Carmel
Bailey
Ballard-Barrett
Barrett
Belden
Carver
Cole
Crane
Fowler
Gilead
Gregory
Hill
Hughson
Kelley
Mt. Carmel Baptist
Old Baptist
Old Methodist
Old Presbyterian
Raymond Hill
Union Valley
Hughson Cemetery (a.k.a. Bolding Plot; Griffen Cemetery; Indian Cemetery)
Carmel, NY
| Current Status: | Closed |
| Description: | Many early graves are only marked with uncaptioned fieldstones. "An old burial lot on the Griffin farm (near the Averill place) north of Lake Mahopac is said to contain many Indian graves." - Eva DeWitt, in Hillery's history workshop booklets, 1955. "Over 40 stones unmarked." -Buys. |
| GPS: | N 41° 23.373' W 073° 44.029' |
| Location: | 535 North Lake Boulevard, Mahopac |
| How To Access: | North side of Lake Mahopac about .5 mile to the west of North Lake Boulevard. |
| Tax Map No.: | 65.9-1-11 |
| Owner of Record: | |
| Size & Use: | |
| Earliest Gravestone: | George Hughson, d. 1769 |
| Most Prominent: | |
| Current Condition: | |
| Maintained By: | Town of Carmel |
| Repairs Needed: | |
| Troy #: | 1K |
An Old Indian Burying-Ground
" At the north end of the lake, beyond "Longmeade," the summer home of Mrs. N. K. Averill, lying silently among the hills, is an ancient graveyard. There is a wonderfully high hedge lifting itself above the old tombstones covered with lichen and moss as if to keep back the sightseers from looking upon tokens placed by loving hands over departed dead.
"The site of this burying-ground is in the middle of the old Hughson Farm, which later passed into the hands of Lewis B. Griffin. Here manv members of the Griffin family are buried, as well as some of the old settlers and pioneers of this wild country. The oldest inscription found on the tombs is that of Michael Sloat, died August 4, 1815, age 58 years*. The most recent burial recorded by tombstone inscription is that of Phebe, wife of Benjamin Griffin, died December 11, 1849, age 92 years.
"As to the Indian part: They must have buried their dead somewhere. We do know that they always choose places for their dead near water and under big trees, that they buried them in sitting posture* and armed them with bow and arrow. No place has been found other than this that would correspond to these conditions. It would be a natural place for the Indian to choose. Local tradition has always had it that this was the exact spot. This tradition was strengthened at least once, so an old inhabitant told me. It was when a member of the Griffin/Wixom family was buried there. During an excavation for the grave some human bones were found, not in prostrate, but in upright, position. The skeleton held in his bony hands bow and arrow, as if he had been prepared for the long journey to the happy hunting grounds beyond."
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*Not correct. -Rev. U.G. Warren, 1906
References: Pelletreau p.333; Frost, 1897; Warren pp. 176-177; Hillery; Fisher p.63; Fisher #39; Buys p.154-155; News-Times 7/10/1981.
Click on a name below for photo of headstone and location in cemetary.
| B |
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| BALDWIN / BOLDING |
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| HUGHSON |
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| SLOAT / SLOOT |
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| WIXOM |
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| WRIGHT |
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