White Plains Rural Cemetery
Why it's listed
White Plains Rural Cemetery is a 26-acre burial ground on North Broadway in White Plains, New York, laid out in 1855 by surveyor and civil engineer John F. Jenkins. It follows the rural cemetery model that began with Mount Auburn in Massachusetts, using the sloping land to create winding drives, irregular burial sections and a wide variety of specimen trees and shrubs. Cast-iron entrance gates reading "Dust To Dust 1855" mark the main entrance. Monuments range from early tablet stones to late-19th-century obelisks, and a soldiers' plot holds a cannon. Two stone vaults stand in the southwest. At the southeast corner, a 1797 Methodist meeting house with its older graveyard became the cemetery office and caretaker's residence around 1881. Jenkins's plan was carried out largely as drawn, with a shifted east gate and a main drive added. About 20,000 burials are recorded, and burials continue today. The cemetery was listed for its landscape design and its intact rural cemetery character.
Significance in brief: The cemetery is argued to be a distinctive and intact example of a mid-19th century rural cemetery in Westchester County. It embodies the characteristic features of the type, including undulating contours, serpentine drives and naturalistic plantings. Jenkins's 1855 plan was largely carried out, with only a few modifications.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000247, listed September 19, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 167 N. Broadway, White Plains |
|---|---|
| County | Westchester County |
| Listed | September 19, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000247 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1795 - c. 1881 |
| Architect / builder | John F. Jenkins (surveyor and engineer) |
| Architectural style | Other: Rural Cemetery |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still an active cemetery, with current burials along the western edge and about 20,000 burials in total; the former meeting house serves as the cemetery office. |
| Acreage | 26 |
| Coordinates | 41.04756, -73.77175 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000247.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7995222
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.