In 2016, students in LBSCI790.3/HIST799: Public History in Theory and Practice developed a collaborative project to research, document, and preserve the many-layered histories of the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground, a site that is located less than 2 miles from the Queens College campus.

On Friday, local officials and Mayor de Blasio held a press conference at the Burial Ground to announce a $1.63 million-dollar investment to reconstruct a commemorative plaza at the site. The memorial will include a wall listing all of the 399 known names of individuals who are buried there, with room for more inscriptions as more names are re-surfaced. The 399 known names were a direct product of the work of our class, specifically GSLIS alumnus Rudy Hartmann, who compiled an inventory from burial records held at the NYC Municipal Archives.

For more information:

Course published results with Queens Memory: http://www.queensmemory.org/olde-towne-flushing-burial-ground.

City website: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/529-18/mayor-de-blasio-visits-olde-towne-flushing-burial-ground-update-community-on#/0

Local news: https://qns.com/story/2018/10/29/long-awaited-memorial-coming-historic-flushing-burial-ground/

Image citation: De Blasio, B. (2018, October 26). Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground [Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground]. Retrieved October 30, 2018, from https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1055993418822885376