The Sussex County Slave Graveyard Is A Chilling Reminder of New Jersey’s History

Illustration by Tessa Lagarez In the middle of the woods of the “ghost town” of Walpack, New Jersey, a little over an hour northwest of Montclair State University, sit some 50 gravestones of formerly enslaved African American residents. For centuries, the graves have remained unmarked and go mostly unnoticed. Their lack of recognition from government officials reminds us that, in 2026, racism is still very real, entrenched into the political institutions of our country. Historians have concluded that enslaved people were critical to the development of Sussex County, which borders both New York and Pennsylvania. But the graves, which were erected throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, remain nameless to this day (although some locals have made an effort to uncover the names of the buried).

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