Monument Cemetery

The cemetery design was laid out in 1836 and 1837 by Dr. John A. Elkinton. The lot holders were incorporated on March 19, 1838 as the Monument Cemetery Company of Philadelphia.{{sfn|Scharf|1884|p=2359}} It was the second garden or rural cemetery in Philadelphia, after Laurel Hill Cemetery, and was based on Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.{{cite web |last1=Ohstrom |first1=Katrina |title=Watery Graves |url=https://hiddencityphila.org/2011/09/watery-graves/ |website=www.hiddencityphila.org |date=30 September 2011 |publisher=Hidden City Philadelphia |access-date=25 October 2022}} It was a 20-acre diamond shaped property located near the current day intersection of Broad and Berks Street.{{cite web |last1=Geringer |first1=Dan |title=It's R.I.P. tide along the Delaware River |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20121221_It_s_R_I_P__tide_along_the_Delaware_River.html |website=www.inquirer.com |date=21 December 2012 |publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer |access-date=28 June 2022}} Originally intended to be called "Pere La Chaise", it was renamed Monument Cemetery based on a plan to include a monument in the center dedicated to George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.

The gatehouse, which also functioned as the chapel, was a gothic brownstone and brick structure topped with a towering spire.{{cite book |last1=Westcott |first1=Thompson |title=The Official Guide Book to Philadelphia. A New Handbook for Strangers and Citizens. |date=1876 |publisher=Porter and Coates |location=Philadelphia |pages=310–311 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfBHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA310 |access-date=14 March 2021}} The gatehouse was demolished in 1903 to extend Berks Street.

Designed by John Sartain,{{cite book |last1=Keels |first1=Thomas |title=Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries |date=2003 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=0-7385-1229-X |pages=118–119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzNvCR4_-2YC&q=monument&pg=PA119 |access-date=14 March 2021}} the monument was a 67-foot high obelisk adorned with nine-foot tall bronze medallions with profiles of Washington and Lafayette.{{cite web |last1=Kyriakodis |first1=Harry |title=The Missing Namesake of North Philly's Lost Necropolis |url=https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/10/the-missing-namesake-of-north-phillys-lost-necropolis/ |website=www.hiddencityphila.org |date=22 October 2014 |access-date=16 March 2021}} The pedestal of the monument was 77 and a half square yards – which was intended to signify the 77 and half years that Lafayette lived. The height of the obelisk was 67 feet and 10 inches, intended to signify the 67 years and 10 months of Washington's life. Above the pedestal were thirteen steps intended to signify the original 13 colonies. 32 grooves (8 on each side) on the sub-shaft of the obelisk were intended to signify the number of states in the Union when the monument was erected.{{sfn|Scharf|1884|p=1873}}

Construction of the monument was delayed due to financial problems but it was eventually completed and dedicated on May 29, 1869.

File:George Washington Memorial from Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia. Originally dedicated in 1869. Moved to Lawnview Memorial Park in 1956.jpg where most of the bodies from Monument Cemetery were reinterred. Originally dedicated in 1869.]]

The bronze plaque dedicated to Washington contained the following inscription:

::"Washington,

::First in war, First in peace,

::and

::First in the hearts of his Countrymen,

::As a Warrior,

::He served refusing pay, and led in the achievement of our

::Independence.

::As a statesman and Law Giver,

::His guiding wisdom assisted in framing the Constitutional

::Law.

::As first president of the U.S.,

::He governed with firmness and moderation.

::As a patriot, he bequeathed his bright example and

::Earnest counsel and immortal legacy to his country.

::As a man, his character stood superior in its grand

::Equipoise of noblest Qualities.

::Modest as great, prudent as wise,

::He gave the best years of his life to the public weal, and

::Died in Voluntary Retirement,

::The Brightest Star in the constellation of the great men

::Of all times."{{sfn|Scharf|1884|p=1873}}

File:Marquis Lafayette Memorial from Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia. Moved to Lawnview Cemetery in 1956.jpg

The bronze plaque dedicated to the Marquis de Lafayette contained the following inscription:

::"Gilbert Motier De Lafayette,

::Benefactor of two Hemispheres;

::Born a Noble of France

::He served as a citizen soldier of American

::Liberty;

::A cherished Friend of Washington,

::By whose side he fought and Bled

::In defence of the great principle

::That the only legitimate government

::Is that which derives its authority from the

::Governed.

::A patriot fearless and firm in days of Terror;

::A man of unchanging Integrity under

::Changing Dynasties;

::The Constant supporter of Constitutional

::Freedom;

::Like Washington,

::He died in voluntary Retirement,

::Leaving a name that belongs to History,

::The lesson of his life to future generations,

::His most revered memory

::To every American."{{sfn|Scharf|1884|p=1873}}

File:Stranded on this near shore.jpg during the construction of the Betsy Ross Bridge and can be seen from the shore of the Delaware River at low tide.]]

Burials stopped by the late 1920s, and by the early 1950s the cemetery had fallen into disrepair. The cemetery suffered from crime and vandalism and became infested with rats. Temple University was interested in purchasing the cemetery and repurposing it for athletic fields and a parking lot. The management of Monument Cemetery objected to this usage of the cemetery and hoped to sell to another cemetery company. In 1954, Monument Cemetery finally agreed to terms to sell 11 1/2 acres of the cemetery to Temple University and the remainder to the Philadelphia Board of Education.{{cite web |title=Defunct Cemetery Ask Remission of Old Lien |url=https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer%201957/Philadelphia%20PA%20Inquirer%201957%20-%200080.pdf |website=www.fultonhistory.com |publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer |access-date=14 March 2021}}

The University contacted 748 families about the cemetery closure. Approximately 28,000 bodies were reinterred to Lawnview Memorial Park with only 300 grave markers included in the move since families members were located. Most of the reinterments were placed in a mass grave.{{cite book |last1=Zaman |first1=Natalie |title=Magical Destinations of the Northeast |publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |date=2016 |isbn=9780738749884 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fEJDQAAQBAJ |access-date=25 October 2022}} The process of relocating the bodies took four years to accomplish. The new graves are marked by flat markers, also known as grass markers.{{cite web |author1=Mobile Instinct |title=Tombstones Dumped Along the Riverbank |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEMIXQOKJ3Y |website=Youtube |access-date=19 June 2022}} The original headstones were not used at the new grave sites. Most of the remaining headstones, and the monument to Washington and Lafayette, were used as riprap during the construction of the Betsy Ross Bridge and can be seen on the shores of the Delaware River at low tide. The land is currently used by Temple University for athletic fields, a student pavilion and a parking lot. The Board of Education used their lot as a playground for George Washington Carver High School.

• DeWitt Clinton Baxter (1829–1881), artist, engraver, Union Army colonel and brevet brigadier general
• John Hull Campbell (1800–1868), U.S. Congressman
• Russell Conwell (1843–1925), founder of Temple UniversityPuckett, John L. & Mark Frazier Lloyd. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OBykBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 Becoming Penn: The Pragmatic American University, 1950–2000], p. 345 (2015)
• Thomas Birch Florence (1812–1875), U.S. Congressman
• Bill Fouser (1855–1919), professional baseball player
• James Landy (1813–1875), U.S. Congressman
• Henry Dunning Moore (1817–1887), U.S. Congressman
• John Sartain (1808–1897), artist
• Hampton S. Thomas (1837–1899), U.S. Medal of Honor Awardee (American Civil War)

Citations

{{reflist}}

Sources

• {{cite book

| last = Scharf

| first = John Thomas and Westcott, Thompson

| year = 1884

| title = History of Philadelphia, 1609–1884, Volume 3

| publisher = L.H. Everts & Co.

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8uYkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1873

}}

• {{cite web

| last = Wunsch

| first = Aaron Vickers

| year = 2009

| title = Parceling the Picturesque: "Rural" Cemeteries and Urban Context in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia

| url = https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/etd/ucb/text/Wunsch_berkeley_0028E_10233.pdf

| access-date =28 April 2021

}}

• [https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2664496/monument-cemetery-(defunct) Monument Cemetery] at Find A Grave
• [http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-monument-cemetery-was-destroyed.html How Monument Cemetery was Destroyed]
• [http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2011/04/watery-remains-of-monument-cemetery.html The Watery Remains of Monument Cemetery]

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Category:1837 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:1956 disestablishments in Pennsylvania

Category:Cemetery vandalism and desecration

Category:Cemeteries established in the 1830s

Category:Cemeteries in Philadelphia

Category:Cultural depictions of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Category:Former cemeteries

Category:High schools in Philadelphia

Category:Lower North Philadelphia

Category:Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States

Category:Obelisks in the United States

Category:Rural cemeteries

Monument Cemetery