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From its earliest years, the grounds of the Green-Wood Cemetery have been graced by cast iron signs marking its streets and paths. Unfortunately, even cast iron doesn't always last forever. Some of the original signs have been crushed under falling trees and branches. Others have been run over by carriages and cars.

William Surrey Hart (1865-1946), star of silent screen westerns, is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, his final resting place marked by a small granite gravestone. A native of Newburgh, N.Y., Hart lived with his family in the Dakota territory, came East to work for the Post Office in New York City, then studied acting.

Francis Bannerman was a leading dealer in military surplus after the Civil War. He owned an island in the Hudson River, where he stored his huge stock in a castle that he built there. There are many wonderful images of Bannerman Castle online.

Christmas Day, 2009. Snow covers the cemetery, bringing great serenity.

Green-Wood Cemetery can be enjoyed on my levels: arboratum, sculpture garden, historic park, and bird-watchers paradise, to name a few. The annual Christmas Bird Count was held recently at Green-Wood Cemetery, and its results remind us what a special place Green-Wood is.

I have been leading The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project since September, 2002.

We're expanding our social networking to allow all our readers of the Green-Wood Discovery blog to follow us on Twitter.

@gwcdiscovery will repost all new blog entries via our RSS feed, so whether you visit our blog to read new post or are a fan on facebook, you can follow us on Twitter as well and tweet us back!

Imre Kiralfy was born in 1845 in Budapest and made his stage debut at the age of four, danced in Germany’s principle theaters, and studied music. By his early 20s he was organizing pageants; his colossal presentation in Brussels in 1868 included opera, pantomimes, sports, and 4000 soldiers.

It is a remarkable story--a tale of service, sacrifice, research, and discovery.

A few months ago I received an e-mail from Kevin Canberg. I didn't know Kevin, but I was fascinated by his e-mail. Here's what Kevin wrote: 

Green-Wood Cemetery's main entrance, at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, is adorned by spectacular brownstone arches. Designed by Richard Upjohn (the architect of Trinity Church at the head of Wall Street in Manhattan and the first president of the American Institute of Architects) and his son, Richard M.