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In the early 19th century, most Americans were buried on the grounds of a church or meeting house or town common. Bells would ring to signify the dying and keep evil spirits away after passing. The graves faced east to west with little room between coffins, often buried four or five deep. These graveyard grounds were, for the most part, a gloomy place without much foliage.
As the population grew, space became an issue in these church burial grounds, along with disease outbreaks, giving rise to the rural or garden cemetery movement. Many of these sanctuary spaces were designed after cultivated English landscape gardens to provide a sanctuary or a place of solitude for families to visit and walk. The oldest rural cemetery in the United States is Mount Auburn located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, installed in 1831.
Common places to commune with the spiritual world of the dead
During this period before the civil war, the rural movement evolved and the custom of picnicking at cemeteries grew in popularity. Since there were no public parks at the time, cemeteries became the best place to commune. With their lovely statues, beautifully crafted headstones, winding walkways and manicured landscapes, these green spaces were a popular place for rest and relaxation.
Back then, death was a part of everyday life and the idea of passing to another plane was not as morose as seen in today’s culture. Families accepted mortality as a constant evolution of life. Living with epidemics like cholera and typhoid, fatal diseases spread easily, taking many lives, especially children. During this time, it was also common for women to die in childbirth.
Rather than viewing death as a final end, people saw it as a soul moving into peaceful slumber, almost romanticizing the end of life. Visiting cemeteries was a way to stay connected to deceased loved ones, to keep them close to the heart. When people entered through the ornate gates of the garden cemeteries, they left the bustling world of the living to enter the tranquil, spiritual world of the dead.
Cities grow up and around preserved garden cemeteries
Over time, modern medicine and improved sanitation improved life expectancy. As cities burgeoned, they dedicated public park space for gathering and picnicking, a tranquil vestige to commune with nature. These centrally located public spaces became more common across America and the custom of gathering on cemetery grounds became less popular.
Even though cemeteries are no longer a common meeting place, they remain inside the center of major metropolitan activity. Cities have grown up and around these sanctuaries protected from development. Many are enormous with a hundred or more acres sitting graciously inside cities, maintained and landscaped to preserve their natural beauty.
The Mount Auburn cemetery in Cambridge is a 175-acre arboretum with nearly 5,000 trees, including maple, pine, and dogwood. In Portland, Maine, the Evergreen Cemetery is the largest open space in the city with 239 acres of undeveloped wetlands, woods, and an uncommonly large stand of red oak trees.
Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is larger still at 478 acres of hilly terrain, winding paths, glacial ponds, and boasting views of the Statue of Liberty. And finally, Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati claims 750 acres, preserving 450 as undeveloped woodland. Winding roads follow the natural grounds around lakes, islands, and footbridges.
Peaceful spirituality of graveyard gardens
These natural spaces are an enclave of peaceful spirituality in an increasingly hectic world: green rural tracts amid urban activity, buried souls in the middle of hurried life, peace and tranquility surrounded by hustle and bustle.
Some of these old cemeteries still have room for more burial plots, but with the growing popularity of cremations and green burials, the strain on the cemetery system is lessening. In the end, these graveyard gardens provide a sanctuary to reflect and sit at peace with the spirituality and natural evolution of life.
Sources:
In the Garden Cemetery: The Revival of America’s First Urban Parks – American ForestsGarden cemeteries in the U.S., from New York to Texas (nationalgeographic.com)
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