The St. Paul’s Wurtemburg Cemetery is really the second burial place associated with this congregation. As noted in the section concerning the history of St. Paul’s, the first cemetery associated with the congregation would be somewhere in the area of Primrose Hill Road and Albany Post Road, near the location of the first church structure, “The Staatsburg Church.”

 

The present church was constructed in 1802 and an examination of some of the early tomb stones on the east side of the church indicates that several predate the church building. In fact, many are located so close to the foundation that a burial would have been unlikely. Some believe that these stones were relocated from the original burying yard in Staatsburg.

 

The original St. Paul’s Wurtemburg cemetery is on the north and east sides of the 1802 church.  It is the final resting place of 9 Revolutionary War veterans and founders of our congregation.  In 1913 is was noted that 326 inscriptions were recorded on the stones in the old Wurtemburg Cemetery.  Unfortunately, over the years many of these stones have become weathered and illegible.  

 

In 1852 an addition was made to the cemetery on the south side of the church and in 1855, the administration of the cemetery was transferred to the St. Paul’s Wurtemburg Cemetery Association, following the passage of the New York State Rural Cemetery Act.  Since then additional acreage expanded the cemetery to the south and recently to the west side of Wurtemburg Road.

 

In 2006, a project was started to provide documentation of the monuments and inscriptions of the older stones south of the church. Records from the Church have helped to document information about those buried in the churchyard.  However, this is an ongoing effort as other sources of information are studied. Starr Library in Rhinebeck has some o the records on file.

 

Besides Revolutionary War veterans, the cemetery contains the graves of veterans from the Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.

 

As stated by Pastor Mark Isaacs in his history of St. Paul’s Wurtemburg, “To this day, when the doors of St. Paul’s are open, worshippers feel a strong connection with the Church Triumphant.”

 

Further information about the St. Paul’s Wurtemburg Cemetery may be obtained from the Association.  Mailing address is St. Paul’s Wurtemburg Cemetery Association, 395 Wurtemburg Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 . 

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All areas of the cemetery are available to the public during daylight hours.  Dog walkers must keep their dogs on leashes and must clean up appropriately.  Removing or damaging stones, flowers, plants or temporary objects placed on gravesites will be considered an act of vandalism and subject to prosecution.