But did you know that this hugely-popular park was once Dutch farmland? At least it was, up until April 1797 when the Common Council of NewYork purchased the fields to the east and combined the spaces to create a public burial ground, primarily to inter unknown or indigent people.
When New York went through yellow fever epidemics in the early 1800s, most of the dead were also buried there because it was (back then) far enough away from the main city population to be considered a hygienic option. The public cemetery was closed in 1825, but it is estimated that more than 20,000 bodies were laid to rest there –never to be moved.
In 1826, the land was levelled to become Washington Military Parade Ground, where volunteer militia would train. By the 1830s, urban sprawl saw the area around the Parade Ground becoming popular for housing developments so by 1850, the Parade Ground was re-worked into a public park to cater to the new residents moving around it.
In 1889, to celebrate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration, a plaster and wood memorial arch was erected at the northern end of the public park. The temporary structure proved so popular with residents and visitors alike, that local architect Stanford White (and his excellent mustache) designed a permanent, marble replacement that stands 77 feet tall. White's New York monument was inspired by the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
But did you know that during the excavations for the marble arch, construction workers unearthed human remains, a coffin, and a gravestone dated 1803? Given how many deceased New Yorkers are getting their eternal rest under the Square, it’s amazing they didn’t find more.
