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UMASS/AMHERST
312066011763692
SSA
CHUS
TH
DATE DUE
AUG 2 4 1977
MAY 2
1981
1000
DER 1 5 SEPTO
1985
NOV 02
1989
1: 3594250
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY
F 74 M9B5
CARD
Marshall P. Wilder E with the author
meganly
See hx, 3%. Correct Attest Howshall P.wide
Cemetery of Hlount Auburn.
Prang & Maver's Lith. Boston.
TOWER FROM THE NORTH WEST.
A
HISTORY
OF TIIE
CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN
BY JACOB BIGELOW, PRESIDENT OF THE CORPORATION.
" But bear me gently forth, Beneath the open sky, Where on the pleasant earth 'Till night the sunbeams lie.
Leave, at my side, a space Where thou shalt come at last To find a resting place When years and griefs are past."
BRYANT.
BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE : JAMES MUNROE AND COMPANY. MDCCC LX.
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS - AMHERST, MASS.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year1850. BY JACOB BIGELOW, In the Clerk's Off ce of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS .: Thurston, Miles, and Pritchett, PRINTERS.
PREFACE.
-
HAVING been a witness and an agent in most of the movements which have taken place in regard to Mount Auburn Cemetery from its commencement to the present time, I have felt it a duty to leave on record some account of the more noticeable occurrences connected with the inception, progress, and manage- ment of the first enterprise of its kind in the United States. That this task might be discharged with fidelity, I have strengthened my own reminiscences by those of my friends, as well as by a perusal of the Records of the Corporation, from which frequent ex- tracts are made, and also of such contemporaneous publications and documents as I have, for my own satisfaction, from time to time, preserved.
Thirty years ago, the citizens of this metropolis buried their deceased friends in frequented parts of the city, crowding to the utmost capacity the spaces provided for them, and filling with sepulchres the cellars of their most central churches. So rooted was the attachment to this objectionable, but in- veterate custom, that a change of place from the city to the country was not effected without difficulty, and not until after some years of unsuccessful effort on the
vi
PREFACE.
part of its advocates, and even then only by a fortunate, and as it were, accidental concurrence of circum- stances. But the successful experiment of Mount Auburn had no sooner been made, than it was rapidly imitated in all parts of the United States. The at- tractive and consoling association of the garden with the grave has found a response in almost every consid- erable city and village of our country. Men seem to have discovered, as it were, a new solace, and almost a new pleasure, in building and decorating their own tombs .*
To the memory of Joseph Story, George W. Brim- mer, George Bond, H. A. S. Dearborn, and B. A. Gould, and to my surviving friends and early col- leagues, Charles P. Curtis and James Read, this little volume, the token of much pleasant intercourse and grateful remembrance, is now dedicated.
* Mount Auburn was consecrated as a Cemetery in 1831; Laurel Hill, near Philadelphia, was incorporated in 1836; Green- wood Cemetery, near New York, in 1837.
J. B.
CONTENTS.
-
PART I.
PAGE
A SUBURBAN CEMETERY,
1
ORIGINAL MEETING, 2
COMMITTEE ON PURCHASE, 2
CONTEMPLATED SITES IN BROOKLINE AND ROXBURY, 3
INEFFECTUAL NEGOTIATIONS, 3
" SWEET AUBURN " OR "STONE'S WOODS," 3
MR. BRIMMER'S PURCHASE, 3
OVERTURES FOR A CEMETERY,
4
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, . 4
MEETING AT THE EXCHANGE COFFEE HOUSE, 5
EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN, 6
PROGRESS OF THE ENTERPRISE,
6
MEETING AT JOY'S BUILDING,
7
SUBSCRIPTION COMMENCED,
8
PRELIMINARY REPORT, 8
SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETED, 8
GARDEN AND CEMETERY COMMITTEE APPOINTED, 10
CONSECRATION OF MOUNT AUBURN, 11
COTEMPORANEOUS ACCOUNT, 12
DESCRIPTION OF MOUNT AUBURN, 14
AVENUES AND LOTS LAID OUT,
19
SIZE OF LOTS FIXED, 20
viii
CONTENTS.
PAGE GENERAL DEARBORN, 20 PATHS AND AVENUES NAMED AND PLAN LITHOGRAPHIED, . 21
PUBLIC LOTS, ST. JAMES AND ST. JOHN'S, 21 AUCTION SALE OF RIGHT OF CHOICE, 22
PRICE OF LOTS FROM 1831 TO 1854, . 22 WOODEN BOARD FENCE ERECTED, 23
HANNAH ADAMS, 23 THE GATEWAY, . 24
NEW PURCHASE OF LAND OF STONE AND CUTTER, 27
MORTGAGE,
27
FIRST INVESTMENT OF FUNDS, 27
PLAN OF LAND ANTERIOR TO THE CEMETERY, 28
SIZE OF MOUNT AUBURN, .. 29
RIGHT OF DRAINAGE THROUGH J. COOLIDGE'S LAND, 29
REGULATIONS OF ADMISSION TO THE CEMETERY, . . 29
FIRST AND SUBSEQUENT CATALOGUES, 30
SEPARATION FROM THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 31
NEW CORPORATION OF PROPRIETORS, 32
MISSING RECORDS,
33
ORGANIZATION, 34
DEATH OF GEORGE W. BRIMMER, 35
GRATUITOUS APPROPRIATIONS OF LAND PROHIBITED, 37
NUMBER OF TRUSTEES INCREASED TO TEN, 38
DEATH OF GEORGE BOND, 38 REPAIR FUND INSTITUTED, 39 WATER, SURVEYS, 39 JUDGE STORY'S REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS, 40 IRON FENCE, 48 WOODEN PALISADE FENCE, 50
DEATH OF JUDGE STORY, 50
STATUE OF DR. BOWDITCH, 52
ix
CONTENTS.
PAGE
DRAINAGE OF MOUNT AUBURN, . 53
THE CHAPEL, 51
NON-FULFILMENT OF TERMS OF CONTRACT, 56
RE-CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPEL, . 58
WELL HOUSE, 59
THE TOWER, 59
PROSPECT FROM THE SUMMIT, 61
THE STATUES, 62
DR. BIGELOW'S REPORT, 62
APPROPRIATIONS FOR STATUES, 67
STATUE OF JUDGE STORY, . 69
CONTRACTS SIGNED FOR THREE OTHER STATUES, 71
UNSUCCESSFUL MOVEMENT TO RESCIND THESE CONTRACTS, 72
ARTISTS EMPLOYED, 72
QUARTER LOTS AUTHORIZED, 73
SPECIAL POLICE PROVIDED, 73
WATER COURSES, PONDS, HOLLOWS, ETC., 73
LAWN, 74
MISS LORING'S PURCHASE, . 74
LAND MADE NEAR THE CHAPEL, 75
SUPERINTENDENT'S HOUSE, 76
GATE-KEEPER AND SUPERINTENDENT'S CLERK, . 77
· GARDENER,
77
ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS, . ETC., 78
STONE FARM, . 78
HARVARD COLLEGE LOT, 80
DEATH OF MR. BANGS, 81
STATUE OF REV. H. BALLOU, 81
DEATH OF MR. GOULD, 82
PERMANENT FUND, . 83
ANNUAL REPORT, JAN. 1, 1856, 90 .
CONTENTS.
PAGE
ANNUAL REPORT, JAN. 1, 1857,.
97
ANNUAL REPORT, JAN. 1, 1858, . . 103
ANNUAL REPORT, JAN. 1, 1859, 108
SETTLEMENT WITH THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, . 108
CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS, 117
AVENUES AND PATHS, . 118
TREES, 119
GRAVEL, . 122
FUTURE ANNEXATIONS, 123
PERMANENT FUND,
. 123
ECONOMY, 124
SPACE ABOUT BUILDINGS, . 126
INTERMENT, . 128
TOMBS AND CATACOMBS,
. 129
PART II.
PAGE
MR. EVERETT'S PRINTED ADDRESS, . 133
JUDGE STORY'S CONSECRATION ADDRESS, 143
GEN. DEARBORN'S REPORT, . 168
DR. BIGELOW'S DISCOURSE, 175
JUDGE STORY'S ANNUAL REPORT, . 196
MR. PIERPONT'S CONSECRATION HYMN, 204
ACT OF INCORPORATION, 1835, . 205
ADDITIONAL ACT, 1850, . 216
ACT RELATING TO THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1831, 217
ADDITIONAL ACT, 1859, . 220
BY-LAWS, . 221
PROPRIETORS AND PRIVILEGES, 221
MEETINGS, .
. 221
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS,
222
1
xi
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PRESIDENT,
. 223
SECRETARY,
224
TREASURER,
. 224
SUPERINTENDENT,
225
SUPERINTENDENT'S CLERK, . . 227
227
GATE-KEEPER,
GARDENER,
. 227
COMMITTEES,
228
COMMITTEE ON. FINANCE, . 228
COMMITTEE ON LOTS,
229
COMMITTEE ON GROUNDS, . 230
COMMITTEE ON REGULATIONS AND RECORDS OF INTERMENTS, 230
INTERMENTS,
. 230
LOTS AND SPACES, 231
PUBLIC LOTS,
. 233
SALES AND CONVEYANCES, 233
LOTS OF DECEASED PROPRIETORS, . 235
236
TREES,
. 237
TOMBS,
238
CATACOMBS,
. 238
RECEIVING TOMBS,
238
MONUMENTS, STONES, FENCES, ETC., . 239
APPROPRIATIONS,
.
239
COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF MONEY, . 240
REPAIR FUND, 240
ADMITTANCE,
. 242
FUNERALS,
244
ALTERATIONS OF BY-LAWS, . 244
PLANS AND PORTFOLIOS,
xii
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
PAGE
FORMS FOR CONVEYANCE OF LOTS,
245
REGULATIONS CONCERNING VISITORS,
. 252
OFFICERS FROM 1831 To 1860, 255
DIRECTORY TO AVENUES AND PATHS,
. 257
1
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
VIEW OF THE TOWER FROM THE SOUTH WEST, Frontispiece.
MAP OF MOUNT AUBURN WITH A VIEW OF THE GATE, 21
LAND OF MOUNT AUBURN PREVIOUSLY TO 1832, 28
CHAPEL IN FRONT,
53
VIEW FROM THE LAWN, .
57
VIEW FROM CONSECRATION DELL,
59
١
PART I.
-
HISTORY OF MOUNT AUBURN.
HISTORY
OF
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
-
ABOUT the year 1825 my attention was drawn to some gross abuses in the rites of sepulture as they then existed under churches and in other receptacles of the dead in the city of Boston. At the same time, a love of the country, cherished by the character of my earlier pursuits, had long led me to desire the institution of a suburban ceme- tery, in which the beauties of nature should, as far as possible, relieve from their repulsive features the tenements of the deceased ; and in which, at the same time, some consolation to survivors might be sought in gratifying, as far as possible, the last social and kindred instincts of our nature.
With these views I requested, in that year, a meeting of a few gentlemen at my house in Summer Street, to see what measures might be
1
2
HISTORY OF
thought desirable and practicable for promoting an object of such a character. This original meeting was attended by Messrs. John Lowell, William Sturgis, George Bond, Thomas W. Ward, John Tappan, Samuel P. Gardiner, Nathan Hale, and Jacob Bigelow. Other gentlemen invited ex- pressed their concurrence in the design, but did not attend the meeting. A plan for a cemetery, corresponding to what Mount Auburn now is, composed of family burial lots, separated and interspersed with trees, shrubs, and flowers, in a wood or landscape garden, was submitted by me, and received with approval by the persons present. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Bond and Tappan, was appointed, to look out for a tract of ground suitable for the desired purpose, and the meeting was dissolved. This committee fixed their attention on an estate in Brookline, which after- wards proved to be unattainable, and here the sub- ject rested, without definitive action, for several years.
In the meantime the enterprise, although de- layed, was not abandoned. Inquiries continued to be made, and negotiations attempted for various tracts of land advantageously situated in the neighborhood of Boston. Overtures were twice
3
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
made by me to Mr. Augustus Aspinwall for the then beautiful estate held by his family north of the spot where the Episcopal Church now stands in Brookline. As proximity to the city was con- sidered desirable, negotiations were also attempted by Mr. Bond and myself, for land on either side of the Western Avenue, on the branch leading to the Punch Bowl. These negotiations, as well as others, failed, either from the high price at which the land was held, or from the reluctance of the owners to acquiesce in the use proposed to be made of the premises.
A tract situated in Cambridge and Watertown, then known as "Stone's Woods," and more famil- iarly to the college students as " Sweet Auburn," had been sold about this time, and purchased by Mr. George W. Brimmer, - a gentleman whose just appreciation of the beautiful in nature had prompted him to preserve from destruction the trees and other natural features of that attractive spot. He afterwards enlarged the original pur- chase by adding to it several pieces of front land, intervening between the wood and the public road, on which the gate now stands.
Having often visited Sweet Auburn, both in company with Mr. Brimmer, and anteriorly to his
4
HISTORY OF
purchase, I now proposed to him, in 1830, the purchase of the whole lot for an ornamental ceme- tery, like that in contemplation, provided a suffi- cient number of subscribers could be obtained to cover the expense. Mr. Brimmer acceded to this proposal, and, although the land had risen in value, and could probably have been sold to private pur- chasers, at no distant period, for a large advance, he liberally gave me the refusal, for an object of public benefit, at the original cost to himself. He afterwards became one of the most active members of the first Committee, or Board of Managers.
In the preceding year, 1829, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society had been incorporated by the Legislature. Among the first officers chosen were Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, President ; Zebedee Cook, Vice-President ; and Jacob Bigelow, Corre- sponding Secretary. At that time there was no ornamented rural cemetery, deserving of notice, in the United States, and none even in Europe, of a plan and magnitude corresponding to those which Mount Auburn possesses at the present time. Moreover, the subject was new, the public were lukewarm, and, in many cases, the prejudices and apprehensions of the community were strongly opposed to the removal of the dead from the imme-
5
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
diate precinets of populous cities and villages to the solitude of a distant wood. There seemed little doubt that, if these prejudices were to be overcome, it would be best done by enlisting in favor of a change, the co-operation of a young, active, and popular society. Under this conviction I brought before the officers of the Horticultural Society the assent of Mr. Brimmer to sell, for a public cemetery, under suitable conditions, the estate which has since become Mount Auburn .* The proposition was favorably received ; and, as the society was at that time destitute of funds ade- quate to the purchase, measures were taken to see if a subscription could be obtained, from private individuals, sufficient to cover the price of the land. And, in pursuance of this object, meetings were held of persons favorably disposed to the- establishment of a cemetery, under the auspices of the Horticultural Society.
The first meeting on this basis was called at the Exchange Coffee House, Nov. 23, 1830, on an
* See the Histories of Mount Auburn, by Thacher & Walter; also Gen. Dearborn's Account, published with Dr. Harris' Ad- dress before the Horticultural Society, in 1832 ; also the Boston Daily Advertiser, Sept. 9th, 1851, and Boston Atlas, Sept 16th, 1851.
6
HISTORY OF
informal notification signed by Jacob Bigelow and John C. Gray. At this meeting the offer of Mr. Brimmer to sell Sweet Auburn was announced, and a committee was appointed, consisting of Gen. Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, Edward Everett, George Bond, J. C. Gray, Abbott Lawrence, and G. W. Brimmer, to take measures for bringing the sub- ject before the public, and insuring a future and larger meeting. To accommodate the wishes of the horticulturists, an experimental garden for the cultivation of flowers, fruits, &c., was ordered to form a part in the proposed allotment of the ground about to be purchased. This garden, how- ever, from the want of specific funds for its sup- port, and from various other causes, never went into operation .*
During the following winter and spring nothing was done in promotion of the design, except that,
* In Gen. Dearborn's Account, alluded to in the preceding note, he says : - " Soon after the organization of the Horticul- tural Society he (Dr. Bigelow) suggested to the President the expediency of combining a cemetery with an experimental gar- den." This statement, in part only, is correct. The Cemetery was suggested by Dr. Bigelow, but the experimental garden was a suggestion of other officers and members of the Horticul- tural Society.
7
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
as the season opened, many individuals were in- duced to visit Sweet Auburn, and to become acquainted with the scenery and natural advan- tages of the spot. Articles explanatory and pro- motive of the design also appeared in various newspapers. On the eighth of June, 1831, the committee who had the subject in charge called a larger meeting of gentlemen, favorably disposed to the enterprise, at the Horticultural Society's room, in Joy's Building. At this meeting, which was well attended, Judge Story was called to the Chair, and Edward Everett officiated as Secre- tary. Much interest in the design was expressed by various speakers, and it was voted expedient to purchase the estate offered by Mr. Brimmer, - containing about seventy-two acres, - at six thou- sand dollars, in behalf of the Horticultural Society, as soon as one hundred subscribers for cemetery lots, at sixty dollars each, should be obtained. A committee of twenty was appointed, with instruc- tions, to report early on a general plan of proceed- ing, of which committee the following gentlemen were chosen members : - Messrs. Joseph Story, Daniel Webster, H. A. S. Dearborn, Charles Lowell, Samuel Appleton, Jacob Bigelow, Edward Everett, George W. Brimmer, George Bond, A.
8
HISTORY OF
H. Everett, Abbott Lawrence, James T. Austin, Franklin Dexter, Joseph P. Bradlee, Charles Tappan, Charles P. Curtis, Zebedee Cook, John Pierpont, L. M. Sargent, and George W. Pratt. By this committee subscription papers were put in circulation, and, in a short time, it was found that three quarters of the requisite amount had been obtained. The remainder was afterwards pro- cured, chiefly by the exertions of Mr. Joseph P. Bradlee, one of the Committee. The report of the Committee to the society, which was accepted, was as follows : -
" The Committee of the Horticultural Society, to whom was referred the method of raising sub- scriptions for the Experimental Garden and Ceme- tery, beg leave to Report : -
1. That it is expedient to purchase for a Garden and Cemetery, a tract of land, com- monly known by the name of Sweet Auburn, near the road leading from Cambridge to Water- town, containing about seventy-two acres, for the sum of six thousand dollars ; provided this sum can be raised in the manner proposed in the second article of this Report.
2. That a subscription be opened for lots of
9
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
ground in the said tract, containing not less than two hundred square feet each, at the price of sixty dollars for each lot, - the subscription not to be binding until one hundred lots are sub- scribed for.
3. That when a hundred or more lots are taken, the right of choice shall be disposed of at an auction, of which seasonable notice shall be given to the subscribers.
4. That those subscribers, who do not offer a premium for the right of choosing, shall have their lots assigned to them by lot.
5. That the fee of the land shall be vested in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, but that the use of the lots, agreeably to an act of the Legislature, respecting the same, shall be secured to the subscribers, their heirs, and assigns, for- ever.
6. That the land devoted to the purpose of a Cemetery shall not contain less than forty acres.
7. That every subscriber, upon paying for his lot, shall become a member for life, of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society, without being subject to assessments.
8. That a Garden and Cemetery Committee,
10
HISTORY OF
of nine persons, shall be chosen annually, first by the subscribers, and afterwards by the Horticul- tural Society, whose duty it shall be to cause the necessary surveys and allotments to be made, to assign a suitable tract of land for the Garden of the Society, and to direct all matters appertaining to the regulation of the Garden and Cemetery ; and five at least of this Committee shall be per- sons having rights in the Cemetery.
9. That the establishment, including the Gar- den and Cemetery, be called by a definite name, to be supplied by the Committee."
At a meeting of subscribers, called August 3d, 1831, it appeared that one hundred lots in the Cemetery, had, at that time, been taken by sub- scription ; and that, therefore, agreeably to the terms, the subscription had become obligatory. The following gentlemen were then chosen to constitute a board of managers under the name of the Garden and Cemetery Committee : - Messrs. Joseph Story, Henry A. S. Dearborn, Jacob Bigelow, Edward Everett, George W. Brimmer, George Bond, Charles Wells, Benjamin A. Gould, and George W. Pratt. At the same time it was resolved that a public religious con-
11
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
secration should be held upon the grounds, and the following gentlemen were appointed a Com- mittee to make arrangements for that purpose : - Messrs. Joseph Story, Henry A. S. Dearborn, Charles P. Curtis, Charles Lowell, Zebedee Cook, Jr., Joseph T. Buckingham, George W. Brimmer, George W. Pratt, and Z. B. Adams.
At a meeting of the Garden and Cemetery Committee, August 8th, it was voted that Gen- eral Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, and Mr. Brimmer, be a Sub-Committee to procure an accurate topo- graphical survey of Mount Auburn, and to report a plan for laying it out into lots. This Sub-Com- mittee engaged the services of Mr. Alexander Wadworth, Civil Engineer, with whose assistance they completed the duty assigned to them.
The public religious consecration of the Ceme- tery took place on Saturday, September 24th, 1831. A temporary amphitheatre was fitted up with seats, in one of the deep valleys of the wood, having a platform for the speakers erected at the bottom. An audience of nearly two thousand persons were seated among the trees, adding a scene of picturesque beauty to the impressive solemnity of the occasion. The order of per- formances was as follows : -
12
HISTORY OF
1. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC, by the Boston Band.
2 INTRODUCTORY PRAYER, by Rev. Dr. WARE. HYMN,*
WRITTEN BY THE REV. MR. PIERPONT.
4. ADDRESS, BY THE HON. JOSEPH STORY.+
5. CONCLUDING PRAYER, by the REV. MR. PIERPONT. 6. MUSIC BY THE BAND.
The following account of the scene is taken from the Boston Courier of the time : -
" An unclouded sun and an atmosphere purified by the showers of the preceding night, combined to make the day one of the most delightful we ever experience at this season of the year. It is unnecessary for us to say that the address by Judge Story was pertinent to the occasion, for if the name of the orator were not sufficient, the perfect silence of the multitude, enabling him to be heard with distinctness at the most distant part of the beautiful amphitheatre in which the services were performed, will be sufficient testi- mony as to its worth and beauty. Neither is it in our power to furnish any adequate description of the effect produced by the music of the thou-
* See Part II.
+ See Part II.
13
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
sand voices which joined in the hymn, as it swelled in chastened melody from the bottom of the glen, and, like the spirit of devotion, found an echo in every heart, and pervaded the whole scene.
The natural features of Mount Auburn are incomparable for the purpose to which it is now sacred. There is not in all the untrodden valleys of the West, a more secluded, more natural or appropriate spot for the religious exercises of the living; we may be allowed to add our doubts whether the most opulent neighborhood of Europe furnishes a spot so singularly appropriate for a ' Garden of Graves.'
In the course of a few years, when the hand of Taste shall have passed over the luxuriance of Nature, we may challenge the rivalry of the world to produce another such abiding place for the spirit of beauty. Mount Auburn has been but little known to the citizens of Boston ; but it has now become holy ground, and
Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,
- a village of the quick and the silent, where Na- ture throws an air of cheerfulness over the labors of Death, - will soon be a place of more general
14
HISTORY OF
resort, both for ourselves and for strangers, than any other spot in the vicinity. Where else shall we go with the musings of Sadness, or for the indulgence of Grief; where to cool the burning brow of Ambition, or relieve the swelling heart of Disappointment ? We can find no better spot, for the rambles of curiosity, health or pleasure ; none sweeter, for the whispers of affection among the living; none lovelier, for the last rest of our kindred."
The following is the contemporaneous descrip- tion published by order of the Committee, in the appendix to Judge Story's address : -
" The tract of land which received the name of Mount Auburn, is situated on the southerly side of the main road leading from Cambridge to Water- town, and is partly within the limits of each of those towns. Its distance from Boston is about four miles. The place was formerly known by the name of Stone's Woods, the title to most of the land having remained in the family of Stone, from an early period after the settlement of the country. Within a few years, previous to the date of the consecration, the hill and part of the woodland had been offered for sale, and were purchased by
15
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
George W. Brimmer, Esq., whose object was to prevent the destruction of the trees, and to preserve so beautiful a spot for some public or appropriate use. The purchase which has now been made by the Horticultural Society, includes between seventy and eighty acres, extending from the road, nearly to the banks of Charles River. A portion of the land situated next to the road, and now under cultivation, is intended to constitute the Experimental Garden of the Horticultural Society. A long water-course extending between this tract and the interior woodland, forms a natural boundary, separating the two sections. The inner portion, which is set apart for the purposes of a Cemetery, is covered throughout most of its extent with a vigorous growth of forest trees, many of them of large size, and comprising an unusual variety of kinds. This tract is beautifully undulating in its surface, con- taining a number of bold eminences, steep ac- clivities, and deep shadowy valleys. A remarkable natural ridge with a level surface runs through the ground from the south-east to north-west, and has for many years been known as a secluded and favorite walk. The principal eminence, called Mount Auburn in the plan, is one hundred and 1
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