Mount Auburn Cemetery

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The Modern Trend in an Old Cemetery

[image of trees next to a lake] Mount Auburn Development Resembles Park Rather Than Graveyard

OLD New England cemeteries, still ready to receive the dead after years that have seen them steadily filling with rows of tombstones and monuments, are facing a revolutionary transformation. For the mode in graveyards is changing today just as surely, if not so rapidly, as in countless other ways of life—and death, and burial grounds are yielding to the modern trend toward natural beauty.

It may be sad news to the marble and granite cutter and to the dealer in monumental wares, but no imposing headstones or similar sepulchers will be reared against the landscape to mark the graves in the model necropolis of the future. Instead, all markers will be embedded in and level with the surface of the surrounding ground, in conformity with the growing conviction among cemetery authorities that crowded stones and slabs of mournful aspect and of many shapes and sizes are less pleasing and restful to the eye than is a vista of trees, shrubs, flowers and water.

Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, burial place of many famous men and women, and one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in the country, is among the first in this vicinity to recognize and to promote the tendency to accentuate natural beauty rather than artificial ornamentation for the resting places of the dead. Although it contains many mausoleums and memorials of real artistic merit, including the impressive tomb

of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science. The proprietors have long been vigilant to guard the natural beauty of the grounds and some time ago imposed restrictions providing that no lot should have more than one monument, headstone or other memorial above the grade of the lot and that designs of all structures to be erected in the grounds should be submitted to the superintend ent for approval. Now, with a view to making the cemetery even more sightly, they have set aside a portion of a new tract on which no memorials may be placed above the ground. — New Tract Developed In the southwest part of the cemetery, a new tract of twenty-five acres, bordering on Coolidge avenue and Grove street, is being developed to resemble a park rather than a graveyard, in accordance with plans drawn by Laurence S. Caldwell, Boston landscape architect. The gently sloping terrain has been carefully graded and seeded and planted with mountain laurel, rhododendrons and other shrubs and flowers to supplement the stately elms and massive willows that have stood there for years. On the shores of Willow Pond, a small but beautiful body of water in the midst of a clump of willows on the tract, are the lots on which no monuments may be raised. The trustees already have expended $100,000 in the development and

they plan to extend the area as the demand for the new lots warrants.

The project was first suggested two years ago by Judge Charles Almy president of the trustees, in keeping with the progress being made by cemeteries in other parts of the country, especially in the West, but the proposal did not meet with the favor of a majority of the trustees. Judge Almy was not discouraged, however, and submitted the same proposal at the next year's meeting of the trustees, with the result that it was adopted.

"It will be very interesting to see how far and how fast this modern trend extends," says Judge Almy. "There can be no question as to the greater beauty of such final resting places. It is a question of how fast the public can get over the idea that a graveyard is a place to be filled up with marble or granite or slate stones and realize that trees and grass and flowers are more suitable as well as more beautiful.

"There is nothing terrible about death. It is a simple and often a beautiful thing and should not be treated as something to be spoken of with hushed voices, and the resting places of those who are gone should be cheerful and attractive. Much has been done to lessen the dreadful gloom of funerals and mourning apparel, and the modern cemetery may, and perhaps should, be cheerful as well as beautiful, and a place to be visited, not in a spirit of gloom and sorrow, but as one in

which we can take pleasure in remembering those who have gone before. — Typical Lot of Old "Not many years ago the typical lot had on it a central monument, on which was the family name of the owner and such other inscriptions as individual taste called for. The monument was sometimes simple and dignified, and often ornate, having symbolic figures or caps, such as an angel contemplating flight, as interpreted by a mortuary artisan. Some of these were pretty bad. There was also a headstone and footstone on each grave, and on the headstone an inscription giving the name and dates, with some recital of the virtues of the deceased, either in prose or verse, or also very commonly, a single word, such as 'Mother,' 'Father' or 'Baby,' which was sufficient for the family but not informatory to others. As the lot filled up, it, with others near it similarly treated, looked like the yard of a granite or marble cutter.

"Marble, perishable stone, was the material most commonly used, with more or less ornamental carving, according to the taste of the owner, or possibly that of the one who sold the stone or did the work. Some of the stones were simple and some inclined to be ostentatious. On other lots were large and conspicuous tombs. In earlier days the inscriptions were a fertile field for genealogists and antiquarians, but now such information is better had from municipal records.

"Formerly, the attitude of cemeteries was that when a lot was sold, the buyer could put on it such memorials as he pleased, irrespective of the effect on the appearance of the cemetery as a whole, but for some time a right of censorship usually has been reserved, which has been exercised very gently. It is rather difficult to restrain a not unnatural desire of mourners to display their grief.

"With the gradual passing of crepe and opther accompaniments of 'full mourning' and 'simplification of funerals, a change has come over cemeteries, and many of them are trying to become more beautiful and natural. Many of them are restricting the number of memorials which can be placed on a lot above the grade of the lot. A good many new cemeteries in the West and a considerable number in the East allow nothing above grade, and it is worth noting that two at least of our leading and old cemeteries. Mount Auburn and Forest Hills, have set apart tracts of very attractive lots on which nothing can be placed above grade, which indicates the belief of the trustees that here is a demand for such areas from people of educated taste.

"This interesting change in the treatment and development of cemeteries is rapidly increasing. The old system of burying under churches, or in crowded burial places in cities, and in church yards or town cemeteries in rural districts, gave way long ago to garden cemeteries, sometimes private and sometimes publicly owned, in which a serious effort was made to have them beautiful as well as restful. The first cemetery of this kind was started just 100 years ago and has been followed by many others in all parts of the country. — Early Customs "The custom of early days permitted and almost required that a monument or headstone should be placed at each grave, on which should be placed an inscription setting out the virtues of the deceased and very often some lines of verse or scriptural quotation, giving point to the story of the child who asked where the bad people were buried, because he had read the headstones, and only good people were in the cemetery. It was thought that the owner of a lot had a right to put up whatever memorial he saw fit on his lot, with the result that cemeteries filled up with monuments, headstones and tombs standing high in the air, some of which were simple and beautiful and many were very ornate and ostentatious.

"The typical lot had a granite curb, an iron fence around it, a central monument bearing the family name and at each grave a headstone with the name and virtues of its occupant, or often merely 'Father,' 'Mother,' or 'Baby,' and also another stone at the foot of the grave. Many lots were almost entirely covered with such stones and looked like the yard of a granite cutter.

"A good many years ago the best of the cemeteries refused to allow more granite curbs or iron fences and are trying now to get rid of those that exist. Most of them exercise a more or less strict censorship over memorials placed

on lots, and this censorship combined with a general improvement of public taste has had a good effect, but the desire of a few for ostentation in the marking of the graves of their dead cannot be entirely controlled.

"In older days graveyards were searched by genealogists and antiquarians for information which can now be had more easily by going to the official records, which are constantly growing more dull and accurate. The historical value of dates and inscriptions on monuments and headstones has nearly disappeared.

"There is no question as to the beauty gained by the abolition or limitation of headstones above the ground, and the action of Mount Auburn and Forest Hills in doing away with them entirely in some of the most attractive parts of those cemeteries indicates strong belief on the part of their trustees that such a restriction will appeal to people of taste. It is a strictly modern and very interesting tendency and one which is likely to add greatly to the attractiveness of our cemeteries."

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THE UNIVERSALIST AND LADIES' REPOSITORY 109 — CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN.

1834

[illustration of Mount Auburn's entrance with the Egyptian style gate. It is flanked by an iron fence on both sides. There are people walking around and man on horseback.]

Entrance to Mount Auburn.

THE Cemetery at Mount Auburn, justly celebrated as the most interesting object of the kind in our country, is situated in Cambridge and Watertown, about four miles from the city of Boston. It includes upwards of one hundred acres of land, purchased at different times by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, extending from the main road nearly to the bank of Charles river. A portion of the land next to the road, and now under cultivation, constitutes the Experimental Garden of the Society. A long water-course between this tract and the interior woodland, forms a natural boundary, separating the two sections. The inner portion, which is set apart for the purposes of a Cemetery, is covered, throughout most of its extent, with a vigorons growth of forest trees, many of them large size, and comprising an unusual variety of kinds. This tract is beautifully undulating in its surface, containing a number of bold eminences, steep acclivities, and deep, shadowy valleys. A remarkable natural ridge, with a level surface, runs through the ground from south-east to north-east, and has, for many years, been known as a secluded and favorite walk. The principal eminence, called Mount Auburn, in the plan, which has been published, is one hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of Charles river, and commands from its summit, one of the finest prospects which can be obtained in the environs of Boston. On one side is the city in full view, connected at its extremeties with Charlestown and Roxbury. The serpentine course of Charles river, with the cultivated hills and fields rising beyond it, and the blue hills of Milton in the distance, occupies another portion of the landscape. The village of Cambridge, with the venerable edifices of Harvard University, are situated about a mile to the eastward. On the north, at a very small distance, Fresh Pond appears a fine sheet of water, finely diversified by its woody and irregular shores. Country seats and cottages in various directions, and especially those on the elevated land in Watertown, add much to the picturesque effect of the scene. It is proposed, at some future period, to erect on the summit of

Mount Auburn, a tower, after some classic model, of sufficient height to rise above the tops of the surrounding trees. This will serve the double purpose of a land-mark, to identify the spot from a distance, and of an observatory, commanding an uninterrupted view of the country around it. From the foot of this monument will be seen, in detail, the features of the landscape, as they are successively presented through the different vistas which have been opened among the trees, while from its summit a magnificent and unbroken panorama, embracing one of the most delightful tracts in New England, will be spread out beneath the eye. Not only the contiguous country, but the harbor and the bay of Boston, with their ships and islands, and, in a clear atmosphere, the distant mountains of Wachusett, and probably, even of Monadnock, will be comprehended within the range of vision.

The grounds of the Cemetery have been laid out with intersecting avenues, so as to render every part of the wood accessible. These avenues are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining, at the same time, the picturesque effect of landscape gardening. Over the more level portions, the avenues are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads. The more broken and precipitous parts are approached by footpaths, six feet in width. These passage-ways are smoothly gravelled, and will be planted on both sides with flowers and ornamental shrubs. Lots of ground, each containing three hundred square feet, are set off, as family burial-places, at suitable distances on the sides of the avenues and paths. The perpetual right of inclosing and of using these lots, as places of sepulture, is conveyed to the purchasers of them, by the Horticultural Society.

The principal entrance to Mount Auburn, is through a lofty Egyptian gateway, erected on the main road, at the commencement of the Central Avenue. It has two lodges at its sides, and bears the following inscription:

'THEN SHALL THE DUST RETURN TO THE EARTH, AS IT WAS; AND THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN UNTO GOD, WHO GAVE IT.'

Within the Cemetery about forty sepulchral monuments of different kinds have been erected, mostly by individual proprietors, all of which evince a pure and classical taste. Some of these are elaborate, and highly ornamented. The monument erected over the remains of Spurzheim, the Phrenologist, is of pure Italian marble, and is made after the model of Scipio's tomb, at Rome.

We cannot more appropriately occupy a few columns of our paper, than by introducing an extract from the address of Judge Story, delivered on the dedication of the Cemetery—a performance peculiarly eloquent, chaste, and classic.

'A rural Cemetery seems to combine, in itself, all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquilize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

And what spot acan be more appropriate than this, for such a purpose! Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade, and the silent grove. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that 'wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,' the rustling pine, and the dropping willow; the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perrennial shoots, instructing us, that the 'wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.' Here is the thick shrubbery, to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze, as it murmurs through

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BOSTON HERALD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1936

FANCY THIS -By Jack Frost

[illustration of a tomb surrounded by an iron fence and trees. Signed Jack Frost dated 1936]

The tomb shown in the sketch is the memorial in Mt. Auburn Cemetery to John Thornton Kirkland, fifteenth president of Harvard, remembered as one of the great leaders of the university. It will be noted that the fence surrounding the vault has fallen into disrepair.

The Kirkland administration, from 1810 to 1828, has been called "the Augustan Age of Harvard," when the influence of the college began to be felt much more widely throughout the nation. New departments of instruction were

opened, two new professional schools added, and three new buildings were erected. Students began to enter the college from outside New England in larger numbers.

President Kirkland was born in Herkimer, N. Y., in 1770, the son of Samuel Kirkland, a celebrated Indian missionary who influenced the Oneida Indians to join the patriot's cause in the Revolution. He died in Boston in 1840, 12 years after his retirement as president of Harvard because of ill health.

60c

MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY One of America's Finest Burial Grounds

We are indeed pleased to bring to the attention of our readers in this Review, Mount Auburn Cemetery, one of the most outstandingly beautiful burial grounds in the entire country.

It can be truly said that the progress of civilization in any community may be judged by the advancement that has been made in the care and respect for the memory of those who have passed to the great beyond. We deem it eminently fitting and proper, therefore, that we direct the attention of our readers to this burial ground in Cambridge, of which this entire section of the state may feel proud and which reflects in simplicity and beauty is eloquent of silent tribute to those who rest beneath its protecting elms.

Situated between the Charles River and the Cambridge-Watertown highway, Mount Auburn has the advantage of accessibility from Metropolitan Boston. Comprising 160 acres of consecrated land, beautifully landscaped, its nine miles of paved avenues and over eleven miles of winding pathways all add to the attractiveness which judicious planning and constant care have contributed, and of course not forgetting the beautiful rose and perennial garden and sunken pool which is a particular item of interest open to the public.

Mount Auburn is rich in tradition and historical association and some of the nation's most illustrious sons and daughters are interred here. So long is the full list of men and women of national distinction that it has frequently been called the Westminster Abbey of America. Some of the eminent persons include Henry W. Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Mary Baker Eddy, Phillips Brooks, Charles W. Eliot, Edwin Booth and Louis Agassiz, among hundreds of others.

A modern cemetery located in the vicinity of a growing city is an enterprise requiring not only a large outlay of money, but also a highly trained business organization. Mount Auburn is a modern burial place, built from the experience of ages. Non-sectarian in character it is a place of permanent, enduring beauty and certain of perpetual care and maintenance of all lots purchased after the year 1875, through the special trust fund set aside for this purpose. With extensive greenhouses, nursey and service buildings the completeness of facilities is designed for the entire satisfaction of those who wish to be certain that the final resting place of a departed loved one is to receive the utmost in perpetual care.

61

ONE HUNDRED AND MORE THINGS TO SEE in Boston AND SURROUNDING CITIES AND TOWNS

[?] today of the garden-ceme[tery?] which lie famous men and [women?] of the past and present, [?] the natural and landscaped [?] "Sweet Auburn," as Mount [Auburn?] Cemetery has long been [?] [?]ts miles of winding paths and [?] [?]d beside charming ponds and [?] [?]s and flowers. Passing motor[?] [?]ere Mount Auburn and Brattle [?] converge, experience as they [?] [?]o or from town a fleeting [?] of enchantment as they [?] masses of daffodils or flower[ing?] [bus?]hes or trees in the early spring. [?] the 110-acre area to which the [?] 72 acres purchased in 1830 and [?] [?]ated in 1831 were increased by [?] garden as well as a cemetery [mai?]ntained.

[Beca?]use of the protection and the [dense?] foliage of trees and blossoming [?] of Mount Auburn, it attracts [?] [?]ess birds of the familiar New [Engla?]nd varieties and those in migra[tion?] [n?]orth and south. School children [go?] [on?] groups to see their bright [pluma?]ge and hear their songs in the [early?] spring. It is the distinction of [this?] cemetery that it draws to it, [people?] who rejoice in its living beauty, [as?] [w?]ell as those who honor their dead.

[?] its highest point—the actual ["?]nt" which gives it its name— [?] is a round tower, 62 feet high, the [s?]pendous monument" to the mem[?] of George Washington, proposed [w?]n the cemetery was begun. Har[?] and Radcliffe students and other [youn?]g people of Cambridge find it a [?]ly spot to seek in spring and [?]mn and to gaze out over the ["?]eamy view" of the nearby Charles [?]er as it winds away toward the [?] with the Harvard Houses and their [?]ers on one shore, the Harvard [Bu?]siness School on the other and the [?]ceful Harvard Stadium and wide [?]y-fields toward the west; Boston [?]d its few outstanding high buildings [?]d spires, with its islanded harbor [?]yond and Wachusett and the Blue [?]lls in other directions.

But serious people who like to visit [th?]e graves of writers, artists, leaders [?] religious or political or scientific [?]elds, will love to linger by the head[st?]ones or monuments—some by such [f?]amous sculptors as Augustus Saint[?]audens, Bela Pratt and others. Here [?]e Longfellow and James Russell Lowell and the third of the famous [t?]rio, the witty and delightful "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Oliver Wendell Holmes, father of the noblest of our Supreme Court justices. Holmes was born in a house—no longer standing—in the vicinity of the Common and Christ Church and the Old Town Burying Ground recently described—that is why he wrote so feelingly of that area. He did not always write reverently, however—his wit bubbled over irrepressibly. Another humorist, Thomas Bailey Aldrich also is buried here.

One of the most impressive tombs is that of Mary Baker Eddy, in the form of a small circular classic-pillared temple, reflected in nearby pond waters. The great preachers, William Ellery Channing and Phillips Brooks are among the distinguished dead; as are the very celebrated historians, Jared Sparks, William H. Prescott and Francis Parkman, and such scientists as Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray. The architect who has left so many beautiful buildings in and around Boston, Charles Bulfinch, is buried here. Edwin Booth and Charlotte Cushman, famous [a?]ctors of an earlier day, and Julia [W?]ard Howe, who not only wrote the ["?]Battle Hymn of the Republic" but was [on?]e of the organizers of the Woman [Suf?]frage Association and a devoted [bro?]ker for peace—are among those who [?]n Mount Auburn.

[Am?]ong the most interesting memorials [?]hose to great people who have died [?]tant lands or at sea, as did Mar[?] Fuller d'Ossoli, the brilliant Cam[bridge?] woman who was one of the most [?]ging personalities of the group, [pa?]rticipated in the "flowering of

[black and white photograph of cemetery with tombstones, a lane for walking lined by large trees] No. 37—A Scene in Mt. Auburn—"Sweet Auburn"—Cambridge. (Courtesy of Mt. Auburn Cemetery.)

New England." She lived, incidentally, for a time in another of the very old houses on Brattle street—now the Cambridge Social Union. Others are those in

memory of Benjamin Franklin, of John Lothrop Motley, whose "Rise of the Dutch Republic" makes sad but hopeful reading today; of Richard H. Dana

whose remains are in Rome, and of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.

Mount Auburn is indeed a shrine for visitors

Tomorrow's Picture—On the Rocks at Wingaersheek Beach, Goose Cove, Annisquam.

Boston Globe Feb 29, 1940

Mt. Auburn Cemetery Ruled Not Tax Exempt

The full bench of the Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that the proprietors of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, must pay the state unemployment compensation tax in behalf of its 100-odd employeers.

The cemetery proprietors had sought to escape the tax on the ground their corporation was exclusively for charitable, educational and religous purposes and nonprofit.

Globe

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62 Cambridge Bar Honors Jurists

Decorates Graves of Three in Mt. Auburn

Members of the Cambridge Bar Association yesterday laid wreaths on the graves of three justices of the United States Supreme Court in Mt. Auburn cemetery, as part of the nation-wide observance of the 150th anniversary of the first session of the court.

A similar observance was held in Scituate where members of the Scituate Historical Society, headed by Rep. Nathaniel Tilden, president of the society, laid a wreath on the grave of one of its native sons, Justice William Cushing, appointed by President Washington as a member of the first court.

Rep. Tilden also presided at exercises held at the Judge Cushing memorial tablet in Grenebush and introduced George C. Olson, president of the Plymouth County Bar Association, guest speaker. Among those who attended the exercises were representatives of the Scituate Historical Society, Chief Justice Cushing chapter, D.A.R.; Society of Old Colony Descendants, Norwell and Cohasset Historical societies and Scituate town officials.

Graves decorated by the Cambridge Bar Association were those of Joseph Story, a member of the court from 1811 to 1845; Benjamin R. Curtis, a member from 1851 to 1857, and Horace Gray, a member from 1881 to 1902, whose grave was decorated by his nephew, Roland Gray.

62a MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY One of America's Finest Burial Grounds

ARLINGTON NEWS, FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 1941

We are indeed pleased to bring to the attention of our readers in this Review, Mount Auburn Cemetery, one of the most outstandingly beautiful burial grounds in the entire country.

It can be truly said that the progress of civilization in any community may be judged by the advancement that has been made in the care and respect for the memory of those who have passed to the great beyond. We deem it eminently fitting and prosper, therefore, that we direct the attention of our readers to the burial ground in Cambridge, of which this entire section of the state may feel proud and which reflects in its every aspect that impressive dignity, reverence and seclusion which in simplicity and beauty is eloquent of silent tribute to those who rest beneath its protecting elms.

Situated between the Charles River and the CambridgeWatertown highway, Mount Auburn has the advantage of accessibility from Metropolitan Boston. Comprising 156 acres of consecrated land, beautifully landscaped, its nine miles of paved avenues and over eleven miles of winding pathways all add to the attractiveness which judicious planning and constant care have contributed.

Mount Auburn is rich in tradition and historical association and some of the nation's most illustrious sons and daughters are interred here. So long is the full list of men and women of national distinction that it has frequently been called the Westminster Abby of America. Some of the element persons include Henry W. Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mary Baker Eddy, Phillips Brooks, Charles W. Eliot, Edwin Booth and Louis Agassiz, among hundreds of others.

The location of a modern cemetery in the vicinity of a growing city is an enterprise requiring not only a large outlay of money, but also a highly trained business organization. Mount Auburn is a modern burial place, built from the experience of ages; Non-sectarian in character it is a place of permanent, enduring beauty and certain of perpetual care and maintenance of all lots purchased after the year 1875, through a special trust fund set aside for this purpose. With extensive greenhouses, nursery and service buildings the completeness of facilities is designed for the entire satisfaction of those who wish to be certain that the final resting place of a departed loved one is to receive the utmost in perpetual care.

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63a

[photo portait of H. Gray, 1881-1902]

[photo portait of J. Story, 1811-45]

[photo portait of B.R. Curtis, 1851-57]

Boston Herald 1/10/40

Attention, Sol Bloom!

With pleasure we come to the rescue of the Honorable Sol Bloom. The gentleman from New York is preparing an elaborate program for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of the United States Supreme Court. He purposes to put it on the map. He is in distress becuaase he has been unable to ascertain where three decedents of that august tribunal are buried, and he "pleads that anybody who knows" any of the facts shall communicate with him at his office in Washington.

There are four Massachusetts men in his list. Obviously this is a case which requires instant attention, so we hurry to inform this researching congressman that one of the Massachusetts quartet now is buried in Scituate and the other three all rest in the cemetery which has been called the Pere Lachaise of America, historic Mount Auburn in Cambridge.

William Cushing, a member of the original court, died at Scituate Sept. 13, 1810, at 78, after 21 years on the bench. The private lot in the Greenbush district in which he lies is owned by the Scituate Historical Society. A memorial boulder at the junction of Country Way and Judge Cushing road is decorated each Memorial Day by the D.A.R. chapter which is named for him.

Joseph Story had a home in Cambridge and died there Sept. 10, 1845, about 14 years after he had delivered the consecration address for the cemetery in which he lies. The marble statue which for many years was a conspicuous feature in the cemetery was removed to Harvard a few years ago.

Benjamin R. Curtis died at his cottage in Newport, R.I., on Sept. 15, 1874. Four days later his funeral was held in Emmanuel Church in Boston, and the interment followed at Mount Auburn.

Horace Gray's death occurred at his summer home in Nahant on Sept. 15, 1902, and his funeral also was held at Emmanuel, conducted by Bishop Lawrence and the rector, E. Winchester Donald. His resting place in the famous cemetery like the others may readily be found by any interested visitor.

Curiously, all four of these justices died in September.

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AFTER ALL, Germany censors, efficient though they not supposed to know that Mt. Auburn is a cemete[ry?] [?] man while at Harvard became friendly with a Germ[an?] [?] also a student. The German went back to his own [?] but the two kept up a correspondence. Recently the Am[?] received a letter from his German friend, written from Be[rlin?] in which the latter commented on war-time living conditions. Life was normal in Berlin, he said, food plentiful, everybody happy; "in fact," he went on, "I would rather be in Berlin than in any other place, except Mt. Auburn." July 1940

Mt. Auburn Cemetery Noted for Fine Botanical Gardens

By GEORGE CROFT

"The Westminster Abbey of America," Mt. Auburn Cemetery, the first rural or "garden" cemetery in the country, ranking the Arlington National Cemetery and Boston's Old Granary Burial Ground in history, is considered by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society to contain one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the country. The cemetery will be 115 years old next September.

This last resting place of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church, is now, according to ornithologists of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, one of the best bird sanctuaries in the vicinity of Great Boston.

The plentiful supply of food, water and natural cover lures more variety of birds than may be seen elsewhere in this region.

Originally the land composing the burial grounds was owned by Simon Stone and appropriately called, "Stone's Woods." Later it was known as "Sweet Auburn," and Harvard students frequented the hilly wood of study. One Harvard graduate, George W. Brimmer of Boston in 1825 purchased the property for $6000 with the idea of preserving its natural beauty. — Decided on Cemetery in 1830

Five years later, in 1830, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, making an effort to found a botanical garden, but lacking necessary funds, met with a group of Cambridge and Boston citizens which included Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, Judge Joseph Story, Samuel Appleton and Dr. Jacob Bigelow, who wanted to found a rural cemetery. Gen H.A.S. Dearborn represented the society.

The group discussed their projects and decided to combine them into one—a garden cemetery. Mr. Brimmer, hearing of the project, offered his land at the price he paid for it, and it was accepted.

In August of 1831 the cemetery was laid out by engineer Alexander Wadsworth. The next month 2000 persons crowded into a slight depression in the center of the present grounds known now as "Consecration Dell," to hear Judge Joseph W. Story, professor at Harvard Law School, first chairman of the cemetery board of trustees, consecrate the grounds.

The first recorded burial was that of a child of James Boyd of Roxbury, July 6, 1832, on Mountain av. The second burial was on July 12 when Mrs. A.E. Hastings of Cambridge was interred.

The original cemetery land was 72 acres and the present area is 136 acres, extended from Mt. Auburn st. to the Charles River and into Watertown.

Many imposing memorials to persons and groups have been erected throughout the cemetery. One, in throughout the cemetery. One, in memory of George Washington, was erected on a hill 125 feet above the Charles River. it is a 62-foot granite tower, from which a panorama of Boston Harbor, Harvard College grounds and buildings and Cambridge can be viewed. Another is a huge granite sphinx by Martin Milmore, commemorating the Civil War and the more than 800 Civil War veterans that have been laid to rest in the cemetery. — Many Notables Rest There

Amon the early pioneers in their respective fields of endeavor buried in Mt. Auburn are listed below chronologically by vocations:

Author, Editors and Poets— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Parker Willis, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton, Amy Lowell, and Thomas Bailey Aldrich and Gamaliel Bradford.

Actors, Architects and Artsits— Charlotte Cushman, Edwin Booth, Charles Bulfinch, Theodore Thomas and Winslow Homer.

Educators and Teachers—Charles W. Eliot, Josiah Royce, William F. Warren and RIchard C. Maclaurin.

Historians—Jared Sparks, William H. Prescott and Francis Parkman.

Philanthropists and Reformers— Abbott Lawrence, Dorothea L. Dix, Samuel Gridley, Julia Ward Howe and Henry Lee Higginson.

Religious Leaders—Mary Baker Eddy, John Murray, William Ellery Channing, Phillips Brooks.

Scientists—Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, Nathaniel S. Shaler, Henry Pickering Bowditch and Theodore W. Richards.

Statesment and Jurists—Pres. Josiah Quincy, Gov. Edward Everett, Rufus Choate, Henry Cabot Lodge and Charles Sumner.

The first officers and trustees were: Judge Joseph W. Story, for whom Story Chapel is named, presdent; George W. Pratt, secretary; George Bond, treasurer and David Haggerston, superintendent. Trustees: Dr. Jacob Bigelow, Benjamin A. Gould, H.A.S. Dearborn, George W. Brimmer, Charles Wells, Gov. Edward Everett, Zebedee Cook Jr., Joseph P. Bradlee, Charles Browne, Charles P. Cutis, Samuel Appletonm and Elijah Vose.

The present officers and trustees are: Oakes I. Ames, president; T. Gordon Smith, secretary; John P. Knoblock, treasurer, and Herbert C. Philpott, superintendent. Trustees, Franklin W. Hobbs, Charles E. Cotting, Thomas P. Beal Jr., William H. Clafflin, Charles M. Story, Theodore L. Story, Arthur H. Morse, Samuel L. Batchelder, Lucius T. Hill, Francis W. Hatch and J. Gardner Coolidge.

"BOSTON GLOBE" (Cambridge Edition) March 6, 1946

65

July 5, 1946

[Water?]TOWN (MASS.) SUN

[Sculp?]ture By Harriet Hosmer [Prese?]nted To Mt. Auburn Trustees

[?] of sculpture by one of [?]'s most distinguished ar[?]he 19th century, Harriet [?]as been presented to the [?] of Mt. Auburn Cemetery [Fre?]derick Robinson, 106 Mt. [str?]eet.

[?]k, a bas-relief which de[?]ul being borne to Heaven [a?]ngels, was completed by [?]r during her stay in Italy, [?]rought it to this country [?] returned to the family [?] on Riverside street. A [?] Miss Hosmer as a young [?]ngs in Mr. Robinson's par[?] bears testimony to the [?] Nathaniel Hawthorne's [?]scription of her after his [?]r studio in Rome, during [?]

[Scul?]pture came into Mr. Rob[?]ping about a year ago [?] in a possession of a [Mi?]ss Hosmer for many dec[?]ill be placed in an appro[?]ion in the Bigelow Chapel [Aub?]urn.

From Oakes Ames, president of the proprietors of the cemetery, Mr. Robinson has received the following letter of appreciation:

Mr. G. Frederick Robinson 106 Mount Auburn Street Watertown 72, Mass.

Dear Mr. Robinson:

Your gift to Mount Auburn Cemetery of the lovely piece of sculpture was called to the attention of our Trustees at their recent meeting, and I have been requested to express on their behalf their deep appreciation of your generosity and interest.

Inasmuch as Harriet G. Hosmer is buried in this cemetery, it is particularly fitting that we should have a product of her art to recall her fame as the first sculptress of note in America. Your gift will be placed in an appropriate location in Bigelow Chapel.

Sincerely yours, Oakes I. Ames, President

Recently Completed: A NEW COLUMBARIUM in Story Chapel

[photograph of columbarium]

for the permanent deposit of cremated remains

Choice of bronze or glass-front marble niches, having a capacity of one to six urns.

For further information communicate with Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Mass. KIRkland 7105.

MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY

The oldest garden cemetery in America. Investment fund $4,000,000 Non-Sectarian Non-Profit

Announcing a NEW COLUMBARIUM in Story Chapel

[larger photograph of columbarium]

for the permanent deposit of cremated remains

Choice of bronze or glass-front marble niches having a capacity of one to six urns.

For further information communicate with Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn St., Cambridge. KIRkland 7105.

MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY

The oldest garden cemetery in America. Investment fund, $4,000,000.

Non Sectarian Non-Profit

Boston Herald - January 11 - 1942 (Sunday)

66

MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY America's Oldest Garden Cemetery — We are indeed pleased to bring to the attention of our readers in this Review, Mount Auburn Cemetery, one of the most outstanding beautiful burial grounds in the entire country.

It can be truly said that the progress of civilization in any community may be judged by the advancement that has been made in the care and respect for the memory of those who have passed to the great beyond. We deem it eminently fitting and proper, therefore, that we direct the attention of our readers to this burial ground in Cambridge, of which this entire section of the state may feel proud and which reflects in its every aspect that impressive dignity, reverence and seclusion which in simplicity and beauty is eloquent of silent tribute to those who rest beneath its protecting elms.

Situated between the Charles River and the Cambridge-Watertown highway, Mount Auburn has the advantage of accessibility from Metropolitan Boston. Comprising 160 acres of consecrated land, beautifully landscaped, its nine miles of paved avenues and over 11 miles of winding pathways all add to the attractiveness which judicious planning and constant care have contributed, and, of course, not forgetting the beautiful rose and perennial garden and sunken pool which is a particular item of interest open to the public.

Mount Auburn is rich in tradition and historical association and some of the nation's most illustrious sons and daughters are interred her. So long is the full list of men and women of national distinction that it has frequently been called the Westminster Abbey of America. Some of the eminent persons include Henry W Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Mary Baker Eddy, Phillips Brooks, Charles W. Eliot, Edwin Booth and Louis Agassiz, among hundreds of others.

A modern cemetery located in the vicinity of a growing city is an enterprise requiring not only a large outlay of money, but also a highly trained business organization. Mount Auburn is a modern burial place, built from the experience of ages. Non-sectarian in character it is a place of permanent, enduring beauty and certain of perpetual care and maintenance of all lots purchased after the year 1875, through a special trust fund set aside for this purpose. ✓

With extensive greenhouses, nursery, two chapels, cremation columbaria, and service buildings, the completeness of facilities is designated for the entire satisfaction of those who wish to be certain that the final resting place of a departed loved one is to receive the utmost in perpetual care.

Cambridge Tribune 4/25/1947 — 7/9/1948^? 3/20/1951 — Arlington Press 2/5/1948 - 3/30/50 ([arrow pointing to 50] inferior printing) Back Bay Ledger 5/6/1948 " " " 5/26/1949 " " " 5/24/1951 ($5,400,000 fund) " " " 5/1/1952 ($5,600,000 fund) " " " 5/27/1954 ($5,900 000 ")

5/1954 MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY Back Bay Ledger "America's Oldest Garden Cemetery"

We are indeed pleased to bring the attention of our readers of this Review, Mount Auburn Cemetery, one of the most outstanding, beautiful burial grounds in the entire country.

It can be truly said that the progress of civilization in any community may be judged by the advancement that has been made in the care and respect for the memory of those who have passed to the great beyond. We deem it eminently fitting and proper, therefore, that we direct the attention of our readers to this burial ground in Cambridge, of which this entire section of the state may feel proud and which reflects in its every aspect that impressive dignity, reverence and seclusion which in simplicity and beauty is eloquent of silent tribute to those who rest beneath its protecting elms.

Situated between the Charles River and the Cambridge-Watertown highway, Mount Auburn has the advantage of accessibility from Metropolitan Boston. Comprising 165 acres of consecrated land, beautifully landscaped, its nine miles of paved avenues and over 11 miles of winding pathways all add to the attractiveness which judicious planning and constant care have contributed. The beautiful rose and perennial garden and sunken pool located here are items of particular interest and are always open to the public.

# Daily many bird lovers visit this sanctuary to observe all types of birds in this beautiful bird watching spot. #

Mount Auburn is rich in tradition and historical association and some of the nation's most illustrious sons and daughters are interred here. So long is the full list of men and women of national distinction that is has frequently been called the Westminster Abbey of America. Some of the eminent persons included Henry W. Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Mary Baker Eddy, Philips Brooks, Charles W. Eliot, Edwin Booth and Louis Agassiz.

A modern cemetery located in the vicinity of a growing city is an enterprise requiring not only a large outlay of money, but also a highly trained business organization. Mount Auburn is a moder burial place, built from the experience of ages. Non-sectarian in character it is a place of permanent, enduring beauty and certain of perpetual care and maintenance of all lots purchased after the year 1875, through a special trust fund set aside for this purpose, Mount Auburn Cemetery has an investment fund of $5,900,000.

With extensive greenhouses, nursery, two chapels, cremation columbaria, and service buildings, the completeness of facilities is designed for the complete satisfaction of those who wish to be certain that the final resting place of a departed loved one is to receive the utmost in perpetual care.

67

BOSTON TRAVELER, MONDAY, JUNE 30, 1947

[black and white photograph of a chapel surrounded by trees on a hill] ALL-PURPOSE CHAPEL—"Wee Kirk o' the Heather^{AP Photo}," chapel in California's famous cemetery, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where one can be married, buried or buy life insurance.

For Life and for Death You Can Be Married or Buried or Go to Pray In $55,000,000 California Cemetery

By HAL BOYLE

GLENDALE, Calif., June 30 (AP)—One of the liveliest spots in Southern California is a cemetery where you can buy life insurance and more weddings are held there than any other place in America.

Only Hollywood itself ranks higher as a tourist attraction in this area than Forest Lawn Memorial Park, whose 300 statuary-studded acres draws 1,500,000 visitors annually.

It is one of Glendale's biggest industries with a staff of 800 employes, and it is a $55,000,000 monument to 67-year-old Dr. Hubert Eaton, a mining engineer who took over the management 30 years ago.

Known now somewhat mystically as "the builder," Eaton is a supersalesman with artistic impulses.

MAKING DEATH PLEASANT

Right at the start in 1917 he looked over the 50-acre cemetery and decided that it, like every other burial ground he had seen, was depressing and ugly. He set out to create a cemetery "beautiful and restful—a bright lovely garden where happiness is recalled and sorrow forgotten."

In three decades he has managed to make death about as pleasant as possible and enlarged the cemetery to twelve times its original size. Some Forest Lawn innovations:

A heart-shaped cemetery for children known as "babyland."

Bronze grave markers level with

the grass instead of traditional monuments.

A pastel-colored mortuary chamber for funerals called "The Slumber Room."

Two hundred statues which make up the biggest collection of large marble statuary in America.

Fifty stained glass windows including a copy of "The Last Supper," viewed by from 250,000 to 500,000 visitors annually.

A bronze-doored "Garden of Life," which opens only to gold keys given to survivors of the dead interred there.

A Memorial Court of Honor which Eaton would like to amke into "The Westminster Abbey of America." Distinguished Americans are interred here without cost. Present inhabitants: Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, and Carrie Jacobs Bond, composer.

A seven-level earthquake-resistant mausoleum containing enough concrete to build a 60story skyscraper.

Forest Lawn is a marble index to the film industry, a kind of "Who Was Who" of the entertainment world. Here lie Will Rogers, Marie Dressler, Flo Ziegfeld, John Gilbert, Edna May Oliver, Lon Chaney, Russ Columbo, Tom Mix, Wallace Reid, Charles Ray, Ruth Roland, Chic

Sale, Ben Turpin—and scores of others.

Jean Harlow is there in platinum silence behind a marble slab that says "Our Baby" and bears lipstick from her mother's kiss. Carole Lombard still gets two fresh flowers each day, and her nearest neighbor is her mother. The crypt on her other side is empty.

Buried there also are the designer of the Golden Gate bridge, the man who invented push-back theater seats, the author of "The Wizard of Oz," a doctor who delivered 7000 babies, a pathologist who performed 30,000 autopsies, and the mane who introduced table tennis to America.

The cemetery has had 106,000 interments and 16,000 weddings— 226 in June alone. Its permanent tenants before the present boom period began outnumbered the living population of Glendale.

"We'll be out of space in another 20 years," said a representative, "and we're planning to establisth another Forest Lawn patterened after this, but one and a half times as big, overlooking San Fernando Valley."

Forest Lawn has a flower shop, three churches, an advertising manager and two publicity men. You can be christened, married, cremated or buried there. You can also go there to pray, buy a life insurance policy or listen to an art lecture. One minister was ordained in the cemetery.

The advertising slogan of Forest Lawn:

"Everything in one place."