Over 40 soldiers from the 1800s buried in hidden West Farms Soldier Cemetery, tucked away in the Bronx
NEW YORK - There's history in the Bronx you might never knew existed. Soldiers from the 1800s are buried right in the middle of a West Farms neighborhood.
The Bronx Borough historian says CBS2 News is the first that he remembers to inquire about it.
"If you're passing by in a car and you blink your eyes, you sort of miss it," said Lloyd Ultan, the Bronx Borough Historian.
It's easy to miss something you were never looking for.
"When we were kids, we were scared of it," said resident Steven Cancel.
Locked up behind a fence and hidden behind large trees and foliage, this less than an acre plot has been nothing but a mystery for people living in West Farms.
"Not a lot of people in the Bronx know about this history right here, and it's in the middle smack of the Bronx," said Cancel.
Cancel has wondered about the people buried inside West Farm Soldier Cemetery for nearly his whole life.
"Who they are, where they're from, what they did," said Cancel.
But that neighborhood mystery has been researched for years by the Bronx County Historical Society.
"There are loads of veterans from four wars that are interred there," said Ultan.
From the War of 1812, the Spanish American War, Civil War, and World War I, Historian Lloyd Ultan explains there are more soldiers buried here than you might ever expect.
"It speaks a lot for the community of West Farms. In the sense how patriotic they were in those four wars they had people who volunteered for service and that many in the Civil War," said Ultan.
It started out as a cemetery for a church in 1815 and now upwards of 35 soldiers from the Union who fought in the Civil War are buried there. Many of their headstones are chipped, overturned, and slumped over.
"Cared for neglected, cared for neglected, it goes through that cycle, it has a history of going through that cycle," explained Ultan.
Ultan and CBS2's Shosh Bedrosian sifted through dozens of archived photos that paint this picture and documents show it was named a landmark site in 1967. It is now maintained by NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
The history of many of these soldiers is unknown. Both Cancel and Bedrosian spent time trying to read the etched in messages on their headstones.
"It just gives me goosebumps," said Cancel. "These people mean something to the world."
Cancel says this place now has more meaning for him. He says it's these soldiers sacrifices and commitment that he now knows about, that he will remember, especially on Memorial Day.
"These guys really fought for history they fought. They wasn't scared they just went out and did what they had to do to try make this world a better place," said Cancel.
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