Brinckerhoff Cemetery
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Brinckerhoff Cemetery is a historic burial ground located in Fresh Meadows, Queens, New York City. It was established in 1730 by Dutch settlers who farmed the area and used it as their family cemetery until 1872. The cemetery contains 77 graves with headstones bearing the names of Brinckerhoff, Adriance, Hoogland, Snedecker and other families who were prominent in the colonial history of Queens. The cemetery is one of the oldest and rarest surviving examples of a rural cemetery in Queens and a tangible link to its early-18th century past.
The cemetery was surveyed by the Queens Topographical Bureau in 1919, which created a map of the location of the gravestones with an accompanying listing of gravestone descriptions and inscriptions. However, over time, the cemetery became neglected and overgrown with vegetation, and most of the headstones were either stolen or vandalized. In 2005, a local developer bought the property and planned to build houses on it, but faced opposition from preservationists and descendants of the buried families who wanted to protect the cemetery as a historic landmark.
After years of legal battles and public hearings, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Brinckerhoff Cemetery as an individual landmark on August 14, 2012, preventing any development on the site. The commission praised the cemetery as "a rare surviving example of an early rural burial ground that reflects both Dutch settlement patterns and cultural traditions." The commission also noted that "the cemetery's continued existence within an urbanized setting provides a poignant reminder of Queens' agricultural origins."
The current owner of Brinckerhoff Cemetery has agreed to sell it to a nonprofit organization that will restore and maintain it as a public park. The organization plans to clear out the invasive plants, install fencing and signage, repair or replace damaged headstones, and create pathways for visitors to access and appreciate the cemetery's history.
References
¹ https://hdc.org/buildings/brinckerhoff-cemetery/
² https://nycemetery.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/brinckerhoff-cemetery/
³ http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/suffolk/brinckerhoff/index.htm
⁴ https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2407231/brinckerhoff-cemetery
⁵ https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/01/brinckerhoff-cemetery-fresh-meadows/
(1) Brinckerhoff Cemetery | HDC. https://hdc.org/buildings/brinckerhoff-cemetery/ Accessed 3/5/2023.
(2) Brinckerhoff Cemetery | New York City Cemetery Project. https://nycemetery.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/brinckerhoff-cemetery/ Accessed 3/5/2023.
(3) Brinckerhoff Cemetery, Queens, New York - Burial Records. http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/suffolk/brinckerhoff/index.htm Accessed 3/5/2023.
(4) Brinckerhoff Cemetery in New York - Find a Grave Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2407231/brinckerhoff-cemetery Accessed 3/5/2023.
(5) BRINCKERHOFF CEMETERY, Fresh Meadows - Forgotten New York. https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/01/brinckerhoff-cemetery-fresh-meadows/ Accessed 3/5/2023.