The seven restored headstones marking the gravesites of some of Great Neck’s first settlers were put back in their proper places Monday at the Allen Burial Ground in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.
“This is very special and it’s a real tribute to the Allen Heritage,” said Nancy Allen, a descendent of the original Allens. “Even though I don’t have direct knowledge of who they were, this is an honor to the Allen family in Great Neck.”
Nancy Allen and her mother Vera Allen – both of whom live in Port Washington – were present Monday to see the restored headstones lowered into the ground, as well as get a first look at the refurbished grounds, which included new grass, removed weeds and a new iron fence around the perimeter of the site, located behind homes at 15 and 17 Pearce Place.
The Town of North Hempstead and the Village of Great Neck Plaza entered into an intermunicipal agreement in November to repair and maintain the 205-year-old gravesite of the once-prominent Allen Family.
Carole Trottere, town director of communications, said the town paid $24,870 for the initial site survey, title work, new fencing and the headstone removal and replacement.
The village paid about $3,000 to clean the cemetery of debris and level the ground, said Mike Sweeney, Village of Great Neck Plaza commissioner of public services.
The town is responsible for upkeep of the headstones and the gate, while the village is responsible for general maintenance of the site, which includes grass cutting and weed removal.
A historical marker will also be placed by a tree on the Pearce Place sidewalk near the gravesite to advise anyone wishing to visit the historic site to contact the Village of Great Neck Plaza first.
Town Historian Howard Kroplick Kroplick, who led the effort to restore the cemetery, said when he first came upon the cemetery in the backyard of two Great Neck residences he found displaced headstones and residential construction on the site.
“I got an anonymous phone call about this small cemetery in trouble,” Kroplick said. “I really knew it was in trouble when I couldn’t even find it.”
Once discovered, Town of North Hempstead and Village of Great Neck Plaza officials debated the ownership of the 204-year old grave site before reaching an agreement to repair and maintain the Allen Burial Ground.
Kroplick said he is excited to see the project completed.
“It’s been a long process but ultimately everyone has been working together to do this,” Kroplick said.
The site is said to contain bodies of six Allen family members and an infant from the Pelcher family.
Kroplick said in the 1800’s, families would sometimes not bury dead infants in a family burial plot as it was often too difficult emotionally. He said families would often bury their dead infants in plots of family friends.
Some reports state that the Allen family is related to Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen, and the Great Neck Plaza website states that the Allen family was one of the first European families to settle in Great Neck Plaza. The family owned the Saddle Rock Grist Mill from 1715 through the 1820s, Kroplick said.
Kroplick also said Allenwood Park in Great Neck was named for the Allen family.
Shastone Memorials, located at 112 Northern Blvd., did the headstone restoration work, which included making the engravings more legible. They will include fix cracks in the headstones, which Shastone Owner Russell Rosen said couldn’t be done until the stones were put back in place.
“Some were a little bit beyond repair,” Rosen said.
Three of the seven headstones were legible, Rosen said.
Because some of the engravings cannot be made completely legible, Rosen said, small bronze plaques will be placed in front of each headstone that will clearly state whose grave the headstone marks.
Although Rosen said he mostly makes monuments — rather than refurbishing them — he felt it was important for a local business to do the work.
Members of the Great Neck Historical Society, including its president Alice Kasten and vice president for external affairs Charles Schneider, were present Monday to watch the stones be lowered into the ground, as were town Councilwoman Lee Seeman and Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth.
“I’m so proud to be able to work with the Allens and the Plaza to be able to restore the cemetery,” Bosworth said.
Bosworth said she was happy such an historical place could be preserved.
“It’s really a piece of history,” Bosworth said. “But this also allows those buried here to be treated with the respect they deserve.”
