8. St. James Churchyard, Brooklyn

This burial ground surrounding the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in downtown Brooklyn was founded in 1822. The church was built first (as the first Catholic church in Brooklyn), and the cemetery was later established around it for clergy and laity. When the original land became too full, more land was obtained. Between 1839 and 1849, about 7,000 people were buried here.

However, this number sharply decreased and by 1900, there were only 200 tombstones, and by 1914, there were only 100. According to the New York Cemetery Project, “Many graves reportedly are beneath the rear of the church, covered over when the church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1902.”