from the Columbia Paper

The mystery of Mr. Rogers' cemetery
January 6, 2013 by EMILIA TEASDALE

The small plot of land, with 15 gravestones dating as far back as 1840s, is a cemetery for "the people of color of Kinderhook." The land was set aside for this use by John Rogers, an Irish immigrant to the village, who lived in a house across the street from the Dutch Reformed Church on Albany Avenue (Route 9) and owned the land that would be become Rothermel Park. Mr. Rogers asked the land be used for the cemetery in his will in 1813.

Somewhere in Rothermel Park is the burial site of African American residents of the area. The headstones now sit next to the baseball fields in the access road entrance to the park, a place for all to visit.



The 1815 will of Irishman John Rogers, owner of the home that is currently 24 Broad Street, specified that one quarter acre of his land be "intended as a cemetery for the people of colour". In 2016 this cemetery, with its 15 remaining headstones, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Community donations of both funds and voluntary time and labor have greatly enhanced The Persons of Color Cemetery located next to Rothermel Park. Most recently The Garden Club of Kinderhook has volunteered to provide annual plantings at the cemetery. Private donations have resulted in the installation of wrought iron fencing sections and planters. Oakwood Fencing donated historically correct fencing sections. Kinderhook's Department of Public Works has refurbished the fencing and installed the sections, mounted on surplus granite blocks. Planters have been installed between fencing sections, each containing shrubs and flowering plants. These improvements are made possible by funding from local residents.