Historic Dobbs Ferry Cemetery Refurbishment Underway

Click through the photos above to take a look at some of the work in progress at the Little White Church Cemetery.

The Village of Dobbs Ferry has started an effort to refurbish the headstones at the Little White Church Cemetery off Ashford Avenue.

In a recent update, Mayor Hartley Connett said the village has retained Grave Stone Matter's Joe Ferrannini to work with volunteers on the undertaking, which involves carefully cleaning and putting back together a number of headstones that "were damaged over many decades of abandonment and neglect."

Some of the larger headstones have already been improved drastically. Connett said the village plans to tackle "12-15 of the larger head stone monuments primarily at the eastern end (closest to the Lutheran Church)," while the work will continue with other parts of the cemetery.

Conett added the effort is being completed "at no expense to tax payers," but rather being funded by Dobbs Ferry's "segregated recreation account, paid by developers."

A sign posted adjacent to the Ashford Avenue sidewalk area says the cemetery served as "a free burying ground for Dobbs Ferry residents" from the years 1810 to 1894.

Noted Connett, "This is a wonderful project which is reclaiming a significant part of Dobbs Ferry’s past, and also creating a beautiful new green space for residents and a destination place for visitors."