Matinecoc Burial, ca. 1930s. The late 1920s as the City prepared to widen Northern Boulevard in Little Neck, Queens, questions were raised about the future of the small burial ground at the north edge of the road between Jessie Court and Cornelia Lane. Referred to as the 'Indian Cemetery' in numerous sources, it was the burial place of the Waters family of Little Neck, who were of Matinecock, Shinnecock, and Montauk ancestry. Though the Native community, including its leader, James Waters (Chief Wild Pigeon), opposed the removal, the city eventually prevailed. At the time, the remains of about 30 individuals were disinterred and removed to a plot in Zion Episcopal Church Cemetery of Douglaston. The new burial is viewed here, with a tree growing in-between a split rock with the words “Here rest the last of the Matinecoc" inscribed thereon.

Zion Episcopal Church, 1927. Following a fire in 1924, the rebuilt Zion Church included the tall spire seen in this 1927 photograph.

A collection of churches across New York City from the New York Public Library.

Zion Episcopal Church, 1922. Zion Episcopal Church was established in the late 1820s. In 1829 a cornerstone was laid for a church building designed by famed New York church architect Richard Upjohn. The land on which the building was constructed and the funding for the structure was donated by Wynant Van Zandt, a prosperous alderman and merchant. The construction was a community effort with Van Zandt and his neighbors felling their finest trees for beams and rafters, and local boys helped with making the shingles for the bell tower. The church had its first service in 1830. The original building (seen here) was destroyed in a fire in 1924. The church was largely rebuilt in the same style, though a longer nave was created and a tall spire was added. The reconstructed church was ready for Christmas services in 1925. The adjacent cemetery includes the burial of local church members. In 1930 the traditional burial grounds of the Matinicoc Indians was in the path of the widening of Northern Boulevard. The remains were re-interred in the Zion cemetery and the site was marked with a tribal symbol, a tree growing from a split rock.