Greenwood Union Cemetery

The Greenwood Union Cemetery is a cemetery in Rye and Harrison in Westchester County, New York.

Greenwood Union Cemetery
Main entrance
Details
Established1837
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°58′44″N 73°42′09″W
Websitehttp://greenwoodunion.org

History

The first cemetery on this site was established in 1837 and it was known as "Union Cemetery of Rye". James Parker and David Brooks of Rye donated 3 acres (12,000 m2) of land to Christ Church, Rye, with plots to be reserved for the ministers of the three churches of Rye and their families. Two strips on the eastern and western sides of the grounds were to be used as a public cemetery.[1]

In January 1855, the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Rye bought an additional 8 acres (32,000 m2) contiguous to the cemetery, and, between 1864 and 1868, they added more than 6 acres (24,000 m2). The total land was then 14.25 acres (57,700 m2).[1] A small corner of the cemetery near the entrance ramp for I-95 contains graves of Civil War soldiers of African descent.

Methodist Episcopal Church operated the cemetery from 1855 until 1902, when it transferred management to a Rural Cemetery Corporation organized under the Rural Cemetery Act of 1847.[1] This arrangement continued from 1902 to 1984, under the leadership of successive generations of the Cowan family, but in 1984 the responsibility of management was turned over to a nonprofit organization with a volunteer elected board of trustees whose members are lot owners and local community leaders.[1]

Notable burials

References

  1. "History". Greenwood Union Cemetery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2008-07-31. The burial ground originally known as the Union Cemetery of Rye dates back to 1837. In that year, James Parker and David Brooks of Rye gave 3 acres (12,000 m2) of land to the authorities of Christ Church, Rye, with the stipulations that certain plots should be reserved as burial places for the ministers of the three churches of Rye and their families, and that two strips on the eastern and western sides of the ground be appropriated as a public cemetery. In January 1855, the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Rye bought 8 acres (32,000 m2) contiguous to this tract, and, between 1864 and 1868, they added more than 6 acres (24,000 m2), making 14.25 acres (57,700 m2) in all.
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