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

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 Fulton Street and Broadway, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's ...

in Brooklyn in the Cemetery Belt on the border of both boroughs, and its 225 acres are divided by the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Cypress Hills Cemetery retains its two primary entrances at Jamaica Avenue ( Cypress Hills, Brooklyn) and Cooper Avenue (

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills, Queens, Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood, Queens, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven, Queens, ...

). Cemetery of the Evergreens lies directly to the southwest.

History

19th century

Dedicated on November 21, 1848 east of the Ridgewood Reservoir, 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-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

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 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 in 1862 as a military burial ground for soldiers of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. A total of 3,425 Union soldiers were buried there, in addition to 478 Confederate 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 The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

were re-interred at Cypress Hills Cemetery from Montauk Point 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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Labour CorpsCWGC Casualty record

Notable interments

* Vytautas Bacevičius (1905–1970), Lithuanian pianist and composer *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Obituary in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''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. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...

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

(1866–1933), World Heavyweight boxing champion * Hiram Cronk (1800–1905), last surviving veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

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

Monk Eastman Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875 – December 26, 1920) was an American 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 Joseph " ...

(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 the ...

(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 (1837–1892), spiritualist * Maggie Fox (1833–1893), spiritualist * Dr. Thomas Holmes, physician who is considered the father of American embalming * Irving Lehman (1876–1945), Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals * Henry S. Jacobs (1827–1893), rabbi * Philip J. Joachimsen (1817–1890), lawyer and New York Marine Court Judge * George Leonidas Leslie (1842–1878) architect, bank robber * Rosetta Lenoire (1911–2002), actress, National Medal of the Arts winner * Samuel Liebmann (1799–1872), German-born brewer * Wenjian Liu (1982–2014), New York City police officer, slain during the December 2014 killings of NYPD officers * Leo Merzbacher (1809–1856), rabbi *

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

(1872–1944), Dutch painter * Victor Moore (1876–1962), actor, comedian * Theodore W. Myers (1844–1918), banker and New York City Comptroller *

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

(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 (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 Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

(1893–1980), actress, comedian, and playwright * Josh White (1914–1969), musician * John B. Wood (1827–1884), journalist

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 Cemeteries established in the 1840s