Defunct Cemetery

This cemetery was consecrated in 1747 and had 17 recorded burials, including 10 Indians. According to historical writings, the cemetery was located on a hillside "near by" or "next to" the Crown's Inn (40° 36.792' N, 75° 22.985' W) in Bethlehem. Located on the current site of the Inn is a medical center. No remnants of the cemetery exist. The last recorded burial was Captain Jacob Wetterhold in 1763.

The location was near the intersection of Second and Ottoman Streets.

A quote from the Semi-Centennial Souvenir History of the Borough of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1865-1915: Quinlin Printing Co. (no date):

"Powell's successor as landlord of the Crown was Frederick Hartman. His wife dying the following year, her body was interred on the nearby hillside. Of the 17 recorded interments made in this primitive cemetery, ten were the bodies of Indians. The last recorded burial there was that of Captain Jacob Wetherhold[sic], who, with Sergeant McGuire, was wounded in a midnight attack by Indians on a tavern near the present village of Howertown."

Another account states that there were 22 burials here.

Described as the old grave-yard on the hill, on the south side of the Lehigh, near the intersection of second and Ottawa Streets. The spot was plowed over in the early part of the 19th century.

Mentioned in the book titled, "The Old Sun Inn, at Bethlehem, Pa., 1758: Now the Sun Hotel: An Authentic History", published in 1873.

Not sure where that intersection would be now.

The graveyard was located on rising ground, some thirty rods due south from the great spring...yet the big spring was noted as being about forty rods due north from the grave-yard. The graveyard was shown as a small enclosure in the center of woods.

There were 19 official records for people buried there between January 12th 1747 and October 9th 1767...but there were others, including some soldiers during the time of the Revolutionary War.