page_title: Presbyterian Burying Ground
hierarchical_section_title: Presbyterian Burying Ground
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking north through the middle of Volta Park in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Volta Park was created in 1909 on top of the Prebyterian Burying Ground. (Some 2,000 bodies remain there.) The park was created at a time when there was a national movement to create playgrounds and parks in cities throughout the United States in the belief that "cities were bad for you" and "you needed to commune with nature in order for democratic values to be instilled in you". The city paid $30,000 ($787,000 in 2014 dollars) for the land and another $5,000 ($131,2500 for playground equipment. A 2,441-square-foot recreation center with small swimming pool was built there in 1949, and in 1979 two basketball courts and two tennis courts were added. In 2004, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) rebuilt the rec center for about $400,000. In July 2013, a new $400,000 playground opened in the park.
context_page_description: The Presbyterian Burying Ground, also known as the Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, was a historic cemetery which existed between 1802 and 1909 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was one of the most prominent cemeteries in the city until the 1860s. Burials there tapered significantly after Oak Hill Cemetery was founded nearby in 1848. The Presbyterian Burying Ground closed to new burials in 1887, and about 500 to 700 bodies were disinterred after 1891 when an attempt was made to demolish the cemetery and use the land for housing. The remaining graves fell into extensive disrepair. After a decade of effort, the District of Columbia purchased the cemetery in 1909 and built Volta Park there, leaving nearly 2,000 bodies buried at the site. Occasional human remains and tombstones have been discovered at the park since its construction. A number of figures important in the early history of Georgetown and Washington, D.C., military figures, politicians, merchants, and others were buried at Presbyterian Burying Ground.
context_section_description: The Presbyterian Burying Ground, also known as the Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, was a historic cemetery which existed between 1802 and 1909 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was one of the most prominent cemeteries in the city until the 1860s. Burials there tapered significantly after Oak Hill Cemetery was founded nearby in 1848. The Presbyterian Burying Ground closed to new burials in 1887, and about 500 to 700 bodies were disinterred after 1891 when an attempt was made to demolish the cemetery and use the land for housing. The remaining graves fell into extensive disrepair. After a decade of effort, the District of Columbia purchased the cemetery in 1909 and built Volta Park there, leaving nearly 2,000 bodies buried at the site. Occasional human remains and tombstones have been discovered at the park since its construction. A number of figures important in the early history of Georgetown and Washington, D.C., military figures, politicians, merchants, and others were buried at Presbyterian Burying Ground.
caption: Presbyterian Burying Ground as it appeared in 2014, transformed into Volta Park
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D7100", "Image XResolution": "600", "Image YResolution": "600", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2014:06:03 12:23:03", "Image ExifOffset": "216", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "976", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "14070", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:06:02 18:44:12", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:06:02 18:44:12", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "477741/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2827819/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "60", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "60", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "83841555/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "83841555/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "27", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "2534693", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6"}