Overall, the intent was to create a place that would serve not only as a burial ground for the dead, but also as a quiet, peaceful place for the living to visit. These were linked together by curving paths that followed the contours of the land. In transforming the area into a cemetery, the designers incorporated the natural features into the landscape by creating a series of terraces that were separated by wooded slopes. The cemetery is located in a ravine that was originally known as Martha’s Dingle. Over the years, it would become the final resting place for many of the city’s prominent 19th century residents, and it remains an active cemetery today. The first of these cemeteries was Mount Auburn Cemetery in the suburbs of Boston, which opened in 1831, and many other cities soon followed, including Springfield a decade later. Springfield Cemetery was established in 1841, and it was part of a trend that involved creating well-landscaped, park-like cemeteries on the outskirts of cities and towns, as opposed to the older, often gloomier Puritan-era graveyards in town centers. Categories 1890s, Cemeteries, Landscapes, Massachusetts, Springfield Massachusetts Tags Springfield Cemetery Leave a commentĪ scene in Springfield Cemetery, facing the southern section of the cemetery, around 1892. The city has since grown up around the cemetery, but from here it is hard to tell that these wooded ravines are right in the midst of one of the largest cities in New England. Springfield Cemetery is still an active cemetery, and it continues to have the same natural, park-like appearance that its founders envisioned some 180 years ago. Overall, though, this scene remains largely the same as it appeared in the late 19th century. They amassed an extensive art collection that they subsequently donated to the city as the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, and they are buried here, just to the right of the tree on the left side of the scene.Īside from the addition of more gravestones, some of the stones from the first photo are now gone, possibly having been replaced by newer monuments. Among the more notable burials here in this scene are George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923) and his wife Belle (1845-1928), who were both prominent philanthropists and art patrons. Today, more than 125 years after the first photo was taken, there are now many more gravestones here in this scene, most dating to the first half of the 20th century. In the distance beyond this stone is a large obelisk for the Merriam family, including dictionary publisher Charles Merriam (1806-1887), his wives Sophia (1808-1858) and Rachel (1824-1888), and several of their children. Just to the right of it, and a little closer to the foreground, is the marble stone of Samuel W. Sturtevant (1809-1891), his wife Nancy (1811-1885), and several of their children and grandchildren. Near the center of the photo is a rectangular granite stone of businessman Warner C. Since then, many more burials have occurred here, but there are still some stones that are recognizable from the first photo. In this particular scene, most of the gravestones in the first photo date to the late 19th century, so they would have been relatively new when the photo was taken. In general, the further up the hill that the gravestones are, the older they tend to be, culminating with the colonial-era stones along Pine Street, which were moved there from the old burying ground on Elm Street in 1848. In the foreground is the lower section, which had few interments during the 19th century, and further in the distance is the slope leading up to the upper section, which is adjacent to Pine Street. This particular view shows the view of the cemetery facing east from near its geographic center. In developing the cemetery, some of the slopes were transformed into terraces, such as this one here. The land here consists of several steep-sided ravines, making it poorly suited for real estate development but ideal for a tranquil rural cemetery. The cemetery was laid out in an area once known as Martha’s Dingle, located a little to the east of downtown Springfield. Inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown, these types of cemeteries sought to create a pleasant, park-like atmosphere, in contrast to the older, gloomier Puritan-era graveyards in town centers. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).Īs explained in the previous post, Springfield Cemetery was established in 1841 as one of the first rural cemeteries in the northeast. A view looking east up one of the terraces in Springfield Cemetery, around 1892.
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