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:
“No, in your rural letter box
I leave this note without a stamp
To tell you it was just a tramp
Who used your pasture for a camp.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“I am a cemetery abhorred by the moon.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“I have no acting technique.... I act instinctively. That’s why I can’t play any role that isn’t based on something in my life.”
—Ethel Waters (1900–1977)