ROBERT T. ROTHSCHILD JR.
FORT GOLGOTHA: 226 Main Street in Huntington NY, stands the Soldier & Sailor Memorial. Right behind the building stands the oldest public cemetery in Huntington, known by several names including Ancient Burying Ground, Old Burial Hill and Old Burial Ground. The oldest headstone currently there dates to 1712; however, the cemetery was there as early as the founding of Huntington in 1653. From September 1776 until March 1783, Huntington endured 6 1/2 years of occupation by British troops. The Old Burying Ground was used to house Fort Golgotha, built by timbers used by the dismantling of Huntington's First Presbyterian Church. British Colonel Benjamin Thompson, a.k.a Count Rumford, ordered the Church to be torn down on 11/26/1782. The timbers were reused to build his fort...Fort Golgotha. The labor was completed by American patriots forced into servitude by Count Rumford.
