Woodlawn Cemetery (Everett, Massachusetts)

Woodlawn Cemetery is an American rural cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts. It is the third-oldest rural cemetery in Greater Boston.^[1]

On August 31, 1850, the Woodlawn Cemetery corporation was organized to purchase land for and establish a cemetery. In 1851, the corporation purchased an 80-acre parcel of land that was primarily situated in Malden, Massachusetts, but also included a portion in the town of North Chelsea (now known as Revere, Massachusetts).^[2] In 1870, a part of Malden which included Woodlawn Cemetery was set off from the town and incorporated into as town of Everett.^[3]

The cemetery was inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery and many of Woodlawn's founding directors also served on the Mount Auburn board. Henry Weld Fuller, a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, was cemetery's chief designer.^[4] The cemetery featured extensive rockwork, rustic work, and plantings, and included a gatehouse, well-house, rustic archway, receiving tombs, artificial pond, and a 30-foot tall great tower.^[2] In 1998, the cemetery had 200 varieties of trees and 124,000 plants on the graves and the traffic islands.^[5]

Woodlawn Cemetery was consecrated on July 2, 1851. The exercises consisted of a chant of Psalm 23, a reading of the scriptures by Rev. J. P. Langworthy of Chelsea, a prayer by William Ives Budington, an original hymn by Rev. J. H. Clinch of Boston, an address by George Edward Ellis, a hymn by H. W. Fuller, and a prayer and benediction by Rev. Levi Tucker of Boston.^[2]^[6] The first person buried in Woodlawn Cemetery was Augustus F. Bowen, who was interred on July 3, 1851.^[2]

By June 1, 1856, Woodlawn Cemetery had 948 interments.^[2] By 1868, half of Woodlawn's burial plots had been sold, so the cemetery expanded by acquired an adjoining 75-acre property. A greenhouse was constructed on this lot and the house on this property was repaired and used as a residence for the cemetery's gardener.^[3] In 1905, the Woodlawn Cemetery corporation purchased a 1.5 acre property on Elm Street to complete its frontage on Woodlawn Square.^[7]

In 1910, construction began on a new chapel at the entrance to the cemetery. The concrete and granite Gothic revival building was designed by Loring & Phipps.^[8] The children of Elisha S. Converse, a former president of the corporation, donated $15,000 of the $25,000 needed for the construction. The remaining $10,000 came from contributions from around 700 other lot owners. The chapel was dedicated on September 16, 1911^[9]

In 1998, Woodlawn Cemetery completed a major capital improvement program, which included the construction of its new reception area, Patton Hall, and the refurbishment of the chapel.^[5]

Woodlawn Cemetery (Everett, Massachusetts)

Notable burials

References

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