A look at the remarkable Riker Home and Cemetery, or the Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery, which one woman’s dream and grit turned into a beautiful site with a secret garden.
Highlights include:
• A unique second date
• A collection of vintage ventriloquist dummies
• Fun historic home renovation details
Note: There’s discussion of chattel slavery and being held captive against one’s will near the end of this episode.
Pictures of the Riker Home and Cemetery
Sources consulted RE: the Riker Home and Cemetery
Books
- The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
- Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
- The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
by James Riker, 1852 - History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
- Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920
Websites
- Untapped Cities article: https://untappedcities.com/2011/12/22/the-last-riker-house/
- https://www.yelp.com/biz/lent-riker-smith-homestead-east-elmhurst
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent_Homestead_and_Cemetery
- https://www.rikerhome.com/
- https://forgotten-ny.com/2006/09/lent-riker-smith-mansion/
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/rispan2.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/buono.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/qnsboro2.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island_Bridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_court_system_delayshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island
- https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1884?amount=180000
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook001.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook002.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook004.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook005.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook006.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook007.html
- http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook009.htmlhttp://genealogytrails.com/ny/queens/cem_rikers.html
- http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ryker2/ryker_coatofarms.htm
- https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/li-press-1968_large.htm
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/lisj-1941_large.htm
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/1930s.htm
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/sunday-news-1942_large.htm
- https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/16/realestate/postings-little-paradise.html
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_05-25-06.pdf
- https://www.thirteen.org/queens/map.html
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_06-15-06.htm
- https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- https://www.rikerhome.com/press/ny-daily-news-11-7-06.htm
Don’t miss past episodes:
- The Renwick Ruin:
- Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel:
- The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
- Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
- New York City Potter’s Fields
- Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
- Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
- The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
- The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
- A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
- The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
- The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
- The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
- Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
- The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)