Third Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, June 11, 1933.
This cemetery is one of the burial places of the oldest Jewish congregation in North America, Congregation Shearith Israel. While the exact location of the first cemetery for the congregation has been lost (it might have been near the African Burial Ground), two other graveyards for this community pre-date this one and remain extant. They are located at Chatham Square and just east of Sixth Avenue on West 11th Street, established 1682 and 1805, respectively. Due to the encroaching city development and changes in the law regarding burials in Manhattan, both of these cemeteries were unfit for the community's needs by the 1820s.
Referred to as the 'Third' Cemetery or the 21st Street Cemetery this plot was established in 1829 to move the disinterred graves from the 11th Street location. The active period of this cemetery was brief, as the city banned burials below 86th Street in 1851. The congregation looked to the outer boroughs (a popular cemetery locale by that time). Joining with two other Jewish congregations they founded the Beth Olam Cemetery in Ridgewood, which is still active today.