Cemetery with extra point for a single gravesite

When individual grave sites are of historical significance or interest (as in the Thomas Jefferson example above), then those points should be retained. In this case we would retain the point representing the Monticello Graveyard and the point representing Jefferson's Tomb. If you can identify the exact location of the single grave site in question, that is where the point should go. The point representing the graveyard should still be placed in the center of the cemetery grounds.

These situations should be examined on a case by case basis, and occasionally there might be a point for a single grave site within a cemetery or graveyard that does not have particular historic significance. If you're ever unsure about how to handle a unique situation like this, send us an email at nationalmapcorps@usgs.gov and we'll be happy to help you out.

To add to the information above, our old Structures List listed 'historic' cemeteries under the 'DOES NOT INCLUDE' section. In that case, 'historic' refers to the GNIS label for features that no longer exist or no longer meet GNIS classification, which is different from 'historic' in the common definition of the term; "famous in history" or " dating from or preserved from a past time or culture". An example of an 'historic' cemetery in the GNIS sense of the word would be a cemetery in which the graves were disinterred or destroyed. So, the GNIS label of 'historic' does not refer to features with historic significance or features of a certain age. We removed the term 'historic' from the most current Structures List because we hadn't explained it's use in the context of GNIS, leading our volunteers to assume we weren't interested in collecting historically significant features.

We do retain points for graves of historical significance within other cemeteries, or for a single grave of historic note for which an exact spatial location can be identified. An example would be the Jefferson Tomb, mentioned above. These single graves are classified as a cemetery for our purposes and should have an actual grave present. For instance, we came across some points in Maine which were actually memorials for WWI and WWII soldiers and not actual grave sites, so those would not qualify. To sum that up, cemeteries or single graves of historic significance should be collected. Cemeteries or single graves that have been destroyed or removed (historic in the GNIS sense) should not be collected.