Hidden away in a corner of a cosmetics company parking lot is a small historic cemetery known as the Howard Smith Cemetery.
The cemetery contains only 18 gravestones, most with the name Smith and some with the name Bedell. The Huntington Town Historian’s office lists 21 names buried there.
The family has been traced from Bartholomew Smith, who participated in an Indian deed in 1661 to two brothers named Thomas and Zachariah Smith. Thomas Smith deeded land in 1756 to his nephews John Howard Smith and Thomas Smith. From this time on, John and his descendants were known as the “Howard” Smiths, and the name Howard was retained through the next three generations. This is how the cemetery received its name.
In 1937 the question was raised regarding the upkeep and care of the cemetery. A judge’s decision claimed there were enough Smith heirs to maintain the upkeep of the cemetery, and the family did so, for many years.
Around the cemetery were the adjoining family farms. By 1961 the Howard Smith property was entitled the “Melville Industrial Park” and would soon be home to major corporations, including a cosmetics company, a technology firm and an airline. The Long Island Expressway and its service road also run through the property.
Corporations began to move into the industrial park. According to a company newsletter published by a manufacturing company, a division of a major cosmetics firm, on August 30, 1968, “When the owners purchased the property, an agreement was made that this little corner of the 16-acre site would not be disturbed, as it is the resting place of a family named Smith.” The newsletter went on to relay the inscription on Elizabeth Smith’s tombstone, and marvel at the coincidence that “one woman has almost as many descendants as we had employees when the Melville plant first opened!” This company has done an excellent job of maintaining the cemetery and making sure that it remains undisturbed.
Many of the tombstones are very weathered. Some have names visible. Please be respectful of this marvelous piece of Long Island history.
The cache is a camouflaged bison tube.
Please do not park in the mail facility on Maxess Rd. or in any of the cosmetics company parking lots.