History and Map
William Thistlewaite arrived in the Northwoods in the 1890's to work for Dr. William Seward Webb, as a paymaster for the railroad Dr. Webb was building. In 1903, he bought an extensive amount of Dr. Webb's property on the Fulton Chain and in the Village of Old Forge The ink was hardly dry on the deed, when he began to sub-divide the land into building lots and formed The Adirondack Development Company. By the 1920's, the Joy Tract, Brooklyn, Riverside and Gray Lake areas of Old Forge had been sold.
Among his other accomplishments, Thistlewaite built a new post office for the Town and donated the land for Niccolls Church, both on Crosby Blvd. Father John Fitzgerald, Catholic pastor of St. Bartholomew's Church and a good friend, was concerned about where he would be buried when the Almighty called him home. In 1921, William Thistlewaite decided it was time the village had a cemetery, and gave the Town and extensive, beautiful piece of land along the Moose River just below the State Dam. The first person buried in the cemetery was a veteran from World War I, Stephen Bazyliv, 1893-1921. Practically the entire community along, with the Old Forge Band, marched in the procession that followed his casket to the new cemetery. Inside the wrought iron fence that surrounds the Thistlewaite plot, William, a Presbyterian, buried his old friend Father John Fitz in 1925. William Thistlewaite's home on Crosby Blvd. overlooked the cemetery and in his later years, he spent many hours seeing to the maintenance of the grounds. He was once quoted as saying, "of all my achievements, this (Riverview Cemetery) was my finest." William died in 1968 and is buried next to his wife, brother and parents.
The physical census of the cemetery was begun by Town of Webb Historical volunteer Rita Dennison. Before her death in 1999, Rita planned to survey historic section 4. Volunteer Marge Bonnett kindly completed the task this spring during one of our busiest "black fly seasons". To both we extend our sincere thanks. The map was created by Rita Dennison.
These records are made available by the Historical Association for not-for-profit, genealogical purposes only. Permission to reproduce the lists must be obtained in writing by contacting the Director of the Town of Webb Historical Association, Box 513,Old Forge, NY 13420.