Townsend Cemetery

Simcoe Street which leads to Townsend Cemetery was named after a commander of the occupying British forces during the Revolutionary War.

Colonel John Graves Simcoe ordered his troops to cut down the vast apple orchard which once grew here and to rebuild the remains of an old fort which stood on this site.

His initialed headstone is greatly worn and weathered but a bronze marker has been added noting his immigration from England and his original ownership of this land.

Both Samuel and Sarah Townsend, the original owners of Raynham Hall are buried here, as are six of their eight children: Solomon, Robert, Sally, Phebe, David and William.

The historic marker commemorates Robert and Sally and makes reference to the Culper Spy Ring, which supplied General George Washington with critical information during the Revolutionary War.