Mount Moor Cemetery
Mount Moor Cemetery was officially designated a historic site by the Town of Clarkstown in September 1988. There are many African American veterans of the Civil War buried here. It was threatened by the building of the Palisades Mall, yet it still stands today surrounded by the massive shopping complex. Pyramid Corporation offered the cemetery association $100,000, but they turned it down. Cemetery association member Hezekiah Easter stated at the time: “It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of principle.” Ironically, the building of the Palisades Center drew attention to a historic treasure that had nearly been forgotten.
Listen to Hezekiah Easter, Jr. tell the story of the cemetery in this oral history from the Nyack Library's collection:
Hezekiah Easter Interview Part 14: Mount Moor Cemetery