Beneath the trees and grass is the final resting place for nearly 1,000 people. The majority are of African descent and Native American. Some are poor white people, many died during the cholera and smallpox epidemics in the mid-1800s.

"They are buried here too, because at that time, most of the burials were churchyards and people who had these churches were afraid that if they bring in bodies of people who have died into our churchyard, we may be spreading smallpox. We may be spreading cholera,” said Robbie Garrison, the chairperson of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy.

What You Need To Know

  • A Flushing park is the final resting grounds for nearly 1,000 people

  • The majority of the people buried there are African American and Native American

  • The last burial at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground was in 1898
  • The cemetery was turned into a park in 1936 and largely forgotten until local activists fought for proper recognition

The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy is a small, civic-minded group that fought to put the cemetery on 164th Street and 46th Avenue back on the map.  

"I think it's also good for people of New York to see that New York really does care and that everyone isn't a power broker,” said Garrison.

The last burial here was in 1898, it was turned over to the Parks Department in 1914. Then, in 1936 under Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, a playground was built. 

In the 1990s, local activist Mandingo Tshaka brought attention to the history of the site. 

"People who are deceased and buried, they should be respected,” said Tshaka, the founder of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy.

The park space has since been renovated and renamed the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground. It’s also now on the New York State and National Registry of Historic Places. Conservancy members hope it will serve as a teaching site.

“It having been paved over in the 1930s is a literal erasure of not only disrespect for the interred but for the history and what people know about this community,” said Sally Mehreteab, a member of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy.

On Tuesday, the Parks Department cut a ribbon for a new memorial plaza honoring the 318 people known to be buried here. 

“Today marks the importance of their stories, our reflection on their stories, our growth as a city and society,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff.

Four names on the bottom of the memorial signify the destruction of four marble tombstones when the park was built in the 1930s.

(Photo by Clodagh McGowan.)

Symbolically, there is also room left on the memorial in hopes of learning the names and stories of even more people buried here.