Protection eyed for war-era cemetery

Weeds and poison ivy for years covered a small plot of land sandwiched between two homes and a golf course in Flower Hill.

But a determined Boy Scout unearthed the Revolutionary War-era history of the site that may now gain protected status.

For his Eagle Scout project, Flower Hill resident James Morgan McLaughlin, 19, last year organized a cleanup of the land that holds a cemetery dating to the country's formative years.

Now the Village of Flower Hill wants to get the 50-foot-by-55-foot parcel off Country Club Drive declared historic.

"When you go up there and look at the graves, they're so old," Village Administrator Ronnie Shatzkamer said. "It's something that I think would be interesting to somebody who likes history."

Towns across Long Island are looking for ways to reclaim and maintain old cemeteries. Some rely on civic groups, volunteers or Scouts.

McLaughlin learned about the cemetery's existence from John W. Walter, Flower Hill mayor from 1988 to 1996 and the unofficial village historian. He had encouraged an Eagle Scout applicant to first clean up the property in the 1990s and he encouraged McLaughlin, who was looking for a project, to do so again.

"I said 'This is a mess,' we need to get this cleaned up," Walter said.

McLaughlin spent hours researching the site, crafting a cleanup proposal and finding volunteers to help.

"It was pretty hectic, worrying that no one would show up or there would be a catastrophic injury," said McLaughlin, a SUNY Oswego sophomore studying broadcast journalism and mass communications.

More than 40 friends and Scouts helped out, digging up weeds a foot high and moving piles of branches as they stepped between the graves.

Eight markers were counted, but more graves may exist. At least one holds the remnants of plastic flowers, signaling a possible living relative.

Those buried at the site, known unofficially as the Burtis/Ireland cemetery, lived in the time of Napoleon and America's Founding Fathers. According to headstones and records, the first burial occurred in 1803, the year of the Louisiana Purchase. The last was in 1854, when Smith & Wesson patented its revolver cartridges.

Weathered headstones identify family names including Burtis, Ireland, Johnson and Spencer.

Elizabeth Sands Ireland, whose family settled Sands Point, is buried there.

Some of the weeds have grown back and an animal built a nest among the graves.

"That tree is starting to rot and it might fall down, which would be very bad," McLaughlin said.

The North Hempstead Town Board has authorized the village to care for the Burtis/Ireland property. The village attorney is reviewing the paperwork.

Once that's settled, an application to the National Register of Historic Places can be filed, Shatzkamer said.