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Green-Wood, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1838 and recognized as a place of beauty and abiding tranquility. Its founder, Henry Pierrepont selected Green-Wood’s name, “indicating that it should always remain a scene of rural quiet and beauty and leafiness”. Since Green-Wood’s founding, Brooklyn’s population has increased almost fifty-fold (to two million), yet Green-Wood has still upheld Mr. Pierrepont’s vision. By the 1860s, Green-Wood had an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and had established itself as the prestigious place to be buried. Crowds flocked to Green-Wood, an enhanced natural oasis, to enjoy family outings, carriage rides and sculpture viewing in an age that pre-dated public parks, museums, and river bridges.
One of the first rural American cemeteries, Green-Wood was founded on the premise that a cemetery should be a serene and beautiful place for the living and a dignified place for the disposition of the dead. Its 478 acres are a remarkable survivor of the 19th Century and comprise one of the oldest landscapes in New York City. Today, it is still an active cemetery, and receives over 250,000 visitors annually to experience the beautiful landscape, the views of New York Harbor, and the magnificent collections of 19th- and 20th-century sculptures, architecture and the living collection of trees. Green-Wood’s unparalleled tree collection (nearly 8,000) is a result of early conservation and continuous planting through its history.