Rural Cemetery Act

The Rural Cemetery Act was a law passed by the New York Legislature on April 27, 1847, that authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state. The law led to burial of human remains becoming a commercial business for the first time, replacing the practice of burying the dead in churchyards and on private farmland. One effect of the law was the development of a large concentration of cemeteries along the border between the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, often called the "Cemetery Belt".^[1]

The law's enactment came during an era when a burgeoning urban population was crowding out Manhattan churchyards traditionally used for burials^[2] and the concept of the rural cemetery on the outskirts of a city was becoming stylish.