Mount Peace Cemetery Arboretum

Located in Lawnside, NJ, the only African-American incorporated municipality in New Jersey, Mount Peace Cemetery was founded in 1902 as a burial ground for African Americans. The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Wildlife Federation certified Wildlife Habitat. Mount Peace is a resting place for freed blacks, enslaved individuals, at least 77 Civil War veterans, including Congressional Medal of Honor winner John Lawson, as well as veterans of the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War.

Mount Peace received accreditation as an arboretum in 2022.The trees and woody plants found on the cemetery grounds are primarily native species, including a wide variety of magnificent, mature oaks. A grove of oaks is found sheltering Soldier’s Row, a group of veteran’s headstones that serves as a focal point within the arboretum. Many of the tree species found on the grounds, including sassafras, black cherry, oak, tupelo, white pine and beech, have been employed in traditional African American medicine, and those trees are highlighted in some of our programming.