{"nrhp_refnum":"81000415","name":"Fort Golgotha and the Old Burial Hill Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Main St. and Nassau Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Huntington","county":"Suffolk County","state":"NY","lat":40.871630449000065,"lon":-73.42341090999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-03-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2.5-acre site in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York, combining the archaeological remains of a British Revolutionary War fort built in 1782 with the Old Burial Hill Cemetery, which surrounds it. The fort was built under Colonel Benjamin Thompson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the site is significant for its historical associations and research potential. The fort was built late in the war, apparently to harass local patriots, and its builders used cemetery headstones as tables and ovens. Archaeology could clarify the fort's purpose, and the cemetery's headstones have revealed colonial trade networks.","narrative":"Fort Golgotha and the Old Burial Hill Cemetery occupy a small hill in Huntington, Long Island, overlooking the harbor and Long Island Sound. The cemetery was in use by about 1700, and the remains of a British earthwork fort built in November 1782 lie within its limits. Colonel Benjamin Thompson, later known as Count Rumford, oversaw construction while peace negotiations were already under way. Local accounts say his men used tombstones as tables and ovens, and more than one hundred headstones are believed to have been destroyed. The fort's purpose remains debated, with defense, winter shelter and deliberate harassment of residents all suggested. Excavations in 1973 and 1980 recovered military artifacts and traces of floors, and further work could clarify the fort's function. The surviving headstones have also served research, showing that early stones came from Connecticut, Boston, Newport and elsewhere, which reveals colonial trade patterns. The town owns the site and uses it as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1782","architect_builder":"Colonel Benjamin Thompson","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B","C","D"],"status_note":"Owned and maintained by the Town of Huntington and used as a museum; the last burial was in 1948. Visible fort remains are meager, and two archaeological investigations have been carried out.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.948346-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/81000415.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000415/d4058859c7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000415/d4058859c7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"DanTD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Golgotha;_Soldiers_and_Sailors_Memorial_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">DanTD</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:Fort_Golgotha;_Soldiers_and_Sailors_Memorial_Building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322115","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Golgotha_and_the_Old_Burial_Hill_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5471233"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/suffolk-county/fort-golgotha-and-the-old-burial-hill-cemetery-81000415/"}