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...A BRIEF HISTORY: ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE GARRISON BURIAL GROUND DATING BACK TO THE EARLY 1800'S AND LONGER , AS IT WAS IN USE , BUT NO RECORDS WHERE FOUND FROM BEFORE THAT TIME...IN 1827 THE LAND WAS GRANTED TO THE ANGLICAN CHURCH FOR A BURIAL GROUND AND LATER TO THE PRESBYTERIAN AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES...DURING THE 1830'S THE CEMETERY SAW ITS MOST USE AS A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC BROKEOUT...AS THERE WERE SO MANY BODIES , THEY WERE PUT 3 TO EVERY UNMARKED GRAVE ...THE CEMETERY WAS FINALLY CLOSED IN 1864 , WITH IT BEING NO LONGER MAINTAINED , IT FELL INTO A STATE OF DISREPAIR...AS TIME PASSED THE AREA GREW AND BY 1891 , LOCALS LIVING AROUND THE STREETS SURROUNDING IT COMPLAINED AND IT WAS DECIDED BY THE CITY TO MOVE THE CEMETERY AND MAKE THE AREA A NEW PARK...THEY STARTED REMOVING THE BODIES IN 1893 , ROUGHLY 1000 WERE MOVED BEFORE THE LOCALS COMPLAINED AGAIN THAT THE REMOVAL MIGHT BRING BACK THE CHOLERA DISEASE AS THE BODIES WERE JUST PUT BESIDE THE GRAVES FOR LATER PICKUP...AFTER THIS THE CITY JUST LAYED DOWN REMAINING HEADSTONES AND PLOWED OVER THE ENTIRE AREA LEAVING ONLY ONE LARGE MONUMENT FOR THE FIRST ANGLICAN MINISTER...ITS ESTIMATED THAT THROUGHOUT THE PROPERTIES HISTORY AS MANY AS 10,000 PEOPLE MAY HAVE BEEN BURRIED HERE , WITH ONLY A 1000 OR SO MOVED...WHEN IT WAS FINALLY COMPLETED WITH GRASS AND TREES IN 1894 , ITS GIVEN IT OFFICIAL NAME "McBURNEY PARK"........ |
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