Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground

Students in a Queens College Public History class worked with the Burial Ground Conservancy to document the history of the site.

Why

In Spring 2016 and Fall 2020, Queens Memory collaborated with Dr. Johnathan Thayer’s graduate Public History classes at Queens College on their work to document and preserve the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground, a local history site that has been the focus of a great deal of community activism. The Burial Ground was originally used for African-American, Native American and “pauper” burials, but in the 1930s was paved over and turned into a NYC park called Martin’s Field, featuring a children’s playground. A group of local residents (the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy), including some descendants of those buried at the site, have fought a long battle with the city to get the land recognized as a cemetery, and have finally won some progress in recent years. Students researched the site’s history, created multimedia public history projects and conducted interviews with Conservancy members as well as others connected with the site.

Location

Flushing, NY

Audience

Students in the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies conducted research and interviews, connecting with members of the Burial Ground’s Conservancy and other community members interested in the site.

How the participants were reached or discovered

Members of the Conservancy worked with students and faculty directly and also suggested other participants. Students also discovered other research topics and interview subjects on their own.

How was it done

Oral History
Digitization
Exhibition
Genealogy
Documentary video
Other

Results

The project has been very successful by all accounts. The students undertook a variety of individual research efforts that culminated in presentations attended by many community members. The information they uncovered about the history of the site — particularly a list of burials and biographical information about individuals interred there — aided the Conservancy in its successful effort to have the cemetery recognized as a state and federal Historic Site. In 2018, the City allocated $1.6 million for the construction of a memorial plaza at the site that will make use of student research. The students also contributed oral history interviews, documentary video, photographs, genealogical data, and other multimedia products related to the Burial Ground to the Queens Memory collection.

Students and faculty have continued to work with the Conservancy to discuss the work at public programs and academic conferences. In addition, an exhibit at the Queens Museum, Monuments to an Effigy, was inspired by the history of and work done at the site.

On Saturday, October 28, 2023, the Conservancy celebrated another milestone – the co-naming of 46th Avenue alongside the Burial Ground as “Old Towne Burial Ground Lane.” At the unveiling ceremony, elected officials including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, sponsoring District 20 Council Member Sandra Ung and New York State Senator John Liu spoke of the importance of preserving and educating the public about the site’s history. Conservancy Co-Chair Robbie Garrison gave a brief overview of the reclamation process that began with Mandingo Tshaka and thanked the many people who have contributed to the success of the effort, including Prof. Thayer and his Public History students. The event concluded with a traditional Native American blessing to the four winds by Chief Little Fox of the Matinecock Tribe.

Conservancy Co-Chair Robbie Garrison (center, holding sign) poses with other Conservancy board members, Community Board members and elected officials at the start of the co-naming ceremony.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and District 20 Council Member Sandra Ung spoke of the importance of acknowledging the site’s history.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz (left), in her previous position as Borough President, was instrumental in securing funding for the memorial wall at the Burial Ground.

The new sign is at the intersection of 164th Street and 46th Avenue, alongside the Burial Ground.

Chief Little Fox of the Matinecock Tribe gives a traditional Native American blessing to the four winds at the conclusion of the street co-naming ceremony.

On November 9, 2021, the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground hosted a public unveiling of the memorial featuring etchings of the four marble headstones once marking the graves at the cemetery. The names of 399 of the interred – most of which were discovered by student researchers in the two Public History classes – are engraved on the face of the memorial. Space has been left for the addition of more names, should they be found.

The ceremony was conducted by the New York City Parks Department and featured speakers including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens District Attorney (and former Borough President) Melinda Katz, and Congresswoman Grace Meng.

The event attracted a good deal of media coverage, including this account at QNS.com and spots on local television such as this clip from WPIX channel 11.

The Burial Ground site now features a central butterfly garden surrounded by pavers engraved with four Native American terms.

Burial Ground Conservancy members plus local politicians pose for the ribbon-cutting in front of the new memorial wall.

Among the attendees were (l. to r.) Lori Wallach, Queens Memory outreach coordinator; Prof. Johnathan Thayer, Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies; and Rudy Hartmann, a member of the 2016 Public History class who provided key research on the names of the interred. (Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Colson)

Student Projects Resulting From Public History Classes

Using Censuses to Research the Black, Native American, and Mixed-Race Community in Flushing, Queens, 1850-1950 by Lori Rothstein

Video documentary filmed on-site at the Burial Ground

Oral history interviews with individuals involved in preserving the Burial Ground:

Genealogical profiles of individuals interred at the Burial Ground:

How-To Guide for Landmarking Burial Grounds by Yingwen Huang

Analysis of Death Records Associated With the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground by Rudy Hartmann

Spreadsheet Listing Individual Interments at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground by Rudy Hartmann, Mitsuko Brooks, Sarah Healy, Riah L. Kinsey, Amy Mackin and Carlos Rodriguez

The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground: Lesson Plan Series by Maura Sobocinski Johnson and Sinead Lamel

Interactive Map of Historic Burial Grounds of Queens Public Parks by Aimee Lusty

Main lessons learned

Queens Memory plans to continue collaborating with the Burial Ground Conservancy, Dr. Johnathan Thayer, and the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. For future work, we will consult with Conservancy members early on about their next goals for the site, and will work closely with students to help shape their individual projects. It can be challenging to balance students’ learning goals and the choices of tools they employ in their individual projects with the needs of long-term stakeholders and their capabilities for maintenance. Some questions we will address in future semesters before students begin their work are: “Is there an existing project we can meaningfully advance?” and “What ongoing maintenance will this project require, and is there a commitment from a long-term stakeholder to provide it?”

Credits

The Public History classes were taught by Dr. Johnathan Thayer of Queens College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. Lori Wallach, Queens Memory’s Outreach Coordinator at the college, helped train students to do interviews and prepare materials for submission to the archive. Conservancy officers and board members including Mandingo Osceola Tshaka, Robbie Garrison, Sally Mehreteab and Maureen Regan represented the Burial Ground, and Chief Little Fox (Samuel Steven Boyd Jr.) of the Matinecock Nation provided important information on the Native American history of the site.

Video from the Afterlives conference, co-hosted by the CUNY Public History Collective and the CUNY Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, October 28, 2016. The session was moderated by Dr. Johnathan Thayer; panelists were Robbie Garrison of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground Conservancy; Queens College Public History students Regina Carra, Jeffrey Delgado, Cristina Fontánez Rodríguez and Rudy Hartmann; and Queens Memory Outreach Coordinator Lori Wallach

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