Home > United States of America > New York > Richmond County (Staten Island) > Staten Island > Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery

Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery

View larger map

Memorials	:	0
Location	:	Staten Island, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate	:	40.6216893, -74.0956989
Description	:	When Quarantine authorities were compelled to stop burying their dead within the Tompkinsville grounds in 1849, the state purchased four acres of land in the township of Castleton, near Silver Lake, for a new cemetery. The burial ground, known as Marine Cemetery or Quarantine Burying Ground, was located on the northwest side of the Richmond Turnpike (today’s Victory Boulevard) and “situated as to be at the greatest possible distance from an inhabited neighborhood, and over forty rods [660 feet] from the nearest public road, yet not more than about a mile distant from the Marine Hospital.” A high fence, with... Read More	When Quarantine authorities were compelled to stop burying their dead within the Tompkinsville grounds in 1849, the state purchased four acres of land in the township of Castleton, near Silver Lake, for a new cemetery. The burial ground, known as Marine Cemetery or Quarantine Burying Ground, was located on the northwest side of the Richmond Turnpike (today’s Victory Boulevard) and “situated as to be at the greatest possible distance from an inhabited neighborhood, and over forty rods [660 feet] from the nearest public road, yet not more than about a mile distant from the Marine Hospital.” A high fence, with well-secured gates, enclosed the grounds and a small house was erected in front of the enclosure for the permanent residence of the person in charge of the burial ground. Although the new cemetery satisfied the complaints of the inhabitants of the neighborhood of the Quarantine at Tompkinsville, it created a rift with the Town of Castleton, whose residents were alarmed to have the Quarantine dead transported by wagon through the village to the burial ground. The Castleton Board of Health made several attempts to prevent Quarantine authorities from sending bodies to the cemetery, but the state officials disregarded their prohibitions. An 1887 map showing the location of the Marine Cemetery, or Quarantine Burying Ground, near Silver Lake Over 5,000 individuals were interred at the Marine Cemetery between 1849 and 1858. After the Quarantine was moved from Tompkinsville, the Marine Cemetery at Silver Lake became impractical owing to its great distance from the new quarantine facilities. The cemetery’s status is discussed in the 1869 annual report of the Commissioners of Quarantine, who note that although it could no longer be used for its intended purpose, “as it is the resting place of thousands who have fallen victims to disease while under quarantine, it should still be treated as a part of the establishment, and preserved from injury or depredations.” In 1924 the cemetery became part of the grounds of Silver Lake Park and is now within the park’s golf course. Most of the people buried in the Quarantine cemeteries at Tompkinsville and Silver Lake were interred without markers, but occasionally friends or family members would arrange for tombstones to be placed at the graves. In 1888, 32 tombstones stood in the Marine Cemetery at Silver Lake; many were those that had been moved there from graves at the Tompkinsville grounds. The inscriptions on the gravestones provided a sample of some of the lives that came to an end at the Quarantine, including Andrew Staley, a “Native of Old England who fell a Victim to the Epidemic Fever” in 1805; William Crowther of London, who died of a fever on his return from Haiti “ere he could reach the arms of his expectant Family at Philadelphia” in 1818; and John Nicol, who was one of 40 yellow fever cases that came to the Quarantine from the frigate Susquehanna in April 1858. In 1923, only 24 tombstones remained in the graveyard and by the 1930s they had all disappeared, possibly buried under the soil when the golf course was constructed. Today the cemetery is memorialized by a bronze plaque embedded in a boulder near the 18th hole of the golf course; it reads, “The Forgotten Burial Ground 1849-1858.” The Quarantine Cemetery at Silver Lake in 1917 Gravestones in the Quarantine Burying Ground at Silver Lake in 1928 (NYPL)

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery?
Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery is located at Staten Island, Richmond County (Staten Island) ,New York ,USA.
Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery cemetery's updated grave count on graveviews.com?
0 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery?
Latitude: 40.6216893
Longitude: -74.0956989

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Silver Mount Cemetery
Sunnyside, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6218987, -74.0952988

2. Silver Lake Cemetery
Sunnyside, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6206017, -74.0971985

3. Woodland Cemetery
Sunnyside, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6194000, -74.0982971

4. Seamans Retreat Cemetery
Clifton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6210780, -74.0793590

5. Old Clove Baptist Cemetery
Emerson Hill, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6087494, -74.0913010

6. Saint Peter's Cemetery
West New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6225014, -74.1138992

7. Sailors Snug Harbor Cemetery
New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6378100, -74.1001400

8. Saint Pauls Memorial Church Memorial Garden
Stapleton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6324010, -74.0789740

9. Saint Marys Episcopal Church Columbarium
West New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6353170, -74.1086150

10. Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
Staten Island, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6152230, -74.0738583

11. Unitarian Church of Staten Island Memorial Garden
New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6430780, -74.0986540

12. Christ Church New Brighton Columbarium
New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6436900, -74.0930570

13. Robert Randall Burial Site
West New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6447190, -74.1019820

14. Marine Hospital Quarantine Cemetery
Richmond, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6414530, -74.0775400

15. Fairview Cemetery
Castleton Corners, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6108017, -74.1256027

16. Fountain Cemetery
West New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6385994, -74.1203003

17. Staten Island Cemetery
West New Brighton, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6385994, -74.1211014

18. New York Nursery and Child's Hospital Cemetery
Staten Island, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6053770, -74.1247560

19. Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery
Grasmere, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.5954100, -74.0819700

20. Saint Johns Lutheran Church Cemetery
Staten Island, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6315010, -74.1307430

21. Second Asbury AME Cemetery
Port Richmond, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6241730, -74.1369390

22. Reformed Church on Staten Island Cemetery
Port Richmond, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6398300, -74.1321500

23. Van Deventer Family Burial Ground
Fort Wadsworth, Richmond County (Staten Island), USA
Coordinate: 40.6018710, -74.0594250

24. Constable Hook Cemetery
Bayonne, Hudson County, USA
Coordinate: 40.6576360, -74.1068710

Silver Lake Quarantine Cemetery

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Memorials:

Nearby Cemetories: