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Methodist Episcopal Churchyard and Vault

Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA

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  • Get directions W 20th Street
    Manhattan, New York 10011 United States
    Coordinates: 40.74362, -74.00086
  • Cemetery ID:

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The Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1835, making it one of the first four Methodist churches in New York City. A small wooden building on West 20th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, provided a place for services. There was a cemetery in the churchyard that was probably active until 1851 when the city banned burials below 86th Street.

In 1885, the members decided to enlarge and remodel the church, and to pay for the work they decided to empty the 128 vaults in the churchyard and sell the property. After some difficulty in convincing the families to agree to disinterment, about 300 bodies were removed to Woodlawn Cemetery in Queens. Public vaults behind the parsonage were undisturbed and apparently forgotten.

The old 18th Street church was demolished in 1950 and replaced with a six-story apartment building. During excavation for the new building, bones and eleven skulls were unearthed that were estimated to be between 100 and 125 years old. The new congregation assumed responsibility of the remains and reinterred them to a cemetery plot owned by the church.





The Eighteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1835, making it one of the first four Methodist churches in New York City. A small wooden building on West 20th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, provided a place for services. There was a cemetery in the churchyard that was probably active until 1851 when the city banned burials below 86th Street.

In 1885, the members decided to enlarge and remodel the church, and to pay for the work they decided to empty the 128 vaults in the churchyard and sell the property. After some difficulty in convincing the families to agree to disinterment, about 300 bodies were removed to Woodlawn Cemetery in Queens. Public vaults behind the parsonage were undisturbed and apparently forgotten.

The old 18th Street church was demolished in 1950 and replaced with a six-story apartment building. During excavation for the new building, bones and eleven skulls were unearthed that were estimated to be between 100 and 125 years old. The new congregation assumed responsibility of the remains and reinterred them to a cemetery plot owned by the church.




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  • Added: 25 Oct 2013
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2517422