Cypress Hills Cemetery is non-sectarian/non-denominational cemetery corporation organized in the

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the first of its type in the city. The cemetery is run as a non-profit organization and is located at 833

Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Broadway and Fulton Street, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's ...

in Brooklyn in the

Cemetery Belt The Rural Cemetery Act was a law passed by the New York Legislature on April 27, 1847, that authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state. The law led to burial of human remains becoming a commercial business for the first time, re ...

on the border of both boroughs, and its 225 acres are divided by the

Jackie Robinson Parkway The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a parkway in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The western terminus of the parkway is at Jamaica Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. It runs through Highland Park, along the ...

. Cypress Hills Cemetery retains its two primary entrances at Jamaica Avenue (

Cypress Hills, Brooklyn East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...

) and Cooper Avenue (

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven to the south, and Middle Village to the north. Glendale was built on a ...

Cemetery of the Evergreens The Cemetery of the Evergreens, also called Evergreen Cemetery, is a non-denominational rural cemetery along the Cemetery Belt in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. It was incorporated in 1849, not long after the passage of New York's Rural Cemeter ...

lies directly to the southwest.

History

19th century

Dedicated on November 21, 1848 east of the

Ridgewood Reservoir Ridgewood Reservoir is a decommissioned 19th century reservoir and freshwater wetland that sits on the Brooklyn–Queens border in New York City, within what is now Highland Park. Although the reservoir was originally built to secure a reliable ...

, Cypress Hills Cemetery was opened for burials in 1851 and was designed in the

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

style popular at the time. While most burials had previously taken place in or near religious establishments, growing public health concern about burial as a source of disease led to the

Rural Cemetery Act The Rural Cemetery Act was a law passed by the New York Legislature on April 27, 1847, that authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state. The law led to burial of human remains becoming a commercial business for the first time, re ...

and the creation of large rural cemeteries such as Cypress Hills Cemetery within the "Cemetery Belt". The initial board of trustees consisted of Abraham H. Van Wyck, Caleb S. Woodwell, C. Edwards Lester, Charles Miller, Luther R. Marsh, Edwin Williams, and Christian Delavan. A portion of the northwest area of the cemetery was designated as the

Cypress Hills National Cemetery Cypress Hills National Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the only United States National Cemetery in New York City and has more than 21,100 interments of veterans and civilians. ...

in 1862 as a military burial ground for soldiers of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. A total of 3,425

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

soldiers were buried there, in addition to 478

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldiers who died while prisoners of war. In 1941 it received the bodies of 235 Confederate prisoners who died on Hart Island. 139 soldiers from the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

were re-interred at Cypress Hills Cemetery from

Montauk Point Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

in 1899.

20th century

In 1902, during the construction of the Interboro Parkway through Cypress Hills, charges were laid of gross mismanagement by trustees who re-elected themselves each year without oversight, and who received a large income from the sale of burial plots but did not spend any of this on improvements to the cemetery. At this point, 150,000 bodies were buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery. A resolution was passed to create a State Senate committee to investigate these matters. In the late 20th century, a period of mismanagement and controversy led to declaration of bankruptcy. Scandal erupted in 1998 when it was revealed that a section of the cemetery was built on unstable landfill; the cemetery had constructed the Terrace Meadow hill on landfill as a way to increase burial space and appeal to customers who sought burial plots on a hill with a good view. The New York State Supreme Court ruled that the area was unstable and all graves had to be moved. In 2003, charges were laid by Ravi Batra, one of its former court-appointed guardians, who accused another of trying to seize control by quietly installing one of his own employees as president of the cemetery's re-formed board of directors in a bid to gain control of the cemetery. The cemetery serves as the final resting place for over 400,000 individuals. The history of Cypress Hills Cemetery is featured in the book ''Images of America: Cypress Hills Cemetery'' by Stephen C. Duer and Allen B. Smith.

Features

The cemetery is located on of land. Its individual features include: * Cypress Hills Abbey, built in 1926 * Memorial Abbey, built in 1936 * Melrose Memorial Garden, built in 2008 * An urn garden * War of 1812 Memorial * Civil War Soldiers plot * One Commonwealth war grave of Private Fred Wilshear, a World War I soldier of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Labour CorpsCWGC Casualty record

Notable interments

Vytautas Bacevičius Vytautas Bacevičius (born ''Vytautas Bacewicz''; 9 September 1905, in Łódź, Poland (then Russian Empire) – 15 January 1970, in New York City, United States) was a Lithuanian composer''New Statesman'' 136第 4851-4863 2007 of radical and moder ...

(1905–1970), Lithuanian pianist and composer * Captain

Wynn Bagnall Captain Wynn Bagnall MC (10 February 1890 – 7 March 1931), was a Canadian soldier who distinguished himself in World War I.Obituary in ''The New York Times'', ''CAPTAIN WYNN BAGNALL'', ''Canadian War Hero Buried Here With Military Honors'', MAR ...

MC (1890–1931), the inspiration behind a statue by James Earle Fraser in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Obituary in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''CAPTAIN WYNN BAGNALL'', ''Canadian War Hero Buried Here With Military Honors'', MARCH 12, 1931, p. 8 *

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote '' Shuffle Along'', one of the first B ...

(1887–1983), musician and composer * Nixzmary Brown (1998–2006), abused child and murder victim * Homer Lusk Collyer (1881–1947), recluse and hoarder * Langley Collyer (1885–1947), recluse and hoarder *

James J. Corbett James John "Jim" Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated the great John L. Sullivan (hence the " man who beat the man ...

(1866–1933), World Heavyweight boxing champion *

Hiram Cronk Hiram Cronk (April 19, 1800 – May 13, 1905) was the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812 at the time of his death. He lived to the age of 105. Life and career Born in Frankfort, New York, Cronk enlisted with his father and two brothers on ...

(1800–1905), last surviving veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

William T. Dixon William T. Dixon (September 8, 1833 – June 3, 1909) was an educator and Baptist minister in Brooklyn, New York. He was a founder of the New England Baptist Association. Dixon was a member of Brooklyn's black elite and was listed by the Brooklyn ...

(1833–1909), Baptist minister * Mock Duck (1879–1941), New York Chinese Chinatown gang leader *

Monk Eastman Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875 – December 26, 1920) was a New York City gangster who founded and led the Eastman Gang in the late 19th and early 20th century; it became one of the most powerful street gangs in the city. His aliases included Jos ...

(1873–1920), notorious New York gang leader *

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips '' Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At th ...

(1911–1999), cartoonist, creator of ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'' * Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (1845–1894), major league baseball player and manager *

Kate Fox Kate Fox is a British social anthropologist, co-director of the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) and a Fellow of the Institute for Cultural Research. She has written several books, including '' Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of Engl ...

(1837–1892), spiritualist * Maggie Fox (1833–1893), spiritualist * Dr. Thomas Holmes, physician who is considered the father of American embalming *

Irving Lehman Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945. Biography He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...

(1876–1945), Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals * Philip J. Joachimsen (1817–1890), lawyer and New York Marine Court Judge * George Leonidas Leslie (1842–1878) architect, bank robber *

Rosetta Lenoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

(1911–2002), actress, National Medal of the Arts winner *

Samuel Liebmann Samuel Liebmann (November 12, 1799 – November 21, 1872) was a German-born American brewer and founder of S. Liebmann Brewery (later Rheingold Breweries) in Brooklyn, New York. Introduced after his death, the main brand ''Rheingold Extra Dry'' ...

(1799–1872), German-born brewer * Wenjian Liu (1982–2014), New York City police officer, slain during the December

2014 killings of NYPD officers On December20, 2014, Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley shot and killed Rafael Ramos and Wenjian two on-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Brinsley then fled into the New York City Subway, ...

* Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Dutch painter *

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

(1876–1962), actor, comedian * Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), Hall of Fame baseball player, the first African-American player in the major leagues * Rufus L. Perry (1834–1895), journalist, Baptist minister *

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (January 24, 1874 – June 10, 1938), was a historian, writer, collector, and activist. Schomburg was a Puerto Rican of African and German descent. He moved to the United States in 1891, where he researched and raised awa ...

(1874–1938), founder of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York City * Capital Steez (1993–2012) former member of Pro Era, Founder of Beast coast movement * Junius Brutus Stearns (1810-1885), painter *

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

(1893–1980), actress, comedian, and playwright; second floor of the Cypress Hills Abbey *

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the Sout ...

(1914–1969), musician * John B. Wood (1827–1884), journalist * Elisa Izquierdo (1989-1995), abused child and murder victim

References

External links

* *
Cypress Hills Cemetery
at Interment.net

photos * {{Authority control Cemeteries in Brooklyn Cypress Hills, Brooklyn 1848 establishments in New York (state) Rural cemeteries