The story behind the obelisk

On the corner of Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue, one can find the Rockville Cemetery which, a long time ago, was called the Old Sand Hole Cemetery. It is an unusual cemetery because it is nonsectarian, and most of the newer graves are marked by flat plaques, not by grave stones. Often one sees the resting places of this rainbow of diverse races, religions and history enhanced by flowers and flags placed at every site.

But in the center of this sacred piece of land stands a white obelisk, clearly visible to anyone driving by. And that obelisk marks two tragic events in Long Island south shore’s history. It denotes the final resting place of 139 unfortunate immigrants, mostly from the British Isles and Ireland, who perished in two separate shipwrecks off the south shore beaches back in the winter of 1836-7. Here is what happened.

Two tall ships, the Bristol and the Mexico, were preparing to sail, two weeks apart, from Liverpool to New York, carrying a total of about 240 passengers between them. The Bristol sailed first, in October 1836. Thirty-five days later, in the evening, the three-master reached the vicinity of New York harbor off the south shore of Long Island. Ships entering the harbor needed the help of a pilot to navigate the shoals and sand banks, but when the Bristol’s captain signaled for the pilot boat, the ship’s flare and sound signals were for naught: the pilots had gone home. The result was that the ship with its heavy cargo ran aground on a sandbar off Rockaway Beach and became immobile.

Unfortunately, during the night, a heavy storm came up which endangered the trapped ship. Ultimately, after being battered continuously, a huge wave hit the ship broadside and smashed in the hull. Almost at once, 100 steerage passengers, who were all below decks, drowned. Only 16 souls, who had climbed the riggings, were rescued in the morning by intrepid Long Island fishermen who shuttled back and forth using surf boats.