{"nrhp_refnum":"92000092","name":"Sands Family Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Off Sands Point Rd. just S of jct. with Middle Neck Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sands Point","county":"Nassau County","state":"NY","lat":40.85804137000008,"lon":-73.72295624099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-03-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A private family burial ground of about one acre on a wooded knoll on the west side of Sands Point Road in Sands Point, Nassau County, New York. It was begun with a burial in 1704 and formally set aside around 1711 by John Sands.","why_significant":"The cemetery is tied to the early settlement of the Cow Neck area and holds the graves of early settlers, Revolutionary War patriots and community leaders. Its 86 surviving headstones form a well-preserved collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century funerary art, several attributed to known master carvers. The stones' motifs and epitaphs show changing religious beliefs and funeral customs on western Long Island.","narrative":"Set on a wooded knoll off Sands Point Road, this roughly one-acre family burial ground began in 1704, when Captain John Sands buried his ten-year-old son George there. About 1711 Sands set the land aside as a family cemetery. Records indicate 112 people were buried there, and 86 sandstone, marble and slate markers survive, dating from 1704 to 1867. They include winged death's heads, a skull and crossbones, winged soul effigies, plain three-lobed tablets and white marble slabs, and several are attributed to carvers such as Henry Emmes and John Stevens II. Among those interred are early settlers, Revolutionary War militia officers and members of the Sons of Liberty, along with a West Point graduate and a soldier who built the Sands Point Lighthouse. The progression of carved designs and epitaphs reflects shifting religious beliefs and customs over two centuries. Its secluded setting has helped the cemetery keep a high level of integrity. The Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society now holds it in custody.","period_of_significance":"1704-1867","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["D"],"status_note":"Still used as a cemetery; in the custody of the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, which acts as agent for the Sands family. The last burial took place in 1867, and the site has high integrity.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.590189-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/92000092.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319195","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sands_Family_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7416897"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/nassau-county/sands-family-cemetery-92000092/"}