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Hillside Cemetery started as a Methodist Cemetery adjacent to the first Methodist Church building in New Gretna. The old church building, it's location now marked by a bronze plaque, is no longer there, but the cemetery remains. It is presently owned and operated by the New Gretna Old Home Society.
For more information on Hillside Cemetery and the New Gretna Old Home Society, go to page 1 on the following link . . . BASS RIVER GAZETTE, ISSUE #6. Use your browser's BACK ARROW to return to this page.
Hillside Cemetery is located off Hillside Avenue, a quiet country road, just a short distance from busy Rt 9. The GPS coordinates for Hillside Cemetery are 39.589290, -74.465390. The aerial view shows the horseshoe pattern of the lane which runs through the cemetery. The left lane is the main entrance which is crowned by an archway which reads "Hillside Cemetery".
The left lane is the main entrance to the cemetery. We recommend that you park your car outside the main entrance and walk around the horseshoe shaped lane. The first back turn is rather tight for our modern day cars to comfortably make the turn. The cemetery is small, so the walk is short.
As you pass through the Hillside Cemetery arch at the main entrance, you will see this panorama to your right.
This is the view from the right lane, as you look toward your left.
The flag pole and Memorial Plaque mark the spot of the old Methodist Church which was the first Methodist Church building in Bass River Township.
The inscription on the Memorial Plaque reads . . . "ORIGINAL SITE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH ERECTED IN BASS RIVER ABOUT 1800 AD. CONTINUED AS A CHUECH TO 1852 AND USED AS SCHOOL HOUSE TO ABOUT 1870."
The grave of Samuel M. Souders, located in the far left corner of the cemetery may be of interest to Civil War buffs.
Two of the 25 veteran's graves in the cemetery belong to those who gave their lives in the defense of our freedoms . . . Orval Gerew and William Ayres.
Orval Gerew, World War I
William Ayres, Vietnam.