{"nrhp_refnum":"95001278","name":"Moravia Union Cemetery","other_names":["Dry Creek Cemetery"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"NY 38","address_restricted":false,"city":"Moravia","county":"Cayuga County","state":"NY","lat":42.701962147000074,"lon":-76.41732533499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-acre rural burial ground, also called Dry Creek Cemetery, on N.Y. Route 38 just south of the village of Moravia, Cayuga County, New York. It was opened in 1807 near the east bank of Dry Creek.","why_significant":"It is Moravia's earliest community burial ground and holds the graves of many of the village's first settlers and leading citizens. The nomination ties it to the initial settlement and development of Moravia by New England migrants. It is also noted for its age, its isolated rural setting, and early New England-style carved headstones.","narrative":"Moravia Union Cemetery, also known as Dry Creek Cemetery, is a three-acre burial ground on the southern edge of the village of Moravia, New York. Opened in 1807 on land the First Congregational Church Society bought from Moses Little, it became the community's earliest burial place. It is thought to hold about 350 graves, with roughly 180 markers still standing. Most are early to mid-nineteenth century marble, sandstone or slate slabs carved with urns, willows, rising suns and funerary verses in the New England tradition. Settlers buried here include a tavern owner, a woolen mill builder, the first schoolteacher and the first Methodist pastor. A flood on July 21, 1863 washed out part of the western edge and at least 13 coffins or bodies. That event led townspeople to found a new cemetery, and the old ground saw only occasional burials after that, the last in 1940. The 1807 to 1863 period reflects the cemetery's role in early settlement.","period_of_significance":"1807-1863","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Maintenance is limited to mowing, done as a community service by staff of the adjacent Fillmore Glen State Park. Research and restoration initiatives are planned by the Society for Historic Moravia.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.385664-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/95001278.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001278/3df28aa7a9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001278/3df28aa7a9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Doncram","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moravia_Union_Cemetery_11_19_44_787000.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doncram</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moravia_Union_Cemetery_11_19_44_787000.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312218","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravia_Union_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6909332"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cayuga-county/moravia-union-cemetery-95001278/"}