The Blazing Star Cemetery is located in the Rossville neighborhood of Staten Island. It's adjacent to the ship graveyard and I'm always happy to add a new cemetery onto the itinerary when I have a specific destination in mind. The earliest grave markers date to 1750, and it was one of the first community burial grounds on Staten Island. There are only a handful of stones on the small piece of land but they are beautifully carved and in remarkably good condition for their age.

Alternately called the Sleight Family Graveyard, or the Rossville Burial Ground, this cemetery contains the remains of several different prominent Staten Island families. I couldn't find much more information about the history of the cemetery or its residents, but Peter Winant was the son of one of the first permanent settlers to the island. A sign declares that it is currently maintained by the Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries, Inc. of Staten Island, which is a group that I would definitely consider joining.

I found a document from the Landmarks Preservation Commission on January 17, 1968, proposing that the cemetery be designated a landmark. The Commission found that the graveyard "has a special character, special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage, and cultural characteristics of New York City."

The cemetery sits near the former location of a mooring slip for the Blazing Star Ferry—which once ran between Staten Island and New Jersey—right on the side of Arthur Kill Road, where it intersects Rossville Avenue. We took the Staten Island Ferry and then the S74 bus, which if you're very lucky won't make all of the 72 stops between the ferry terminal and the graveyard.

Blazing Star Cemetery
Arthur Kill Rd & Rossville Ave,
Staten Island, NY 10309