{"nrhp_refnum":"07001204","name":"Machpelah Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"North St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"LeRoy","county":"Genesee County","state":"NY","lat":42.98599236200005,"lon":-77.98398043154256,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 24.7-acre rural cemetery on North Street in LeRoy, Genesee County, New York, begun in 1858 under George Blodgett, with later landscape additions by Alling DeForest of Rochester.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an intact, distinctive mid-nineteenth century rural cemetery with rolling hills, naturalistic plantings, curvilinear drives and notable funerary art and architecture. Early twentieth-century additions by landscape architect Alling DeForest reflect City Beautiful design principles and are also considered significant.","narrative":"Machpelah Cemetery occupies 24.7 acres on the west side of North Street in LeRoy, New York, bounded by Oatka Creek. George Blodgett began it in 1858 on eight acres of former wheat field, aiming for a park-like setting unlike the village's earlier row-style burying grounds. Rolling terrain, curved drives, mature plantings and limestone retaining walls give the older sections a picturesque character. Structures include the 1870 granite Lampson Mausoleum, the 1910 Gothic limestone Lathrop Chapel, and the 1909 neoclassical Woodward Mausoleum. After Orator Woodward died in 1906, the cemetery expanded southward under a plan by Rochester landscape architect Alling DeForest, with a tree-lined avenue leading to the Woodward Mausoleum in a landscaped circle. Limestone pillars and wrought iron fencing mark the boundaries and entrances. More than 6,500 gravesites hold roughly 5,500 burials, including nearly 400 veterans, with monuments reflecting regional funerary art from the late nineteenth century onward.","period_of_significance":"1858-1953","architect_builder":"George Blodgett; Alling DeForest","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Gothic; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Cemetery remains in active use; the Dann family vault is fenced off pending funds for repair after stone shifts damaged its roof.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.734972-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/07001204.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001204/492d79713b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001204/492d79713b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodward_Mausoleum_at_Machpelah_Cemetery,_Le_Roy,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Woodward_Mausoleum_at_Machpelah_Cemetery,_Le_Roy,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317905","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machpelah_Cemetery_(Le_Roy,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6723846"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/genesee-county/machpelah-cemetery-07001204/"}