{"nrhp_refnum":"05000017","name":"Colden Family Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Off of Maple Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Montgomery","county":"Orange County","state":"NY","lat":41.52140886700005,"lon":-74.14542346499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small square family cemetery, about 70 feet on each side, east of Maple Avenue in the Town of Montgomery, Orange County, New York, established circa 1730 for the family of Cadwallader Colden, Sr. and enclosed by a bluestone wall.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cemetery is significant for its association with the prominent Colden family, who held political, social and economic influence in colonial New York and the Montgomery-Newburgh region. It is also significant for its collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century grave markers that show changing tastes in funerary art.","narrative":"Set on a slight rise east of Maple Avenue in Montgomery, Orange County, this small family burial ground measures roughly 70 feet square and is enclosed by a chest-high wall of uncoursed bluestone laid in lime mortar. Cadwallader Colden, Sr., a Loyalist statesman and acting governor of colonial New York, established it around 1730 for family members and enslaved people. Several generations are buried here, including Cadwallader Colden II and his wife Elizabeth Ellison Colden, as well as John Fell, a New Jersey judge and delegate to the Continental Congress. The elder Colden is buried on Long Island but is honored with a memorial tablet. The gravestones include eighteenth-century three-lobed markers, flat tablets over stone-lined crypts, and varied nineteenth-century stones with willow and urn motifs. Small uninscribed stones likely mark the graves of slaves and children. The site was recognized for its link to a influential colonial family and for its funerary art, though overgrowth and toppled markers reflect deferred maintenance.","period_of_significance":"c. 1730-1910","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Deferred maintenance has led to significant overgrowth within the walls and the toppling of some grave markers; the wall has a sheet metal cap to protect it from water infiltration.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.736752-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000017.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000017/500d3f24c7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000017/500d3f24c7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colden_Family_Cemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia.</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colden_Family_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320608","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colden_Family_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5142505"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/orange-county/colden-family-cemetery-05000017/"}