The Graven Images of Bethel Cemetery Text by Carl Oechsner Photographs by Howie Myers Cemeteries serve as records of a nation's past, offering rich collections of historical artifacts. Bethel Cemetery in Croton contains remarkable examples of gravestones dating back to the 1700s, situated in the village center near schools, libraries, and neighborhoods. Gravestones as America's Earliest Sculpture …

well represented at Sleepy Hollow's Old Dutch Burying Ground. Carvers often charged by the letter, so longer inscriptions represented greater investment by the bereaved. Minimal-information stones were presumably less costly. The Gothic Revival Influence Around 1840, Gothic Revival architecture became popular in America, particularly the Hudson Valley, through architects like Alexander Jackson Dav…