Riverview Cemetery (Wilmington)

Riverview Cemetery (Wilmington)
Name	Riverview Cemetery (Wilmington)
Established	1872
Country	United States
Location	Wilmington, Delaware
Type	Public
Owner	City of Wilmington, Delaware
Size	68 acres
Graves	~30,000

Riverview Cemetery (Wilmington)

Riverview Cemetery (Wilmington) is a historic municipal burial ground in Wilmington, Delaware established in the 19th century. The site serves as the final resting place for local civic leaders, military veterans, industrialists, labor organizers, clergy, and cultural figures from New Castle County, Delaware and surrounding regions. Its landscape and monuments reflect Victorian funerary design, post‑Civil War commemorations, and 20th‑century urban development, linking the cemetery to regional histories involving Delaware River, Christiana River, DuPont family, Rowland G. Hazard, John Dickinson, and other notable names.

History

Riverview Cemetery was founded in 1872 during a period of municipal expansion and the rural cemetery movement that influenced sites such as Mount Auburn Cemetery and Green-Wood Cemetery. The original trustees included members connected to Wilmington and Northern Railroad, Reading Railroad, and local industrial concerns like E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Early interments reflect post‑Civil War demographics with veterans of the American Civil War and civic leaders active during Reconstruction. Through the late 19th century the cemetery absorbed remains from older churchyards in New Castle County, Delaware and expanded as Wilmington industrialization accelerated under figures connected to Pennsylvania Railroad and regional shipping on the Delaware River.

In the 20th century Riverview Cemetery continued to evolve amid urban reforms associated with Progressive Era municipal planning and mid‑century public works related to New Deal. Burials from both World Wars include veterans who served with units tied to Fort Delaware and the United States Navy. The cemetery's role shifted with suburbanization after World War II, reflecting changes in funeral practices influenced by corporations such as Arlington National Cemetery standards and professional funeral firms.

Layout and Monuments

The cemetery's roughly 68 acres are organized with a combination of axial drives, serpentine pathways, and family plots typical of the rural cemetery tradition exemplified by Mount Auburn Cemetery. Major monuments include obelisks, recumbent effigies, columnar memorials, and engraved ledger stones bearing names tied to industrial, political, and philanthropic networks such as the Du Pont family, Shipley family, and members of the Mason family (United States). Sectional divisions contain denominational plots associated with St. Peter's Church (Wilmington), Old Swedes Church (Wilmington), and fraternal areas for organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic.

Memorials to Civil War soldiers and sailors are grouped near a central avenue, with plaques and tablets erected by veterans' associations and civic societies including chapters of the United Spanish War Veterans and American Legion (United States). Sculptural works by regional artisans reflect funerary art trends seen in other Northeastern cemeteries connected to sculptors who worked for firms like Tiffany & Co. and regional stonecutters who supplied monuments for the Pere Lachaise Cemetery market. Landscaped plantings feature specimen trees planted in eras aligned with horticultural movements promoted by institutions such as the American Horticultural Society.

Notable Burials

Riverview Cemetery contains interments of individuals prominent in Delaware and national history. Buried here are industrial leaders associated with E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, municipal officials including mayors of Wilmington, Delaware, and legal figures who served on the bench in Delaware Court of Chancery. Military figures include veterans from the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II who served under commands connected to the United States Army and United States Navy.

Other notable burials encompass cultural contributors such as journalists tied to the Delaware State News, educators affiliated with University of Delaware, and philanthropists who supported institutions like Nemours Foundation, Christiana Hospital, and regional arts organizations connected to Delaware Art Museum. Labor leaders and organizers interred here engaged with unions linked to the AFL–CIO and industrial disputes involving employers like Pennsylvania Railroad and local shipyards on the Delaware River.

Preservation and Management

The City of Wilmington, Delaware manages Riverview Cemetery, overseeing maintenance, recordkeeping, and preservation initiatives in collaboration with local historical organizations such as the Delaware Historical Society and preservationists who have worked with state agencies including the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. Conservation efforts address monument stabilization, mapping of gravesites, and archival projects to digitize burial records and link them to genealogical resources like Find a Grave and county archives.

Preservation priorities balance active interment operations with historic conservation, guided by standards promoted by professional organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Association for Gravestone Studies. Funding has come from municipal budgets, grants from foundations similar to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and community fundraising led by veterans' groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Cultural and Community Significance

Riverview Cemetery functions as a cultural landscape for Wilmington, Delaware, hosting commemorative events for Memorial Day and Veterans Day organized by local chapters of the American Legion (United States), Veterans of Foreign Wars, and civic groups. The cemetery is a resource for genealogists, historians affiliated with the University of Delaware, and educators who incorporate the site into curricula about regional history, urban studies influenced by Progressive Era reforms, and the legacies of families tied to the DuPont family and regional commerce.

Community engagement includes walking tours conducted by the Delaware Historical Society, collaboration with heritage programs at First State National Historical Park, and involvement from faith communities like St. Peter's Church (Wilmington). As an urban green space, the cemetery contributes to local biodiversity initiatives linked to organizations such as the Delaware Nature Society and serves as a locus for public memory connected to events including Civil Rights Movement commemorations and veterans' remembrances.

Category:Cemeteries in Delaware