombstone by clicking on this link . . . PLEASE POST A PHOTO OF AN ADAMS-LEEK-McKEEN TOMBSTONE.

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