Prospect Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in the Jamaica section of the New York City borough of Queens. It was established in 1668 and known as the "burring plas." The cemetery’s original main gate was on Beaver Road which led from Sutphin Boulevard to Jamaica Avenue. The cemetery was generally known as the Presbyterian burial ground and is one of the few remaining Colonial cemeteries in Queens. The First Presbyterian Church (found in 1662) was given control of the care and maintenance of the cemetery after it was taken from the care of the town. There was a dispute between this Church and the Grace Episcopal Church (founded in 1701) in regard to which church would maintain the cemetery.The cemetery includes approximately 240 family plots containing 2,100 burials and date from the founding of the cemetery to the late 20th century. One such family is the Brinckerhoffs, which carries two Dutch names: “Brenger” meaning messenger and “Hof” meaning court. The first and earliest Brinckerhoff to arrive in New York City was Joris Dirckson, who arrived in North America in 1638 from the European Netherlands for a better life. Furthermore, two researchers from the Rufus Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution discovered the names of 54 individuals who served as soldiers during the Revolutionary War, who were buried in Prospect Cemetery. The last burial was in 1988.Included on the property as a contributing building is the Chapel of the Sisters, erected in 1857. Nicholas Ludlum was personally responsible for the construction of the “Chapel of the Sisters,” named so to honor his three daughters who died years before. In 2007, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, in collaboration with preservation and community groups, celebrated the restoration of the Chapel of the Sisters, which took almost five years of fundraising by the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and the New York Landmarks Committee. The main highlight in this project was to restore two rose windows decorating the north and south facades of the chapel. It was built as a Romanesque Revival building and measured approximately 40 by 40 feet and 25 feet high.
