Senate Resolution No. 2290

BY: Senator REICHLIN-MELNICK

COMMEMORATING the 175th Anniversary of Rockland
Cemetery to be celebrated on May 21, 2022

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize
milestones of significance which provide vital service to the
communities of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 175th Anniversary of Rockland Cemetery to be celebrated
on Saturday, May 21, 2022, with a Reception on the Front Lawn; and

WHEREAS, Rockland Cemetery, a non-profit and non-sectarian cemetery,
was originally established with the vision of becoming a national
cemetery for political notables and military heroes; and

WHEREAS, The Cemetery was organized in 1847 by Dr. Eleazar Lord who
was an author, educator, and the first President of the Erie Railroad;
and

WHEREAS, Dr. Lord envisioned a cemetery that would become prominent
as the final resting place for not only the deceased of the New York
City area but would be a magnet for notables on a national scale; and

WHEREAS, With the foregoing as his plan, Dr. Lord brought his
railroad and passengers with it to the little town of Piermont; almost
overnight, the town became a flourishing rail and water hub between New
York City and points north and west; and

WHEREAS, The original hamlet of Tappan Landing was renamed Piermont
by Dr. Lord; and

WHEREAS, History intervened and, according to an earlier chronicler,
the Erie Railroad received a belated charter from the State of New
Jersey requiring it to run its trains directly from Suffern, New York to
Jersey City, New Jersey; Piermont, and Rockland Cemetery with it, was
left in the backwater of progress; and

WHEREAS, In 1880, a group of Piermont residents raised $50,000.00
toward the development of roads, bridges and other necessary
improvements to facilitate access to the Cemetery; and

WHEREAS, There was significant interest to make Rockland Cemetery a
national cemetery; General John C. Fremont was interred there in 1890
with high hope that he might be the first of many prominent Americans to
be buried there; and

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to observe events
which symbolize the historical, social, and cultural development of this
great Empire State and embody the principles upon which this Nation was
founded; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 175th Anniversary of Rockland Cemetery to be celebrated
on Saturday, May 21, 2022; and

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Staff and Board of Directors of the Rockland
Cemetery.