Presbyterian Burying Ground
Presbyterian Burying Ground as it appeared in 2014, transformed into Volta Park
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| Details | |
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| Established | August 22, 1802 |
| Location | Georgetown, Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°54′44″N 77°04′01″W / 38.91224°N 77.067077°WCoordinates: 38°54′44″N 77°04′01″W / 38.91224°N 77.067077°W |
| Type | Closed 1887; demolished August 1909 |
| Owned by | Georgetown Presbyterian Church |
| Size | 400 by 350 feet (120 by 110 m) (3.2 acres (13,000 m2)) |
| No. of graves | about 2,700 |
The Presbyterian Burying Ground, also known as the Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, was a historic cemetery which existed between 1802 and 1909 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was one of the most prominent cemeteries in the city until the 1860s. Burials there tapered significantly after Oak Hill Cemetery was founded nearby in 1848. The Presbyterian Burying Ground closed to new burials in 1887, and about 500 to 700 bodies were disinterred after 1891 when an attempt was made to demolish the cemetery and use the land for housing. The remaining graves fell into extensive disrepair. After a decade of effort, the District of Columbia purchased the cemetery in 1909 and built Volta Park there, leaving nearly 2,000 bodies buried at the site. Occasional human remains and tombstones have been discovered at the park since its construction. A number of figures important in the early history of Georgetown and Washington, D.C., military figures, politicians, merchants, and others were buried at Presbyterian Burying Ground.
In 1780, Reverend Stephen Bloomer Balch established the Presbyterian Congregation in Georgetown (now known as Georgetown Presbyterian Church). The new Presbyterian congregation originally met in a local home, but in 1782 it built its first church home on the southeast corner of 30th and M Streets NW. It was the only Protestant church in the District of Columbia until 1805. The congregation grew swiftly, and the church was enlarged in 1793 and 1802. Originally, a small parish graveyard existed alongside the church, but it quickly filled to capacity.
The Presbyterian Burying Ground was established by Georgetown Presbyterian Church on August 22, 1802, in an area now bounded by 4th, 5th, Market and Frederick Streets (now Volta Place NW and P, 33rd, and 34th Streets NW). Land for both the cemetery and a new Georgetown Presbyterian Church were donated by Dr. Charles Beatty, who provided a building lot of 1,500 square feet (140 m2) on the block. Beatty required that the property be used for either a church or a cemetery, and that the property should revert to Beatty's heirs if not used for either purpose. (Furthermore, the act of Congress of March 28, 1806, under which Georgetown Presbyterian Church was incorporated stipulated that the graveyard could not be used for any other purpose or disposed of.) Dr. Beatty also donated a building lot on the block to the Methodist Episcopal Church, but this land became an annex of cemetery when the Methodists declined to build there. Dr. Beatty soon donated six more lots to Georgetown Presbyterian for use as a cemetery, giving the grounds a little over 3 acres (12,000 m2). The burying ground (the term "cemetery" did not come into use until mid-century) was located in a middle-class neighborhood. On the south side of 4th Street in the southeast corner were the "20 Buildings"—two-story brick rowhouses constructed by Scottish workers who labored on the construction of the United States Capitol.
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Wikipedia