Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first garden cemetery in the United States. It dates back to 1831 and currently sits on 174 acres (up from the original 70 it started with). It is noted as the spot where the American public parks and gardens movement began.
In the 1840s the cemetery was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the nation, right up there with Niagara Falls and Mount Vernon! More than 5,500 trees help keep it beautiful and also make it a top spot for birding. However, given the very cold and windy day of our visit, we didn’t see many birds and didn’t try too hard!
We did manage to visit a few graves we were particularly interested in, and see a handful more that caught our interest. Clearly the cemetery would be worth a return on a good-weather day!
Benjamin Franklin isn’t buried here, but he’s still got this 1855 monument. It was erected by admirer Thomas Dowse, who is buried nearby.
The cover photo is of 62-foot Washington Tower, constructed in the 1850s in honor of President George Washington (naturally). Supposedly it has commanding views, but it was closed due to weather during our visit.
Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement.
Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Landscape Painter & Civil War Illustrator.
I don’t know who this is, but I thought it was a beautiful piece of art.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American Poet & Educator.
While we didn’t come to see this, there was no missing the Mary Baker Eddy Monument. Eddy (1821-1910) was the founder of the Christian Science Church, which must not teach modesty, ha ha.
Edwin Booth (1833-1893) and his first wife Mary Devlin Booth (1840-1863). Poor Booth was a loyal Unionist and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, but will forever be associated with his brother John Wilkes Booth, who of course assassinated President Lincoln. Edwin was a famed Shakespearean actor in his day.
The back of Edwin Booth’s stone features engravings of the masks of tragedy and comedy, and lines from Shakespeare.
More works of art.
More works of art.
More works of art. This one looks like a church spire.
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