Urban Cemeteries and Stewardship

NYC Parks, Cypress Hills Cemetery, The New York Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies and The Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation will present a series of three lectures in 2014 as part of the Uncommon Ground Series: Urban Cemeteries as Historic Landscapes Part II: Design, Topography/Geology and Stewardship. The subject of urban cemeteries, both private and public, will be explored with a view toward greater  understanding, appreciation and stewardship of these evocative landscapes.

On Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 6:00 pm Lynn Rogers will speak on Urban Cemeteries and Stewardship: Reclaim, Restore and Maintain: Abandoned Cemeteries in Staten Island. Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries, Inc. (FACSI) was founded in 1981 by New York State Division of Cemeteries Director Pearce O’Callaghan. Over the last decade, under the guidance of its executive director, Lynn Rogers, the organization has restored 11 abandoned cemeteries. The cemeteries date from the year 1630 and include a Native American Lenape burial ground. Once dreaded blights, these sites have been converted into welcoming landscapes with unique historical and educational value. In this lecture, Ms. Rogers will explore the grass-roots efforts that led to their recover Learn more here.

Additional lectures in the series will take place on Tuesday, February 11 and Tuesday, March 11.