The Forgotten Cemetery at Home Depot

This reminds me of the cemetery located in the parking lot of Palisades Center in West Nyack, NY. I remember when the mall was being built it was a bit of a controversy – other than the fact that the mall is sinking and was built on top of a landfill, the cemetary next to the parking garage is for Native Americans and “other colored people” who fought in a host of American Wars. I think a lot of people were both really offended and really superstitious about the mall being built basically on top of and surrounding such an historic site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Center

I was going to mention the Mary Ellis grave, too. It’s believed it may have been an inspiration for the song “Brandy” by The Looking Glass: http://www.weirdnj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=28

Amanda,

“…located in a Home Depot parking lot.” It most certainly is not the only 19th century graveyard in the US. 🙂 That’s my favorite cemetery “era” to go exploring! Victorians have the prettiest graves sometimes.

In SC there is a cemetery in the median of I85 near Gaffney. It was there when they decided to split the highway and it ended up in the middle.

In Albany NY there is one right near the highway in a cleared field. The only trees are around the fence and flag.

Reminds me of my college–the large student parking lot by our football field had a graveyard in the middle of it, where the family that the school bought the property from was buried. It was surrounded by a fairly high stone wall, and half the time students wouldn’t even notice it–it was always a fun conversation starter (“So, did you notice the graveyard on your way to the game?”).

The Crowley family cemetery in Avondale Estates, Georgia was once farmland, but the area around the cemetery was graded in the 60’s to make way for one of the first Atlanta area malls. The mall was subsequently demolished and a Wal-Mart went up, but the Crowley graves are still there, largely forgotten and neglected.

I live in the area and there are many like this including another about a mile away at the end of Scholar Road when it hits Old Commack Road. The family name on the headstones is Seamen.

I actually think this is pretty cool. Yes, on one hand it is an example of a big box store overtaking all and perhaps a bit depressing. But this is also an example of honoring the dead and the history of an area. That cemetary will probably be there after the Home Depot is long gone. Heck, the cemetary probably gets many more visitors than if it were located in a tucked away field somewhere. The places we inhabit have long histories and it’s cool to be reminded of them.

I just discovered your blog and have become a huge fan. I have never been to New York but I need to see some of these places before they are destroyed in favor of less aesthetically pleasing law offices.

I used to live in Huntington and remember seeing this odd cemetery. Thanks for the cool article and pics.