Chapman Drive Burial Site
Also known as Old Saint Joseph's Cemetery
Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York, USA
Located on the outskirts of the City of Amsterdam, this sad little collection of mostly busted up and tipped over gravemarkers is a shambles.
The burial site is located on a small hill of vacant land wedged between the barely used railroad tracks alongside Chapman Drive and a nearby industrial park -- like a buffer zone.
It's nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the graves from the road due to the high weeds and overgrown vegetation. Luckily, someone had recently cut down the weeds alongside the railroad track, finally allowing this cemetery to be located.
Property tax records indicate that the little over an acre of land is owned by "St. Joseph German Catholic Church." According to an article in the Amsterdam newspaper:
In 1884, Germans built the second Catholic church in the city—St. Joseph's on Guy Park Avenue, then called Spring Street. The church closed and was demolished many years ago. St.Joseph's also had French Canadian worshippers and served as a temporary home for Poles until Polish churches were built.
So St. Joseph's is defunct and the cemetery is "abandoned."
As reported in an old column by a local newspaper columnist/historian, someone suggested that the Chapman Drive graves belonged to children who died long ago in a diptheria epidemic. Since adults can be found among the graves, too, the diphtheria theory may or may not be true. No other information about these graves has been located to date.
Located on the outskirts of the City of Amsterdam, this sad little collection of mostly busted up and tipped over gravemarkers is a shambles.
The burial site is located on a small hill of vacant land wedged between the barely used railroad tracks alongside Chapman Drive and a nearby industrial park -- like a buffer zone.
It's nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the graves from the road due to the high weeds and overgrown vegetation. Luckily, someone had recently cut down the weeds alongside the railroad track, finally allowing this cemetery to be located.
Property tax records indicate that the little over an acre of land is owned by "St. Joseph German Catholic Church." According to an article in the Amsterdam newspaper:
In 1884, Germans built the second Catholic church in the city—St. Joseph's on Guy Park Avenue, then called Spring Street. The church closed and was demolished many years ago. St.Joseph's also had French Canadian worshippers and served as a temporary home for Poles until Polish churches were built.
So St. Joseph's is defunct and the cemetery is "abandoned."
As reported in an old column by a local newspaper columnist/historian, someone suggested that the Chapman Drive graves belonged to children who died long ago in a diptheria epidemic. Since adults can be found among the graves, too, the diphtheria theory may or may not be true. No other information about these graves has been located to date.
Nearby cemeteries
Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York, USA
- Total memorials4k+
- Percent photographed25%
- Percent with GPS14%
Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York, USA
- Total memorials397
- Percent photographed30%
- Percent with GPS7%
Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York, USA
- Total memorials2k+
- Percent photographed45%
- Percent with GPS16%
Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York, USA
- Total memorials318
- Percent photographed71%
- Percent with GPS1%
- Added: 1 Jan 2000
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 65536
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