Before the Snow: Sparta Cemetery

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I’ve posted pictures of Sparta Cemetery a number of times before. On this occasion I was trying out a vintage lens that I’d had for some time but hadn’t used much. It’s an approx. 50-year-old Minolta Rokkor-X MD 45mm f2.

“Two hundred yards north of the intersection of Rte. 9 and Revolutionary Rd. lies a two-acre parcel of land where some of Ossining’s earliest history is buried. Sparta Cemetery is the oldest organized burial ground in Ossining, begun before the Revolutionary War. It is the final resting place of many of Ossining’s first settlers of English, Dutch, and French Huguenot heritage, Revolutionary War through World War II veterans, and the Old Leather Man. The oldest legible tombstone is that of five-year-old Sarah Ladew from 1764. The most recent interment was in 2007.

A key point of interest is the Ladew family plot. It is the only plot that is enclosed by a brick wall, the west façade of which incorporates all five headstones in the wall. Two of the most famous tombstones are those of Abraham and Anna Ladew’s children—five-year-old Sarah and seven-year-old Abraham. Sarah’s stone is noted as the oldest legible in the cemetery, but Abraham’s is even more famous for another reason: a hole in the surface. Legend has it that in 1780 the headstone was pierced by cannon fire from the British war ship Vulture, patrolling the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War. A plaque has been installed in its place.” (Martha Mesiti writing about Sparta Cemetery on the Ossining Historic Cemeteries website).

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It’s also the last resting place of the “The Leatherman“. (Below).

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Taken with a Sony A7IV and another approx. 50-year-old Minolta Rokkor-X MD 45mm f2.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery/Old Dutch Burying Ground

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A friend recently loaned me her old camera: an almost 20-year-old Nikon D40. I wanted to see what I could do with such an old, 6-megapixel camera. So, I went for a walk in nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It was a very pleasant camera to use small, light, pleasant colors, no complicated menus etc. and the results were pretty good.

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Taken with a Nikon D40 and Nikon Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

Sparta Cemetery

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Name: Sparta Cemetery
Other Name(s): Sparta Burying Ground
Location: South Highland Avenue and Revolutionary Road
Date of Establishment/Historic Era: 1764
Characteristics: Two acres in size; surrounded by a low fieldstone wall; contains over 100 gravestones.
Significance: Historic and Cultural

Sparta Cemetery is National Register-listed as part of the Scarborough Historic District. It is historically and culturally significant for its association with early Sparta and Sing Sing Village and the Sing Sing Presbyterian Congregation (today known as the First Presbyterian
Congregation).

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Narrative: Sparta Cemetery, established in 1764, was created on land deeded to the Presbyterian Church of Mount Pleasant by the State of New York for use as a church and cemetery. The property had formerly been part of the Philipsburg Manor estate until its seizure by the State after the Revolutionary War. The cemetery was built on the Old Albany Post Road, today known as Highland Avenue and Route 9. The church, erected on the site around 1768, was heavily damaged during the American Revolution but was later repaired and remained in service until 1800, the year in which the congregation moved into the Village and became the First Presbyterian Congregation. Accounts of the church’s fate vary; some sources indicate that the building was demolished and sold for scrap, while others state that it was moved across Highland Avenue and used first as a tavern and later as a school for a time until it was taken down later in the 19th century. In 1939, the newly formed Ossining Historical Society, with financial support from the First Presbyterian Congregation, took on the responsibility of maintaining the cemetery grounds and began the process of restoring the property, which had become thick with undergrowth due to neglect.

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The Cemetery contains over 100 gravestones, many of which are for settlers who were among the first arrivals to Sing Sing and Sparta.

The Cemetery is also the final resting place of the renowned Leatherman.

  • Acker
  • Agate
  • Birdsall
  • Boorman
  • Fowler
  • Hunt
  • Ladew
  • Losee
  • Merritt
  • Miller
  • Orser
  • Sherwood
  • Smith
  • Storms
  • Van Wart

Many other gravestones belong to soldiers killed in the Revolutionary War, American Civil War, and World War I, as well as other individuals who played a role in the civic, business, and institutional life of Sparta and Sing Sing (later Ossining) Village.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Village of Ossining Significant Sites and Structures Guide, Page 13.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD lens.

Congregation Sons of Israel Cemetery, Ossining

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The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society recently organized a presentation on the Congregation Sons of Israel. In his prestation Mr. Irwin Kavy mentioned their cemetery. I’d never heard about it before so of course I had to find out where it was and visit it.

The cemetery is on Havell Street (east of Route 9), adjacent to (west of) the Dale Cemetery entrance. It’s not marked as such but owned by Congregation Sons of Israel, a Synagogue and now located at 1666 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510.

It has approx. 100 graves, all Jewish, from late 19th century to about 1970’s. The cemetery is located on steep hill below Havell Street. Numerous steps lead to about three intermediate burial levels before reaching the main burial area.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a terraced cemetery before.

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Taken with a Sony A7IV and a vintage lens (I don’t remember which one it was, but I think it might have been a Ricoh 50mm Rikenon XR f2 L).

A walk to Sparta Cemetery – Sparta Cemetery

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Sparta Cemetery, or the Presbyterian Burying Ground at Sparta, is a two-acre (0.81 ha) burying ground dating to 1764, making it the oldest cemetery in Westchester County. It is the only contributing property outside Briarcliff Manor; the Ossining Historical Society has maintained the cemetery since 1984. As of 1984, the cemetery is still owned by the First Presbyterian Church of Ossining; its original church building was built c. 1768 and was moved towards the center of Ossining in 1800. The grounds hold 34 known Revolutionary War veterans. Many of the area’s earliest residents are buried in the cemetery.

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In September 1780, HMS Vulture fired a cannonball into the gravestone of Abraham Ladew, Jr., who died in 1774, at the age of 7. The Vulture was traveling south from Croton Point to pick up Major John André, a rendezvous that never occurred; Andre was captured in Tarrytown on his way to the vessel.

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That’s all I have to say about Sparta Cemetery. I’ve done many posts on this cemetery (you can look them up) and on this occasion, I had been walking for around two hours, it was almost noon, and it was getting hot and humid. So, I didn’t stay long. Just a few shots taken from near the entrance, and I was off.

Taken with a Sony DSC-H50