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The rural or “garden” cemetery was a revolutionary 19th century design that combined burials with landscaping in a rural, park-like setting.
The idea of the garden cemetery can be traced to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery outside of Boston in 1831. Previous to this, urban burial grounds were generally sectarian and utilitarian, located on small plots within cities. By the early 19th century, these burial grounds were growing overcrowded as their European counterparts with graves stacked upon each other or emptied and reused for newer burials.
In response to overcrowding in Boston’s burial grounds, The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, led by General Henry A. S. Dearborn, developed a 72 acre property north of the city for use as a non-sectarian, rural cemetery.
Coinciding with the growing popularity of horticulture as well as the Romantic aesthetic that favored pastoral beauty, Mount Auburn Cemetery was developed by Dearborn on the concept of the “domesticated landscape” popularized by 19th century English landscape design. His plan included retention of natural features like ponds and mature forests with added roads and paths that followed the natural contours of the land as well as the plantings of hundreds of native and exotic trees and plants.
Mount Auburn quickly grew as popular site for both burials and public recreation, attracting locals as well as tourists from across the country and Europe. Within 5 years, five major American cemeteries were developed on the Mount Auburn model including Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine (1834); Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia (1836); Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore (1838) and Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse (1859) . By the 1860’s rural cemeteries could be found on the outskirts of cities and smaller towns across the country.
Rural cemeteries, from their inception, were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy refined outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for the wealthy.
Today, many of these historic cemeteries are designated landmarks and are cared for by non-profit organizations.

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External links

External links

★ Mount Auburn

★ Laurel Hill Philadelphia

★ Green-Wood Brooklyn

★ Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine

★ [1]_Website of Oakwood Cemetery

★ [2]_Website of Woodlawn Cemetery