Old Town of Flushing Burial Ground

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The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground is a 3.5-acre historic cemetery in Flushing, Queens, New York City, at 165th Street and 46th Avenue. It began in 1840 after cholera and smallpox outbreaks, created so that infected people could be buried away from church grounds. Over the years it was known by several names, including Pauper Burial Ground, Colored Cemetery of Flushing, and Martins Field. The city bought the site in 1914 and renamed it in 2009. The burial ground sits next to a children’s playground called Martin’s Field.

History and use
In the 1840s, fears of disease led town leaders to separate the burial of the sick from other graves. By the late 1800s the land was used mainly by African American and Native American communities. It stopped being a formal graveyard around 1898 and became part of the town green, and later a park. In 1936, Robert Moses led a Works Progress Administration project to build a modern playground on the site, alongside a wading pool and sports areas. During digging, workers found remains with pennies over the eyes, a grave practice also seen at other historic sites. The playground opened in 1938.

Awareness, archaeology, and numbers
In 1990, local activists began drawing attention to the cemetery’s history. A 1996 archaeological study estimated that between 500 and 1,000 people are buried there. Death records from 1881–1898 show that most burials were African American or Native American, many were unidentified, and more than half of the identified burials were children under five.

Renovation, commemoration, and today
In 2004, funding was approved for park renovations. In 2018 the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. That same year, funds were allocated to rebuild a commemorative plaza with a butterfly garden, new benches, and directions in the Lenape language. A memorial honoring the Africans and Native Americans buried there was dedicated in 2021. The park also features mature trees and plantings that honor Flushing’s history as a center of horticulture. The site is co-located with Martin’s Field and is accessible from the 165th Street entrance. In 2009 the site was officially named The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground.