WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 5, 2018 25
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Long-forgotten Woodhaven cemetery
restored to a respectful state
PRESENTED BY
THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL
AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WOODHAVENHISTORY@GMAIL.COM
Many of the immigrants who
settled Woodhaven were
members of the Dutch Reformed
Church and traveled regularly
to their house of worship, via carriage,
in East New York, in Brooklyn. Many
of the settlers were buried in that very
same churchyard.
In the late 1700s, two families – the
Wyckoff s and the Snedekers – each
donated a plot of land along the borderline
of their two farms. The purpose
was to create a burial yard that was
more convenient to travel to and over
the next hundred years or so, over 200
people were buried here in Woodhaven’s
historic private cemetery.
Today, the cemetery sits behind All
Saints Church at 96th Street and 86th
Avenue. Aft er several long periods
of neglect and forgetfulness turned
the cemetery into a wild jungle, the
Woodhaven Cultural and Historical
Society launched an eff ort to clean up
and restore the cemetery.
That work gets started next week
with the fi rst cleanup of 2018, starting
at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 14. Volunteers
for light cleanup are needed and
will be treated to a peaceful morning
tending to the fi nal resting places of
Woodhaven’s earliest residents.
The last known burial in the Wyckoff
-Snedeker Family Cemetery was
around the turn of the century, nearly
120 years ago. It was a few years aft er
the cemetery closed that the church (St.
Matthew’s) was built right next to it.
On the other side of the cemetery
was the Napier farm (on 98th Street
and Jamaica Avenue, with the property
stretching all the way to Park Lane
South). The house was a showplace, set
back from Jamaica Avenue, fronted by
a white picket fence. There was also a
large barn and other buildings usually
associated with a well-run farm.
Charles Napier was a breeder of
thoroughbred horses and they had the
run of the large pasture at the rear of
the property. During the winter, the
Napiers very kindly sent a man with
a horse and snowplow through the
Brooklyn Manor section of Woodhaven
to keep lanes open so the residents
could get to St. Matthew’s.
Over time, the city of New York
inherited the cemetery, and years of
neglect and vandalism followed with
many tombstones broken and others
lost forever. St. Matthew’s, which had
been periodically taking care of the
graveyard, purchased the cemetery
at an auction for $600 in 1963.
The church did not want to own and
be responsible for the long driveway
leading to the cemetery from Jamaica
Avenue, but they retained the rightof
way for the cemetery path. In the
years since, some neighbors have
encroached on this driveway and you
can no longer access the cemetery
from Jamaica Avenue.
In the 1990s, a group of volunteers
from the church, the Woodhaven
Cultural and Historical Society and
the Queens Historical Society met
every Saturday for two years. Using
a 1919 survey put together by Charles
Powell, an engineer for the city’s
topographical bureau; Allan Smith,
an architect; and Arthur O’Meally, an
engineer and a trustee of the Queens
Historical Society, worked with the
volunteers to re-erect stones in their
original location.
Unfortunately, over time, the cemetery
once again fell victim to neglect
and vandalism and became, yet again,
an overgrown eyesore.
St. Matthew’s closed its doors and
was deconsecrated in 2011. The community
was worried about what would
happen to the church and the cemetery,
but the church soon reopened under
the strong leadership of the Rev. Dr.
Norman Whitmire Jr. and the church
was renamed All Saints Episcopal
Church.
Ever since then the cemetery’s
fortunes have changed, with young
volunteers from St. Thomas the Apostle
Catholic Academy and Boy Scout
Troop 139 from Howard Beach, along
with volunteers from all over Queens,
working together to keep the cemetery
respectable.
Walking through the cemetery will
not only reveal a lot about Woodhaven’s
history, it will also reveal several
sad tales of young and tragic death.
Many of the tombstones are for
children, reinforcing the point that
keeping it clean is simply the right
thing to do.
Volunteers are needed and very
welcome. If you are interested in
more information you can email the
Woodhaven Cultural and Historical
Society at woodhavenhistory@gmail.
com or call at 718-805-2002.
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