Who We Are
We are a passionate group of volunteers preserving and restoring a historic Buffalo cemetery which was once abandoned. At one time there were over sixty cemeteries in the City of Buffalo; now there are only four left. It is up to us to remember and honor the generations that came before us and had such an immense impact on Buffalo and Western New York. We take great pride in being the caretakers of this cemetery that holds the heritage of Buffalo. There are many ways to volunteer such as: Serving on our board of directors and committees, genealogical and historical research, grounds-work and gardening, fundraising, grant writing, event planning, and being apart of educating the community about this historic site and the fact that "Every stone tells a story".
Concordia was founded in 1859 and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Western New York. It was named Concordia meaning "Harmony" after three German churches decided to collectively acquire the 15 acres of land to use for burials. It is the resting place of over 21,000 people of all ethnic backgrounds and religions and over 500 war veterans and over 150 Civil War soldiers. We are also honored to have a Medal of Honor soldier John McHugh (1844-910) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44674272/john-mchugh. Concordia is on the National and New York State Register of Historic Places as well as a local landmark in Buffalo.
Our Mission: To support and promote historic Concordia Cemetery in preserving the heritage of the cemetery, its grounds and buildings through promotion, community development, education and events. To assist Concordia Cemetery with the restoration, preservation and protection of the Cemetery through grants, charitable donations, and community engagement.
Our Vision: To encourage and support cultural heritage and historic tourism for Concordia Cemetery and its neighborhood and community.
What We Do
Previous volunteer days have been centered around painting the 150 year old wrought iron fence and pre-Civil War farmhouse, trimming trees, bushes, grass around stones and outer fence, picking up debris, filling in low areas with dirt and planting flowers and other plants. This year we continue to unearth sunken tombstones that have been underground with the use of a technique called probing. We recruiting volunteers interested in Buffalo History and Community Preservation for our board of directors and committees. Please contact us at concordia1859@gmail.com for futher information. Thank you!
Links that could be of some interest:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_Cemetery_(Buffalo,_New_York)
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/64260/concordia-cemetery
https://buffaloah.com/a/wal/438/438.html
https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/concordia-cemetery/
https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/history-carved-in-stone-at-buffalos-concordia-cemetery/
Thank you for visiting the page and we hope to see you one our volunteer days and spread the word to anyone who may have interest!
“...we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the Pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you. That's why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.”
― RJ Palacio
Details
| concordia1859@gmail.com | |
| Chris Cavarello | |
| Volunteer Coordinator | |
| http://www.concordiabuffalo.org |
