Samptown Cemetery is the site of an early colonial burial ground associated with the hamlet of Samptown. Local Baptists chose this place as the location of the meeting house of the newly formed Samptown Baptist Church in 1792. The first church building was expanded in 1812 and replaced by a larger structure in 1834. That building was destroyed by a fire caused by a spark from a passing train in 1879, and it was replaced by a new church constructed in the nearby village of New Brooklyn (South Plainfield). The cemetery contains the graves of many families and individuals who were prominent in the area. The northern boundary of this property marks the position held by Hessian troops under the command of Captain Johann Ewald as he defended the Samptown Bridge from attack by American forces advancing south from the direction of Plainfield during the Revolutionary War, June 21-23, 1777.