USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Roxbury > Forest Hills cemetery: its establishment, progress, scenery, monuments, etc. > Part 3
USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Forest Hills cemetery: its establishment, progress, scenery, monuments, etc > Part 3
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
Some lots were unexpectedly expensive on ac- count of rock being found below the surface, and others cost but little, even with less promising exterior ; so that no accurate estimate of the ex- pense could be made from the appearance of a lot. The first year or two the cost of preparing each lot was charged to the proprietor thereof, or he could cause it to be done at his own ex- pense, under the direction of the superintendent. But the expense was so unequal as to occasion some dissatisfaction, and the commissioners de- termined upon the better plan of ascertaining the average cost of preparing the ordinary lots, and engaging to prepare all at that price, assuming the risk of any extra expense. This method was better for the improvement of the grounds and for individual proprietors; for it opened all parts of the cemetery for the choice of lots-some of which might have been neglected for fear of cost, -and it gave the proprietor an opportunity of having his lot prepared at a reasonable cost, and without risk of excessive expense.
This general plan has been followed ever since it was first adopted, though circumstances have modified it to some extent. The expense of pre- paring lots in a certain locality or range is equal- ized by an average on those lots. For the most part the lots are trenched and graded in ranges,
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
whether the whole of them are previously selected or not. The work can therefore be done more reasonably than if a single lot were prepared at one time, and there is also more uniformity in the work, and the plans for improving the grounds can be more effectually carried out. The cost of lots of three hundred square feet, trenched, graded and furnished with stone posts, is now from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars, accord- ing to the situation. It is not probable that the price of lots will vary materially from those at present asked, for some years at least, and for a lot so thoroughly prepared the price is quite as favorable as in most other cemeteries of the same class, and of equal beauty .*
The success of the cemetery in rapid improve- ment and the sale of lots has greatly exceeded, not only the expectations of those who doubted the expediency of the project, but even of its most sanguine friends. A more rapid taking up of the
* The price of a lot at Mt. Auburn, in its natural state, was originally $60, from which price it rose in the course of a few years to double that sum. The price is now $150, without any improvements whatever. It may not be necessary to trench the lots at Mt. Auburn, but were that done and the lot finished as at Forest Hills, the cost would greatly exceed the price of a lot in the latter.
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
lots was hardly to be desired, as the improvements and embellishments might have been less thorough and beautiful. The number of lots sold during the seven years from the consecration of the grounds, ending June 28, 1855, was nine hundred and twenty-five. This considerably exceeds the number taken at Mt. Auburn during the same length of time. Up to December 8, 1838, a little more than seven years from the consecration of Mt. Auburn, the number of lots disposed of was six hundred and thirty-four. Since that time, much through the influence of that beautiful cem- etery, public sentiment has been more strongly in favor of rural cemeteries, and burial lots have been more sought after .* Forest Hills has reaped the benefit, to some extent, of this influence of Mt. Auburn. But its success is not to be altogether attributed to this, for since its establishment it has, by its own peculiar beauties, cultivated a bet- ter taste, and given new life to those sentiments which lead to the selection of such sacred and pleasant spots for the burial of the dead. Besides
* In Greenwood Cemetery, during the first four or five years, comparatively few lots were sold. After that time public sentiment in the great metropolis turned more favora- bly towards it, and lots were much more rapidly taken up. Other cemeteries have since been established in the vicinity of New York to answer the demands for rural burial lots. D*
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
Mt. Auburn, with the prestige of being the first large rural cemetery in the country, with the many attractions which time and honored names give to it, and with its extensive and beautiful grounds still offering burial lots, two other ceme- teries have been established in the vicinity of Boston, since the opening of Forest Hills; but none of them has found more favor than the lat- ter, or a greater demand for lots. As it becomes more attractive, year by year, there is reason to believe that it will increase in favor with those who would select burial lots, and will rival in ex- tent and beauty those older and more famous grounds which are considered, not altogether cor- rectly, the type of all rural cemeteries.
As the number of burial lots increased, applica- tions were made to the commissioners by some of the proprietors for some arrangement by which their lots might be kept in perpetual repair and preservation. Persons without families to survive them, or those who had friends interred in their lots and were about to leave the country for a long time, and possibly never to return, have naturally desired to make some provision by which the resting place of their friends and rela- tives might continue to be cared for, embellished and preserved, when they could do it no more themselves. Sentiments like these must often be
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
experienced by those interested in garden ceme- teries like Forest Hills, and due provision has been made to meet their demands. With the cooperation of the city council an additional act* was obtained from the legislature, giving the com- missioners, jointly with the city treasurer, the necessary authority to receive bequests or dona- tions in trust for the purpose of the annual repair, embellishment or preservation of any lot, and to give an obligation for the performance of said trust. This act also gives them authority to re- ceive any bequest, grant or donation for the more general improvement or embellishment of the cemetery, and for the erection or preservation of any monument or other structure. It is to be hoped that private liberality will avail itself of these provisions to extend to Forest Hills such aid as has been bestowed upon other similar establishments. By such means some desirable improvements may be made, and structures erect- ed at a comparatively early day, which otherwise might be delayed for a long time, in order that a fund might accumulate for such purposes. A
chapel in which to perform the burial service, or a gateway of stone, in the place of the present wooden structure, would be fitting objects for the generous gifts of the wealthy.
* See Appendix, 4.
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
The first interment at Forest Hills took place July 30, 1848 .* Previous to that the remains of Gen. Dearborn's family and others had been re- moved from other grounds to this. Since the con- secration of the grounds down to June 28, 1855, there have been, in private lots and in the "Field of Machpelah," nineteen hundred and seventeen burials there, including some remains removed from other cemeteries. In some instances the remains of whole families for several generations were gathered from their old resting place and transferred to these more beautiful grounds; and such cases are included in the above number, as far as it was possible to give the names. During the year previous to the last report of the com- missioners,t there were three hundred and sixty- five interments, averaging one a day.
During the winter season, when it is difficult to open graves or tombs, bodies are deposited in the receiving tombs until an opportunity occurs for removing them to private lots. Persons who have not selected lots sometimes have the re- mains of friends deposited in the receiving tomb until they can select, and have prepared, a perma- nent resting place. So many bodies are sometimes collected here, and some, indeed, never being re-
* Samuel Hamblin.
+ February, 1855.
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
moved, it will soon be found necessary to construct another receiving tomb, and it is proposed to build one of very large dimensions in Chapel Hill.
The entire area of Forest Hills is one hundred and four acres one quarter and six rods; and the cost, at the date of the several purchases, was $36,894.67 .* To this may be added the two acres of land on Bourne street, purchased for the gravel and sand, which cost about $600.+
The number of lots disposed of, as before stated, down to June 28, 1855, was 925.
The receipts from sale of lots, and for pre- paring them for use, including also some small amounts for wood and hay disposed of, amounted, at the same date, to $127,916.01. The expendi- tures, during the same period, for the general im- provements and embellishments of the cemetery, preparing lots, and for material for these pur- poses, including also the interest on the purchase- money unpaid, amounted to $116,038.92.§ There has also been paid from the receipts the sum of $10,894.67 of the principal for the purchase of the land.
The amount of expenditures for general im-
* See Appendix, 9.
# August 25, 950.
t See note on page 35.
§ See Appendix, 10.
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
provements and in preparing lots, although a lib- eral sum and judiciously expended, is by no means all that has been laid out in the embellishment of the grounds. More than three hundred lots have been enclosed with iron fences, and others with hedges, at the expense of the proprietors. Nearly two hundred monuments, exclusive of monumental scrolls and slabs designed to mark the resting place of the beloved dead, have been erected ; some of them elaborate and costly, while others are simple and comparatively inexpensive. The aggregate cost of these embellishments on private lots is probably not less than seventy-five thousand dollars; and may, with other expenses by individuals, much exceed that sum .*
The success which has attended the work of laying out Forest Hills, viewed as a piece of rural art, has greatly disappointed some persons who anticipated that the grounds were not adapted to the purposes of a cemetery, and were not capable of being rendered beautiful and attractive. And it has disappointed those, too, who expressed fears lest the cemetery should not be properly managed, and would exhibit negligence, or the
* Probably the expense by proprietors will continue to be nearly two-thirds as much as the sum expended by the com- missioners.
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
appearance of half-done work - too much assum- ed, and too little accomplished. But the work was intrusted to good hands. Taste and a true appreciation of the beautiful governed the laying out of the grounds, and taste and neatness have ever prevailed in the completion and care of them. No cemetery in the country excels Forest Hills in this respect. Those portions of the grounds where most of the lots have been selected, wear, indeed, the aspect of a garden for the dead.
To Mr. Brims, the superintendent, is due the credit of the excellent appearance of the ceme- tery. From the first, the practical part of the work of laying out and embellishing the grounds devolved on him, and since the death of General Dearborn he has been the designer as well as finisher of the work. At all times very many of the attractive features of the place have been suggested and carried out by him; the rustic or- naments, the cultivation of flowers, the judicious and tasteful planting of the trees have for the most part been his work. Thoroughly familiar with his varied duties, he is indefatigable in his attention to them, and his quick observation suffers nothing to be neglected, if the means of attending to it are at his command. Besides his qualifica- tions as manager of the work, his unassuming modesty and courtesy commend him to those who
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
are seeking lots, or who desire information rela- tive to the cemetery, as well as to the pro- prietors, who find him ever ready to meet their reasonable wishes. As has before been remarked, the commissioners were fortunate in securing the services of a man who combines so many quali- fications that make him peculiarly fit for his position.
The work of carying out the plan on which the original grounds were laid out, and of extending it over the tract more recently purchased, is yet far from being completed. Much has been accom- plished in the lapse of seven years, and the work is continued with the same zeal and taste which have marked it from the beginning, and with even more thoroughness. Each year shows great pro- gress in various parts of the cemetery, which con- tributes to the realization of the idea of him who conceived the plan and commenced the work. And as the means permit the improvements will continue. New avenues and paths are to be con- structed, new lakes to be excavated, new beauties to be developed, new rural embellishments to be distributed. A chapel for the funeral service is to be erected, and a gateway of stone; and, some time, more durable fences to enclose the grounds. This work must go on gradually, and in propor-
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ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS.
tion to the receipts from the sale of lots ; for the income is derived only from this source, unless some of those interested in the cemetery may aid it by donation or bequest - a good fortune which it is hoped may not be denied it. When, how- ever, the land is paid for, it will be possible to commence a fund which shall, in time, secure the erection of all the desirable structures, in an appropriate style and from enduring materials, while none of the more ordinary and minor im- provements are neglected. And it is believed that when all these improvements are made and the cemetery is completed, so far as to carry out the general plan, there will remain a fund which will keep the grounds perpetually in repair and preservation, a beautiful and sacred spot for all time to come.
E
Commissioners of Forest hills.
IT was a wise provision in the establishment of Forest Hills Cemetery, that its management should be placed under the control of a Board of Com- missioners, elected in such a manner and for such a term, that the cemetery should not be liable to suffer by the constant fluctuations in political or municipal affairs, or the differences of individual opinion. This provision has given a stability to the management, which has commanded the confi- dence of the public, promoted its success and steadily advanced its improvements. The change of men in the city council, which may occur so frequently, would necessarily sometimes change the plan of improvements and the entire policy of the management, had it been left, like the ordina- ry affairs of the municipality, with the city govern- ment. And this would be the case, even though all should feel an interest in the cemetery and its
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COMMISSIONERS OF FOREST HILLS.
success, a contingency not likely always to occur. But by choosing the commissioners from the citi- zens at large, men of taste and public spirit, who are known to be interested in the work, are likely to be selected.
By the act of the legislature, respecting the cemetery, it is provided, that the control and management shall be vested in a board of five commissioners, one of whom shall be elected annually, in the month of March, by the city council of Roxbury, and shall hold the office for the term of five years. The term of the members first elected was regulated by the order in which they were chosen. The term for which the com- missioners are elected, and the election of only one member each year, secure a comparatively permanent policy in their management of the cemetery, and exempts it from those evils which would result from frequent and sudden changes. The office is an honorary one, no compensation being given for the service.
The board of commissioners was first elected on the thirtieth of March, 1848, and was composed of the following named gentlemen, who were elected for terms of five years to one year, in the order of their names : Hon. H. A. S. Dearborn, Alvah Kittredge, Francis C. Head, Henry Cod- man, and George R. Russell, Esquires. Of this
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
board Gen. Dearborn was chosen chairman, and Mr. Head, secretary ; and the latter has continued in his office to the present time. With the ex- ception of Gen. Dearborn, who died during his first term, each of these gentlemen have been re- elected at the expiration of their terms.
Gen. Dearborn, whose services and devotion to the improvement of the cemetery are acknowl- edged in another part of this volume, was emi- nently the man to be the conductor in this work. From the first suggestion of the idea, he was indefatigable in his efforts to secure an appropri- ate place, and to lay it out and ornament it in a manner gratifying to the taste and soothing to the feelings. He did not live to see the work completed, but in the few years of his commis- sionership the general plan of improvements was so far perfected and carried out, that he could see something of the result of his labors, and know that they were appreciated by all who felt an in- terest in the sacred spot. Gen. Dearborn died in July, 1851, in the fourth year of his commission- ership, and William J. Reynolds, Esq., who was instrumental in securing the establishment of the cemetery, was elected for the remainder of the term, and was subsequently, in 1853, re-elected for a new term of five years. Upon the death of Gen. Dearborn, Mr. Kittredge was chosen chair-
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COMMISSIONERS OF FOREST HILLS.
man of the board, and has continued in that office to the present time.
Another of the original members of the board, Henry Codman, Esq., has been removed by death. Chosen first for a term of two years, he was re- elected in 1850. A gentleman of taste and a judicious counsellor, his services in the early days of the cemetery were of great value, and his lib- erality in affording means to adorn the grounds was justly esteemed by his associates, and con- tributed much to the gratification of those ac- customed to visit the place. As long as his failing health permitted him to do so, he was attentive to the duties of his office, and assisted by his counsels at the consultations of the com- missioners. He died in May, 1853. Jonathan French, Esq., was elected to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, and in 1855 he was re-elected for a new term.
George R. Russell, Esq., elected first for one year, was re-elected in 1849 for a full term. During this term Roxbury was divided, and West Roxbury, the place of his residence, was set off as a town. This event induced him, at the expira- tion of his term, to decline a re-election, a result much regretted by those who understood the value of his services and his interest in behalf of
E*
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the cemetery. Hon. Linus B. Comins, then Mayor of the city, was elected as Mr. Russell's successor.
In the course of a little more than seven years, which have elapsed since the election of the first commissioners, there have been three changes, two of which were occasioned by death. This permanency in the board, as well as the character of the gentlemen composing it, has done not a little to facilitate the progress of the work and to secure for the cemetery the confidence of the public. The present commissioners are Messrs. Kittredge, Head, French, Reynolds, and Comins.
CONSECRATION HILL.
Consecration of Forest Hills.
THE work of preparing the grounds for this sacred purpose having been sufficiently advanced, they were consecrated to the repose of the dead on the 28th of June, 1848.
The day was a beautiful one ; nature had just attained to the fulness of her summer beauty, and refreshing showers on the day previous rendered the whole country more attractive and delightful. A large number of people from Roxbury and its vicinity were present, attracted by the interest of the occasion, and desirous of seeing the grounds which were to be set apart for a garden cemetery.
The place selected for the performance of the services was in the northerly part of the cemetery, at the base and on the side of a hill, which has received the name of Consecration Hill. On the southerly slope of this hill seats were arranged, rising one above another, sufficient to accommo-
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date two or three thousand persons, while at its foot, against a rugged and picturesque rock, was erected a platform for those officiating on the occasion, over which was thrown an arch of ever- green with an appropriate motto, and about which were other rural devices and decorations. The whole place was overshadowed by forest trees, and was a most appropriate temple for the ser- vices which were to dedicate these hills and val- leys and groves forever to the rest of the dead.
A procession,* consisting of the city govern- ment of Roxbury and others, was formed in another part of the grounds, since named Foun- tain Hill, and proceeded to the place set apart for the services, where a large audience had already assembled. The dedicatory services took place in the following order, the anthems and hymns being sung by a select choir, accompanied by the band :
1. ANTHEM.
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be His glorious name for ever : and let the whole earth be filled with His glory ; Amen, and Amen.
2. INTRODUCTORY PRAYER, by Rev. Augustus C. Thompson.
* See Appendix, 7.
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CONSECRATION.
3. HYMN, written for the occasion by Rev. C. H. Fay.
1 We come not now the spell to break, That reigns within this green retreat ; We come not here the hum to wake, Of crowded mart and thronging street.
2 We choose this sacred forest gloom, Around us now so calmly spread, To rear the column and the tomb, And build our city of the dead.
3 And O, how meet for its repose, This soothing shade and silence deep !
They 'Il woo us, at life's evening close, To death's untroubled, dreamless sleep.
4 THOU, who did'st man from dust create, A few brief seasons to endure, O, help us now to consecrate This place to solemn sepulture.
5 Here, side by side, the high and low, And rich and poor shall equal lie ; While o'er them Love's warm tears shall flow, And Friendship heave her poignant sigh.
6 Here, then, let Hope's bright beacon burn, And Faith say, pointing from the sod,
" While dust doth unto dust return, The spirit doth ascend to God."
4. SELECTIONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES, by Rev. John Wayland, D. D.
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
5. ADDRESS, by Rev. George Putnam, D. D.
6. HYMN, written by Rev. C. H. Fay.
1 When rose the Saviour from the tomb, He robbed it of its deepest gloom, Sealed hopeless Grief's complaining lips, And death became but life's eclipse.
2 Let Hope then beam around the dead, And Faith her holy influence shed ; Where nature doth her charms disclose, There give their cherished dust repose.
3 Calm woodland shade ! we here would lay The ashes of our loved away ; And come at length ourselves to sleep, Where thou wilt peaceful vigil keep.
4 And when around our graves shall bend, In bitter grief, the faithful friend, O, let thy peace sink on the soul, And soothe it to thy sweet control.
7. CONCLUDING PRAYER, by Rev. E. F. Slafter.
8. HYMN, -" I would not live alway."
9. BENEDICTION.
The services were solemn and appropriate, and were listened to with serious attention by the large audience. The eloquent and impressive Address of Dr. Putnam was eminently fitting the
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CONSECRATION.
time, and place and purpose ; and as a part of the history of Forest Hills, it is inserted in these pages at length.
ADDRESS.
The report of a committee of the city council, presented in September last, and since widely distributed, sets forth fully the advantages and the necessity of a Rural Cemetery, to be estab- lished within the limits of this city.
With brief delay, justified by the important financial questions connected with the subject, the municipal authorities have made liberal provision for the object. Their design has been carried out thus far with energy and good judgment by those intrusted with the conduct of it, and the result is before and around us, or rather that effective beginning which guarantees the progres- sive accomplishment of the object desired.
The satisfaction which the people of Roxbury will feel in the measure, now so far achieved, may well be shared, I think, by a portion of the in- habitants of the adjoining metropolis, who cannot expect much longer to find suitable and sufficient space for burial within a shorter distance. What has been done has not been done too soon, nor
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
on too large a scale, nor at too great a cost. The future will justify it, nay, it is already justi- fied to the feelings and to the judgment of those who take an interest in it.
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