The Graven Images of Bethel Cemetery — by Carl Oechsner, photographs by Howie Myers

Source: https://www.crotonfriendsofhistory.org/the-graven-images-of-bethel-cemetery

Bethel Cemetery is located in the virtual center of the village of Croton-on-Hudson, surrounded by schools, library and neighborhoods. Gravestones are America's earliest sculpture. Among early American artifacts they are unique in that each is dated and most are found in their original settings. Four Major Periods of Gravestone Art: (1) 1650-1750: Winged skulls with blank staring eyes. Slate was the common stone. Bethel has no examples from this period. (2) 1750-1800: Winged angels, flower designs. Red sandstone carried as ballast on Hudson River ships from Connecticut. A few remain at Bethel. (3) 1800-1825: Plain rectangular tablets in granite and marble. (4) 1825-1850: Neoclassic urn and willow designs with columns, tassels, banners, and mourning figures. Bethel Chapel is a rare example of religious architecture from the 1700s. Built after the Revolutionary War, it is the earliest Methodist meetinghouse in Westchester County. According to local tradition, Pierre Van Cortlandt donated the land.