The Rural Cemetery Act was a law passed by the New York Legislature on April 27, 1847, that authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state. The law led to burial of human remains becoming a commercial business for the first time, replacing the traditional practice of burying the dead in churchyards and on private farmland. One effect of the law was the development of a large concentration of cemeteries along the border between the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.
The law's enactment came during an era when a burgeoning urban population was crowding out Manhattan churchyards traditionally used for burials and the concept of the rural cemetery on the outskirts of a city was becoming stylish.
Read more about Rural Cemetery Act: Provisions and Effects of The Law, Long-term Impacts
Famous quotes containing the words rural, cemetery and/or act:
“Nor rural sights alone, but rural sounds,
Exhilarate the spirit, and restore
The tone of languid Nature.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)
“The cemetery isn’t really a place to make a statement.”
—Mary Elizabeth Baker, U.S. cemetery committee head. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 15 (June 13, 1988)
“All the world is full of inscape and chance left free to act falls into an order as well as purpose.”
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)