St. Joseph's Cemetery

St. Joseph’s Cemetery is a burial site in Somers, New York. It is part of the parish of Saint Joseph’s, which was established in 1845 by Archbishop John Hughes. The land for the cemetery was purchased on March 24, 1893 for $1500 from Addie J. Whitlock of Somers. However, the earliest interments date back to 1845, because burial remains had to be relocated to the present location when the original Saint Joseph's burial ground was condemned to build the New Croton Dam. The cemetery is operated by Saint Joseph's Catholic Church located at 95 Plum Brook Road in Somers and is open and available to the public. St. Joseph's Cemetery is included in the Somers Hamlet Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 2004.

The parish of Saint Joseph's was established in 1845, and its first church was built in Croton Falls in 1849. In 1893, the church was destroyed by a fire ignited by sparks from a passing locomotive, prompting the congregation to move. A decade later, the land where the church had once stood near the railroad on Route 22 was lost to flooding for a New York City reservoir and the New Croton Dam. The remains that had been interred next to the old church were moved to a new burial ground, located adjacent to the existing Ivandell Cemetery in Somers, on land that had been part of the Ebenezer White Farm.

Two examples of these removals from the previous location are John S. Cody and Alice Bailey, whose marble grave monuments were also moved. Other early parishioners, some of whom came to the area to help build railroads and reservoirs, also had their markers moved. The stained glass windows of Saint Joseph’s were dedicated to the memory of these early congregants, many of whom were of Irish descent.

Also interred in Saint Joseph's Cemetery are veterans of both World War I and World War II; these graves are marked with government-issued monuments. On Memorial Day, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars place American flags on these grave sites. The Somers Fire Department does the same to honor their deceased members.

The only Saint Joseph’s pastor to be buried in the cemetery is Msgr. Raymond M. Collins. He is buried in "The Priest's Plot," located at the beginning of the loop near the end of the cemetery driveway. His first assignment after he was ordained was as a summer assistant at Saint Joseph’s. He was then transferred to New York City, and after several assignments returned to Saint Joseph’s as pastor where he served from 1963-1967.

1. Rafferty, Patrick. The Cemeteries of Westchester County. , vol. I. Published January 1, 2011.
2. Ryan, Lillian. St. Joseph's Cemetery. Westchester County Historic Society Library. Published January 1, 1970.
3. St. Joseph's Cemetery, St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Accessed November 21, 2021. https://stjosephsomers.org/saint-josephs-cemetery.
4. "Somers Hamlet Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service, April 21, 2004. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323217