List of rural cemeteries in the United States

The rural cemetery, or garden cemetery, is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. This article is a list of rural cemeteries in the United States.

Name	Year opened	Location	Notes
Mount Auburn Cemetery	1831	Boston, Massachusetts	The first rural cemetery built in the U.S.^[1]
Mount Hope Cemetery	1834	Bangor, Maine
Laurel Hill Cemetery	1836	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant Cemetery	1836	Taunton, Massachusetts
Rose Hill Cemetery	1836	Macon, Georgia
Rural Cemetery	1837	New Bedford, Massachusetts
Monument Cemetery	1837	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The cemetery was condemned in 1956. The land was purchased by Temple University and bodies reinterred to Lawnview Memorial Park.^[2]
Mount Hope Cemetery	1838	Rochester, New York
Green-Wood Cemetery	1838	Brooklyn, New York
Green Mount Cemetery	1838	Baltimore, Maryland
Rural Cemetery	1838	Worcester, Massachusetts
Glendale Cemetery	1839	Akron, Ohio
Harmony Grove Cemetery	1840	Salem, Massachusetts
Valley Cemetery	1840	Manchester, New Hampshire
The Woodlands	1840	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chelsea Garden Cemetery	1841	Chelsea, Massachusetts
Lowell Cemetery	1841	Lowell, Massachusetts
Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum	1841	Dayton, Ohio
Springfield Cemetery	1841	Springfield, Massachusetts
Mount Albion Cemetery	1843	Albion, New York
Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery^[3]	1843	Wilmington, Delaware
Laurel Hill Cemetery	1844	Saco, Maine
Albany Rural Cemetery	1844	Menands, New York
Frankfort Cemetery	1844	Frankfort, Kentucky
Allegheny Cemetery	1844	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant Cemetery	1844	Newark, New Jersey
Spring Grove Cemetery	1844	Cincinnati, Ohio
Harrisburg Cemetery	1845	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Swan Point Cemetery	1846	Providence, Rhode Island
Elmwood Cemetery	1846	Detroit, Michigan
Forest Home Cemetery	1847	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cave Hill Cemetery	1848	Louisville, Kentucky
Cypress Hills Cemetery	1848	New York, New York
Forest Hills Cemetery	1848	Roxbury, Massachusetts
Green Lawn Cemetery	1848	Columbus, Ohio
Lexington Cemetery	1848	Lexington, Kentucky
Oak Hill Cemetery	1848	Washington, D.C.
Oakwood Cemetery	1848	Troy, New York
Bellefontaine Cemetery	1849	St. Louis, Missouri
Boxwood Cemetery	1849	Orleans County, New York
Cemetery of the Evergreens	1849	New York, New York
Easton Cemetery	1849	Easton, Pennsylvania
Forest Lawn Cemetery	1849	Buffalo, New York
Glenwood Cemetery	1849	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	In 1938, the cemetery and all burials were relocated to Glenwood Memorial Gardens in Broomall, Pennsylvania.^[4]
Hollywood Cemetery	1849	Richmond, Virginia
Mountain Grove Cemetery	1849	Bridgeport, Connecticut
Oak Grove Cemetery	1849	Falmouth, Massachusetts
Shawsheen Cemetery	1849	Bedford, Massachusetts
Evergreen Cemetery	1850	Boston, Massachusetts
Forest Hill Cemetery	1850	Utica, New York
Indian Hill Cemetery	1850	Middletown, Connecticut
Magnolia Cemetery	1850	Charleston, South Carolina
Graceland Cemetery	1850	Chicago, Illinois
Old Gray Cemetery	1850	Knoxville, Tennessee
Ridgewood Cemetery	1850	North Andover, Massachusetts
Cedar Grove Cemetery	1851	New London, Connecticut
Dale Cemetery	1851	Ossining, New York
Erie Cemetery	1851	Erie, Pennsylvania
Evergreen Cemetery	1851	Owego, New York
Wildwood Cemetery	1851	Winchester, Massachusetts
Elmwood Cemetery	1852	Memphis, Tennessee
Greenwood Cemetery	1852	New Orleans, Louisiana
Mount Hope Cemetery	1852	Boston, Massachusetts
Oakdale Cemetery^[5]	1852	Wilmington, North Carolina
Swampscott Cemetery	1852	Swampscott, Massachusetts
Evergreen Cemetery	1853	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania	Evergreen cemetery is part of the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District and played a strategic role in the Battle of Gettysburg.^[6] It was the site of the dedication of the adjacent National Cemetery. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address from a platform in Evergreen Cemetery.^[7]^[8]
Greendale Cemetery	1853	Meadville, Pennsylvania
Mount Adnah Cemetery	1853	Fulton, New York
Oak Hill Cemetery	1853	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Oak Woods Cemetery	1853	Chicago, Illinois	The first burials at the cemetery did not occur until 1860.^[9]
Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery	1853	Poughkeepsie, New York
Riverside Cemetery	1853	Waterbury, Connecticut
Walnut Grove Cemetery	1853	Methuen, Massachusetts
Woodland Cemetery	1853	Cleveland, Ohio
Woodlawn Cemetery	1853	Clinton, Massachusetts
Chippiannock Cemetery	1854	Rock Island, Illinois
Hope Cemetery	1854	Worcester, Massachusetts
Oak Grove Cemetery	1854	Gloucester, Massachusetts
Oaklands Cemetery	1854	West Chester, Pennsylvania
Evergreen Cemetery	1855	Portland, Maine
Fairmount Cemetery	1855	Newark, New Jersey
Mount Moriah Cemetery	1855	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The cemetery closed its gates in 2011 and had no owner after the last board member died. Philadelphia's Orphan Court appointed the Mount Moriah Cemetery Preservation Corporation as owner in 2014.^[10]
Mount Wollaston Cemetery	1855	Quincy, Massachusetts
Oak Grove Cemetery	1855	Fall River, Massachusetts
Riverside Cemetery	1855	Oswego, New York
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery	1855	Concord, Massachusetts
Mount Vernon Cemetery	1856	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The cemetery was placed into conservatorship in 2021 due to neglect.^[11]
Woodward Hill Cemetery	1856	Lancaster, Pennsylvania	Founded in 1850 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity and became a non-denominational cemetery in 1856.^[12]
Holyhood Cemetery	1857	Brookline, Massachusetts
Lake Forest Cemetery	1857	Lake Forest, Illinois
Mount Feake Cemetery	1857	Waltham, Massachusetts
Vale Cemetery	1857	Schenectady, New York
Green Hill Cemetery	1858	Amsterdam, New York
Mount Olivet Cemetery	1858	Washington, D.C.
Lindenwood Cemetery	1859	Fort Wayne, Indiana
Oakwood Cemetery	1859	Syracuse, New York
Rosehill Cemetery	1859	Chicago, Illinois
Hillside Cemetery	1860	Middletown, New York
Oak Ridge Cemetery	1860	Springfield, Illinois
Chester Rural Cemetery	1863	Chester, Pennsylvania
Crown Hill Cemetery	1863	Indianapolis, Indiana
Monongahela Cemetery	1863	Monongahela City, Pennsylvania
Mountain View Cemetery	1863	Oakland, California
Woodlawn Cemetery	1863	Bronx, New York
Dellwood Cemetery	1865	Manchester Village, Vermont	Designed by Burton A. Thomas^[13]
Cedar Hill Cemetery	1866	Hartford, Connecticut
Hillside Cemetery	1866	Clarendon, New York
Cedar Lawn Cemetery	1867	Paterson, New Jersey
Lakeview Cemetery	1867	Burlington, Vermont	Designed by E.C. Ryer^[14]
Woodmere Cemetery	1867	Detroit, Michigan
West Laurel Hill Cemetery	1869	Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Glenwood Cemetery	1871	Maynard, Massachusetts
Lakewood Cemetery^[15]	1871	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Metairie Cemetery	1872	New Orleans, Louisiana
Cedar Grove Cemetery	1873	Chaumont, New York
Walnut Hills Cemetery	1875	Brookline, Massachusetts
Woodlawn Cemetery	1876	Toledo, Ohio
Homewood Cemetery	1878	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Highland Lawn Cemetery	1884	Terre Haute, Indiana
Fairview Cemetery	1885	Dalton, Massachusetts
Harleigh Cemetery	1885	Camden, New Jersey
Riverside Cemetery	1885	Fremont, New York
Riverside Cemetery	1887	Macon, Georgia
Lakeview Cemetery	1891	Sweden, New York
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park	1892	Colma, California
Fairview Cemetery	1892	Boston, Massachusetts
Hope Cemetery	1895	Barre, Vermont	Designed by landscape architect Edward P. Adams^[16]
Elmwood Cemetery	1897	Kansas City, Missouri

Footnotes

^ Linden, Blanche M. G. (2007). Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-55849-571-5. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ Barley, Luke. "How Thousands of Headstones Ended Up Under a Philadelphia Bridge". www.citylab.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery". www.wilmingtonbrandywinecemetery.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
^ Pickard, Sam. "Glenwood: The Westward-Moving Cemetery". www.marplehistory.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
^ "Oakdale Cemetery". www.oakdalecemetery.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
^ Hawthorne, Frederick W., Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments, Hanover, Pennsylvania: The Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, 1988, p. 107.
^ Historical Marker Database. "The Gettysburg Address". Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ National Park Service. "National Cemetery Walking Tour" (PDF). Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ Linden, Blanche M. G. (2007). Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-55849-571-5. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
^ "History". www.friendsofmountmoriahcemetery.org. October 17, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Bender, William. "Judge ousts absentee owner of historic Mount Vernon Cemetery. Rehab could involve goats". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
^ Schuyler, David (2004). "Woodward Hill Cemetery" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places nomination form. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
^ Cothran, James R.; Danylchak, Erica (2018). Grave Landscapes. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781611177992. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
^ Friends of Lakeview Cemetery (October 2, 2015). "Lakeview Cemetery: More than a burial ground". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT.
^ "Discover Our Proud Past". www.lakewoodcemetery.org. Lakewood Cemetery. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
^ "Hope cemetery Guide". Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce. 2002. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.

References

Greene, Meg (2008). Rest in Peace: A History of American Cemeteries. Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8225-3414-3.
Linden, Blanche M. G. (2007). Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-1-55849-571-5.
Smith, Jeffrey (2017). The Rural Cemetery Movement: Places of Paradox in Nineteenth Century America. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-2900-6.
Yalom, Marilyn (2008). The American Resting Place: Four Hundred Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-618-62427-0.

[1] Linden, Blanche M. G. (2007). Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-55849-571-5. Retrieved August 10, 2019.

[2] Barley, Luke. "How Thousands of Headstones Ended Up Under a Philadelphia Bridge". www.citylab.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

[3] "Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery". www.wilmingtonbrandywinecemetery.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

[4] Pickard, Sam. "Glenwood: The Westward-Moving Cemetery". www.marplehistory.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.

[5] "Oakdale Cemetery". www.oakdalecemetery.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

[6] Hawthorne, Frederick W., Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments, Hanover, Pennsylvania: The Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, 1988, p. 107.

[7] Historical Marker Database. "The Gettysburg Address". Retrieved August 10, 2019.

[8] National Park Service. "National Cemetery Walking Tour" (PDF). Retrieved August 10, 2019.

[9] Linden, Blanche M. G. (2007). Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-55849-571-5. Retrieved August 10, 2019.

[10] "History". www.friendsofmountmoriahcemetery.org. October 17, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

[11] Bender, William. "Judge ousts absentee owner of historic Mount Vernon Cemetery. Rehab could involve goats". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.

[12] Schuyler, David (2004). "Woodward Hill Cemetery" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places nomination form. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved November 27, 2013.

[13] Cothran, James R.; Danylchak, Erica (2018). Grave Landscapes. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781611177992. Retrieved May 18, 2024.

[14] Friends of Lakeview Cemetery (October 2, 2015). "Lakeview Cemetery: More than a burial ground". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT.

[15] "Discover Our Proud Past". www.lakewoodcemetery.org. Lakewood Cemetery. Retrieved May 19, 2024.

[16] "Hope cemetery Guide". Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce. 2002. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.

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