Gideon Putnam Burying Ground
Encyclopedia
The Gideon Putnam Burying Ground is located on South Franklin Street in Saratoga Springs
, New York, United States. It contains over 150 graves of early and mid-19th century residents of the city, all from the period between 1812 and 1871. It was restored in the 1980s after suffering from almost a century of neglect.
Gideon Putnam
was the city's founder. He built one of its first resort hotels, and laid out the grid plan
that guided its subsequent development. He intended for this parcel to be used as a public cemetery, and became its first burial after his death from injuries sustained in a construction accident. His grave is the only extant remnant of his presence in the city he founded.
His premature death and burial meant that, apart from the Putnam family plot, it was not used much as a public cemetery since no plans or preparation had been made for that purpose. In 2003 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
and West Side
historic districts
. The neighborhood is residential, with houses across South Franklin to the west and an apartment complex on the east. A chainlink fence runs along South Franklin.
There are 161 marked graves scattered around the property, in no regular pattern. Most headstone
s are of marble
or granite
; some are unadorned and others show common 19th-century funerary art
such as urn-and-willow motifs. On a rise in the north central portion is the Putnam family plot, surrounded by a fieldstone
wall with smooth stone coping
. Access to it is provided by a wrought iron
gate with stone lintel. The graves of Gideon Putnam and his wife are marked by obelisks.
. It was a success.
Three years later, in 1805, he bought the 130 acres (52.6 ha) surrounding the spring and began laying out a plan for the village of Saratoga Springs. When published in 1810, it included the current parcel as a non-sectarian community burial ground.
The next year, Putnam fell from a scaffold while overseeing the construction of another hotel, Congress Hall. He ultimately died of complications from the injuries late in 1812 and became the burying ground's first occupant. Since it had not yet been prepared for use as a cemetery, and there was no entity to oversee its use, no plan was in place.
The Putnams continued to use it as their family plot, and allowed other local residents to be buried there with their permission. They turned it over to the village in 1835, three years after the construction of the Schenectady & Saratoga Railroad and the extension of South Franklin Street had required new boundaries on the east and west.
Burials increased in the 1830s and 1840s after it became a public graveyard. The neighborhood around it continued to grow and be developed
, leaving it somewhat isolated from other open space and the village's downtown. In 1844 a new, larger public cemetery was opened on the west of the village, and burials trailed off until the last one occurred in 1871.
Maintenance declined, and within four years residents deplored the neglected condition of the cemetery, with overturned headstones and overgrown graves. A survey conducted in 1876 recorded 250 separate inscriptions, but as the neglect continued into the 20th century, the decay and vandalism
took their toll. By 1922 the local Daughters of the American Revolution
could identify just 89 graves.
Extensive restoration efforts in the 1980s led to the current number of graves identified. Since then it has been regularly maintained and secured.
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
, New York, United States. It contains over 150 graves of early and mid-19th century residents of the city, all from the period between 1812 and 1871. It was restored in the 1980s after suffering from almost a century of neglect.
Gideon Putnam
Gideon Putnam
Gideon Putnam was an entrepreneur and a founder of Saratoga Springs, New York. He also worked as a miller and built the city's Grand Union and Congress Hotels...
was the city's founder. He built one of its first resort hotels, and laid out the grid plan
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
that guided its subsequent development. He intended for this parcel to be used as a public cemetery, and became its first burial after his death from injuries sustained in a construction accident. His grave is the only extant remnant of his presence in the city he founded.
His premature death and burial meant that, apart from the Putnam family plot, it was not used much as a public cemetery since no plans or preparation had been made for that purpose. In 2003 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Property
The cemetery is on an irregularly shaped 1.1 acres (4,451.5 m²) plot on the east side of South Franklin just south of Grand Avenue, opposite the Oak Street junction. It is just outside the BroadwayBroadway Historic District (Saratoga Springs, New York)
The Broadway Historic District is located along that street in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It has a twofold character. The southern section is the commercial core of the city, with many of its important public and private buildings, most intact from the its peak days as a resort town...
and West Side
West Side Historic District (Saratoga Springs, New York)
The West Side Historic District is a residential area of Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, located west of its downtown section. It is a area extending from the blocks west of Broadway to extensions along Church and Washington streets...
historic districts
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. The neighborhood is residential, with houses across South Franklin to the west and an apartment complex on the east. A chainlink fence runs along South Franklin.
There are 161 marked graves scattered around the property, in no regular pattern. Most headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
s are of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
or granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
; some are unadorned and others show common 19th-century funerary art
Funerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. Tomb is a general term for the repository, while grave goods are objects—other than the primary human remains—which have been placed inside...
such as urn-and-willow motifs. On a rise in the north central portion is the Putnam family plot, surrounded by a fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
wall with smooth stone coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
. Access to it is provided by a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
gate with stone lintel. The graves of Gideon Putnam and his wife are marked by obelisks.
History
Putnam arrived in the area in 1789 from his native Connecticut to get into the lumber business. He soon saw the potential of the springs to attract visitors to the region, and built the first hotel, Putnam's Tavern (later the Union House) in 1802 near Congress Spring in what is today Congress ParkCanfield Casino and Congress Park
Canfield Casino and Congress Park is a site in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It was the site of the former Congress Spring Bottling Plant and the former Congress Hall, a large resort hotel, which together brought Saratoga Springs international fame as a health spa and gambling site...
. It was a success.
Three years later, in 1805, he bought the 130 acres (52.6 ha) surrounding the spring and began laying out a plan for the village of Saratoga Springs. When published in 1810, it included the current parcel as a non-sectarian community burial ground.
The next year, Putnam fell from a scaffold while overseeing the construction of another hotel, Congress Hall. He ultimately died of complications from the injuries late in 1812 and became the burying ground's first occupant. Since it had not yet been prepared for use as a cemetery, and there was no entity to oversee its use, no plan was in place.
The Putnams continued to use it as their family plot, and allowed other local residents to be buried there with their permission. They turned it over to the village in 1835, three years after the construction of the Schenectady & Saratoga Railroad and the extension of South Franklin Street had required new boundaries on the east and west.
Burials increased in the 1830s and 1840s after it became a public graveyard. The neighborhood around it continued to grow and be developed
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
, leaving it somewhat isolated from other open space and the village's downtown. In 1844 a new, larger public cemetery was opened on the west of the village, and burials trailed off until the last one occurred in 1871.
Maintenance declined, and within four years residents deplored the neglected condition of the cemetery, with overturned headstones and overgrown graves. A survey conducted in 1876 recorded 250 separate inscriptions, but as the neglect continued into the 20th century, the decay and vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
took their toll. By 1922 the local Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
could identify just 89 graves.
Extensive restoration efforts in the 1980s led to the current number of graves identified. Since then it has been regularly maintained and secured.