Green Mount Cemetery

Green Mount Cemetery is a historic Baltimore, Maryland cemetery, founded in 1839 by Robert Cary Long Jr., a prominent Baltimore architect, and a group of Baltimore businessmen, including John Pendleton Kennedy and John H.B. Latrobe. The cemetery is the final resting place of many notable Baltimore residents, including John Wilkes Booth, Elijah Bond, and John Pendleton Kennedy. It is also a notable example of a Rural cemetery, a style of cemetery that was popular in the United States during the 19th century, influenced by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

● History

The history of Green Mount Cemetery dates back to 1839, when it was founded by a group of Baltimore businessmen, including John Pendleton Kennedy and John H.B. Latrobe, who were influenced by the Rural cemetery movement, which emphasized the importance of landscape architecture and horticulture in cemetery design, as seen in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California. The cemetery was designed by Robert Cary Long Jr., a prominent Baltimore architect, who also designed other notable Baltimore landmarks, such as the Baltimore City Hall and the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore. During the American Civil War, Green Mount Cemetery was the site of several funerals and memorials for Union and Confederate soldiers, including John Wilkes Booth, who was buried in the cemetery after his assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.. The cemetery is also the final resting place of many notable Baltimore residents, including Elijah Bond, the inventor of the Ouija board, and John Pendleton Kennedy, a United States Secretary of the Navy during the administration of Millard Fillmore.

● Notable_interments

Green Mount Cemetery is the final resting place of many notable individuals, including John Wilkes Booth, Elijah Bond, and John Pendleton Kennedy. Other notable interments include William T. Walters, a Baltimore businessman and art collector, who was a close friend of William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent; John H.B. Latrobe, a Baltimore lawyer and historian, who was a member of the Maryland Historical Society and the American Antiquarian Society; and Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star-Spangled Banner, who was a United States Attorney for the District of Maryland during the War of 1812. The cemetery is also the final resting place of several United States Senators, including Reverdy Johnson and John Pendleton Kennedy, as well as several United States Representatives, including John W. Crisfield and Henry Winter Davis. Additionally, the cemetery is the final resting place of Baltimore mayors, such as George William Brown and Thomas Swann, and Maryland governors, such as Augustus Bradford and Thomas Swann.

● Architecture

The architecture of Green Mount Cemetery is notable for its Rural cemetery style, which emphasizes the importance of landscape architecture and horticulture in cemetery design, as seen in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The cemetery features several notable mausoleums and monuments, including the John Wilkes Booth family mausoleum and the Elijah Bond monument, which was designed by Robert Cary Long Jr.. The cemetery also features several gates and fences, including the main gate, which was designed by John H.B. Latrobe and features a sculpture of a lion and a unicorn, symbols of Baltimore and Maryland. The cemetery's landscape architecture was influenced by the works of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who designed Central Park in New York City and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York.

● Preservation_efforts

Green Mount Cemetery has been the subject of several preservation efforts over the years, including a major restoration project in the 1990s, which was funded by the National Park Service and the Maryland Historical Trust. The cemetery is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark, recognized by the United States Secretary of the Interior. The cemetery is maintained by the Green Mount Cemetery Association, a non-profit organization that was established in 1994 to preserve and protect the cemetery, in partnership with the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The association offers tours and educational programs to promote the cemetery's history and significance, and has collaborated with other historic cemeteries, such as Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Cemetery, to share best practices in cemetery preservation.

● Visitor_information

Green Mount Cemetery is open to visitors daily from dawn to dusk, and offers self-guided tours and guided tours by appointment, led by knowledgeable guides who are familiar with the cemetery's history and notable interments. The cemetery is located at 1501 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, and is accessible by public transportation, including the Maryland Transit Administration bus and light rail systems, which connect to other historic sites in Baltimore, such as Fort McHenry and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum. Visitors can also park on site and explore the cemetery on foot, using a map and guidebook that are available at the cemetery's office, which is located near the main gate. The cemetery is a popular destination for genealogists and historians, who come to research the lives and deaths of the notable individuals buried there, and to explore the cemetery's historic mausoleums and monuments, which offer a glimpse into the lives and traditions of Baltimore's past.