As motorists on Route 70 travel west into Medford Township, they pass an intricate cemetery dating back to America’s colonial times.
For years, the cemetery has been run down, with overgrown weeds, fallen tree branches and a damaged fence.
However, after four years of planning, fundraising and work, the cemetery has been brought back to life.
The Peacock Cemetery, located at the intersection of Route 70 and Chairville Road, was re-dedicated on April 1 after a beautification project was completed by the Peacock family and the Medford-Vincentown Rotary Club.
The long overdue project took a few years to complete due to the amount of work and funds needed. Rotary member Tom Rende began speaking to Larry Godfrey about the project four years ago. Godfrey’s wife, Barbara, is a direct descendent of the Peacock family.
Rende’s connection with the Godfrey family and his love of history inspired him to take on this project.
“I’ve known the Godfrey family for years,” he said. “I’m also a history guy. I used to be the president of the Medford Historical Society for 16 years.”
Restoring the cemetery was something the family wanted to do for awhile, but they could not afford the repairs. Rende met with Godfrey to develop a plan for the project, which cost $16,000.
“With them doing it by themselves, it was a burden financially,” Rende said.
To help fund the project, Rende went to the Rotary Club for financial assistance. After deliberations, the club agreed to donate $5,000, but only if the remainder of the cost could be covered by other donations.
“The club wouldn’t fully fund it,” Rende said, “but they would donate $5,000 toward it as long as the family or someone else came up with the rest of the money.”
At that point, Rende and Godfrey’s job was to cover the cost of materials and labor through donations.
Fortunately for the Peacocks, they had a family connection with Giberson Excavation and Plumbing. The company was able to perform a lot of the landscaping, including tree stump removal. Rende said they completed their portion of the work in two days.
After shopping around for donations for the rest of the project, Rende and Godfrey were able to finance the entire project. Once all the donations were covered, the Rotary Club officially donated its portion.
“The $5,000 from the Rotary bought the fence,” Rende said.
The Peacock Cemetery features graves dating back to the 1730s. Today, direct descendants of the Peacock family are still buried there.
The historical significance of the cemetery goes beyond just the Peacocks, however. Rende described it as an important symbol in the township. Due to overgrown trees and lack of upkeep, the cemetery was not visible for a number of years from Route 70.
“It was overgrown. There were a lot of dead trees, and from storms, a lot of the stuff came down,” Rende said. “You couldn’t just go in there and mow it to get it all done.”
Now, after the restoration project and rededication, the cemetery is one of the first things motorists entering Medford on Route 70 West see.
