Landscape Information
Located on an escarpment approximately one-half mile east of the Hudson River, this irregularly shaped burial ground comprises 325 acres of varied topography. Nested between Oakwood Avenue to the east and a steep hillside to the west, the cemetery overlooks the village of Lansingburgh and affords expansive views of the river and the Catskill and Helderberg Mountains.
Established in 1848, the cemetery was laid out by landscape gardener James Sidney. The picturesque design includes naturalistic water features, groves of coniferous trees, and curvilinear drives (1850). A secondary, western entrance was added in 1860 to complement the original southeastern entry, and from 1871 to 1898 superintendent Jon Boetcher improved the grounds with the addition of specimen trees throughout. By the late-nineteenth century, a northwestern entrance was established. Each of the three entrances are distinguished by wrought iron fences and gates.
From the southwestern and northwestern gates, drives rise gradually through densely canopied woodlands to meet a plateau with rolling topography. Curvilinear drives frame irregularly shaped parcels that include rows of burial markers and monuments. Several parcels are distinguished by mausoleums and feature coniferous and deciduous canopy trees planted individually and in groups. At the approximate center of the cemetery are two irregularly shaped lakes edged by groves of trees and drives. The westernmost water feature feeds a waterfall and stream crossed by a stone bridge. The southern section of the cemetery features several significant historic structures, including the Warren Chappel (1860) set atop a hillock, and the Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel and Crematorium (1889) by architects Fuller & Wheeler.
The cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and the Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel and Crematorium listed in 2004 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. The property is located within the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.
