Friends of Old Town Cemetery
The Friends of Old Town Cemetery is a group of volunteers who wish to preserve
Newburgh's oldest cemetery and promote a greater public awareness of its
unique character and special charms. Click to enlarge map  |
Overlooking the Hudson River, the
Old Town Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the Hudson Valley.
It is located in the block bounded by Liberty, South, and Grand
Streets, where the church of the Palatine settlers stood. In the
northwest corner is Weygant's Tavern, whose patrons included George
Washington, who frequented it during the 16 months he maintained
his headquarters in Newburgh. In the southwest corner is Calvary
Presbyterian Church, by Frederick Clarke Withers (1858). The Old Town Cemetery was begun in 1713, about four years after the first German pioneers arrived. It predates the Glebe Patent of Newburgh issued in 1752, and the incorporation of Newburgh as a village in 1800. There are 1,686 persons buried in the cemetery. The earliest documented tombstone was dated 1759 when the inscriptions were published in 1898, although there were some stones on which the writing had already been obliterated. The last burial took place around 1967, but there is at least one later family memorial stone. • Interesting People Buried in the Cemetery |
| See also the extensive website provided by the neighboring Calvary Presbyterian Church, provided by parishioner Sue Young: OldTownCemetery.org |
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