Rural Cemetery Act

The Rural Cemetery Act was a law, passed by the legislature of New York in 1847, authorizing commercial burial grounds in rural New York. The law was passed when urban development crowded out the Manhattan churchyards. In 1832 and 1849 cholera epidemics had swept Manhattan, and, suspecting contamination from graveyards, the Common Council of New York City prohibited further Manhattan burials in 1852. The law stipulated that no cemetery organization could own more than 250 acres (1 km²) in one county, which led some organizations to purchase land straddling the boundaries of two counties. Today, seventeen cemeteries straddle the border of Queens with Brooklyn.

Aftermath

After the law was passed, a large number of cemeteries were opened:

*1848 - Calvary Cemetery in Queens.
*1849 - Evergreens Cemetery (convert|225|acre|km2|1 in Brooklyn and Queens).
*1851 - Cypress Hills Cemetery (in Queens and Brooklyn).