Mt. Auburn Cemetery and the American Parks and Garden Movement
Jul 31st, 2014 by bachmann
Life is full of changes ; and Mount Auburn itself is an illustration
of a change. A fairy region it has seemed to the traveller and student,
who have sought its sequestration for the purposes of intellectual
indulgence ; — a terrestrial paradise it has proved to all seekers after
the beautiful in nature; and, so enticing have been its groves, its
scenery and associations, that it received long since, the significant
appellation of Sweet Auburn”— a name, as yet, unforgotten, though
innovation has been at work, and the favorite resort of the promenading
explorer, the inviting ground of the botanist, the charmed retreat
of the thoughtful student, has become dedicated earth— a consecrated
spot — a rural cemetery — a ” garden of graves !”
Mt. Auburn Cemetery is considered a landmark in the history and development of American parks, public spaces, health, burials, and even education. The ambitious nature of the cemetery was the brainchild of one Dr. Jacob Bigelow. Bigelow, often considered a 19th century Renaissance man, was a doctor, botanist, Harvard professor, author, architect, and the person responsible for popularizing the term of “technology”. Bigelow taught medicine and botany at Harvard and published numerous books, including one of America’s first botanical books, American Medical Botany. His theories and teachings moved medicine away from old traditional methods of bloodletting and purging, and toward the use of safe and less invasive therapeutics. He recognized a growing health concern with overcrowded urban burial grounds and the rapid growth of American cities. Poor planning and traditional burial practices were a major cause of widespread disease, pollution, and even poor mental health. With the help of civic leaders, along with a few landscape gardening enthusiasts, Bigelow proposed the creation of a new kind of burial ground near Boston — a garden cemetery.
The establishment of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in 1831 marked a major departure in the way Americans buried their dead. This cemetery was the first large-scale designed landscape that was not just for burials, monuments, and dedications, but as a space open to the public with a multitude of uses. Mt. Auburn Cemetery set the style for other American cemeteries, but also deeply influenced the approach of public park and garden design, eventually having a direct impact on the creation of New York’s Central Park just a few decades later. Mount Auburn Cemetery provided its visitors with educational recreation, to learn the lives of heroes, appreciate the beauty and mystery of nature, and study architecture and design. It was a popular place for “courtship walks”, contemplative thought, or just simple relief from the frenetic pace of the city. Mt. Auburn became a tourist destination in its own right, similar to a museum, with guidebooks suggesting routes and offering highlights of individual monuments.
This published work by Cornelia Walter (considered to have been the first woman editor of a major newspaper in the United States) provides a description of the cemetery as it appeared in the middle of the 19th century. Walter makes particular emphasis of the cemetery as a place for the nourishment of mind, body, and soul, and James Smillie’s elegant engravings add to the notion.
- Description:
- Walter, Cornelia W. Mount Auburn illustrated :in highly finished line engraving, from drawings taken on the spot. New York : R. Martin, 1847.
- Persistent Link:
- http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:1386239
- Repository:
- Widener Library
- Institution:
- Harvard University