On Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8:30 a.m., as part of the commemoration of Veteran’s Day, The Town of North Hempstead and Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society invite the community to participate in a ceremony honoring the service of 12 American Revolutionary War Patriots buried in Monfort Cemetery.
During the ceremony, special markers and American flags will be placed at the gravesites of the local patriots.
The Monfort Cemetery is located at the intersection of Port Washington Boulevard and Main Street, just behind and up the hill from the post office.
The cemetery usually closed to the public, is a town landmark and is on the State and National Registries of Historic Places. An active burial ground from at least 1737 to 1892 the site contains some of the town’s earliest settlers including the Onderdonk, Hegeman, Dodge, Rapelje, and Schenck families.
The Monfort Cemetery was cared for until 1984 by Burtis Monfort and then deeded to the town by him.
Currently, the Town of North Hempstead’s historian Ross Lumpkin and town officials have joined volunteers from the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society in an ongoing effort to raise the funds needed to restore the deteriorating gravestones, as well as to preserve and honor the Colonial and American historical legacy in the cemetery.
The community is advised that the cemetery is hilly and contains tree roots & low-level stones, so appropriate footwear is advised at all times on the site.
For More Information:
About the Town of North Hempstead
Ross Lumpkin, Town Historian
