USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of the cemetery of Mount Auburn. > Part 5
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a lease was executed to him of the land west of the Superintendent's house, on which he has proceeded to erect a green-house, and cultivate a garden.
The Trustees have, at different times, intro- duced ornamental trees, and flowering shrubs, into various parts of the grounds. The last importation consisted of four or five hundred Rhododendrons, in the spring of 1859, of which nearly the whole appear flourishing, and in vigorous condition. A great variety of shrubs and flowers, native and exotic, are cultivated by proprietors themselves about their respective lots.
STONE FARM.
It has long been thought desirable that the Corporation should possess the estate called, on the map, " The Stone Farm," containing about sixteen acres, occupying the whole space between the southern boundary of Mount Auburn and the southerly part of Coolidge Avenue. This lot, also, surrounded and cut off from the Cemetery a gore of two or three acres, already owned by the Cor- poration, and which could only be made available
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when the intervening land should be procured. A negotiation was undertaken by Mr. Little, one of the Board of Trustees; and, at a meeting April 3d, 1854, a letter was read from Mr. J. B. Dana, of Cambridge, addressed to Mr. Little, as one of the Trustees, offering to sell this estate to the Corporation, on conditions therein named. After due consideration, it was unanimously voted, " That it is expedient for this Corpora- tion to purchase the Stone Estate, now owned and offered to this Board by J. B. Dana, Esq., and adjoining Mount Auburn, on the southerly side, containing about sixteen acres, more or less, with the buildings thereon ; and that the Presi- dent, with Messrs. Little and Bangs, be a Committee, with full power, to carry this vote into effect."
At the following meeting, April 22d, the purchase was reported as being completed, for the sum of $24,120, on the following valua- tion : -
16 acres, at $1250, $20,000
1 rood, 13,8% rods,
420
Buildings, per agreement, 3,700
$24,120
1
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The same Committee had been likewise author- ised, if they should think it expedient, to negotiate for certain lands on the westerly side of Mount Auburn. On examination, however, they did not find such purchase to be expedient or desirable.
At a meeting of the Trustees, March 1, 1858, it was voted - " That the Committee on Grounds be instructed to expend $1000 per annum, in grading, and improving the unsold parts of the land within the Cemetery, and that the carth removed by this process be applied towards filling up the superfluous ponds and hollows in the grounds." This provision, if kept up for a few years, will gradually and imperceptibly effect the desired changes, without subjecting the Cor- poration to any sudden or inconvenient expendi- ture.
July 6th, 1858. A communication having been received from Mr. Lawrence, Treasurer of Har- vard College, in regard to some encroachments in the boundary line between the land of the two Corporations, Mr. Gould was made a Com- mittee, with full power, to settle the same. A report of a satisfactory adjustment, by a little variation of the boundary, was reported by that gentleman, at a subsequent meeting.
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
May 4th, 1859. In consequence of the de- cease of Mr. Bangs, one of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Curtis presented the following Resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : -
" Whereas, By the decease of the late Isaiah Bangs, Esq., the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn have been deprived of the services of a faithful officer, who, during five years, devoted himself to their interests with a zeal and fidelity rarely equalled.
And whereas the Board of Trustees have lost a companion, whose good temper, amenity, and candor were conspicuous in all his relations with them, -
It is voted, that the Board of Trustees desire to express the sense they entertain of the lost which they and the Proprietors of Mount Auburn have sustained by the death of their late friend and fellow Trustee.
Voted, That a copy of the foregoing Preamble and Vote be sent by the Secretary to the family of Mr. Bangs."
In the summer of 1859, a marble statue of the late Hosea Ballou, an eminent Minister of the Universalist Church in Boston, executed by Mr. E. A. Brackett, sculptor, of Boston, was erected 6
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by a subscription of his parishioners and friends on the east side of Central Avenue.
Mr. Gould, one of the Board of Trustees, died, Oct. 24th, 1859, having been in office for twenty-seven years. At the next meeting, Nov. 7th, the following Resolutions were unanimously adopted : -
" The Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery are deeply impressed by the act of Providence which has taken from them one of the oldest, most faithful, and most esteemed of their number.
They hold in grateful remembrance the long and friendly intercourse by which he has co- operated with them in the care of a solemn public trust, and the fidelity, zeal, and undeviating good temper with which he has applied himself to the discharge of this duty.
They recollect, with unmixed satisfaction, the disinterested and honorable character of their friend ; his blameless life ; his warm and generous instincts ; the unalterable integrity with which he obeyed the promptings of a kind heart, controlled and guided by a strong judgment and conscientious love of right.
To the family of the deceased they would con- vey the expression of their deep-felt sympathy,
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. 83
in aid of the higher consolation which will always remain to them in contemplating the example of his life, and in cherishing his unspotted memory."
PERMANENT FUND.
A design has been entertained, and repeatedly announced, that, as soon as the large, primary works should have been completed, the Corpora- tion should commence the accumulation of a fund, the prospective income of which should defray the expenses of the Cemetery, after the revenue from the annual sales of land shall have ceased.
In promotion of this object, at a meeting, April 7th, 1856, Mr. Curtis made a communication to the effect that " a plan should be devised whereby a fund might be gradually raised, set apart, and studiously protected, for the purpose of furnishing the means of hereafter defraying the ordinary expenses of the establishment, and to secure the perpetual repair of the ground of the Cemetery." Whereupon, it was voted, that a Committee of three be chosen to consider the expediency of adopting such plan, and to report thereon at a future meeting. Messrs. Curtis, Little, and Nazro, were appointed to constitute this Commit-
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tee. At a meeting in January, 1857, a majority Report was submitted by the two first named gen- tlemen only, and was adopted by the Trustees.
At the meeting in February following, the whole subject was re-opened for the purpose of making some more effectual provision to ensure the safety of said fund, and was referred to the same Committee, in the following terms : - " To consider and report upon a plan for securing the preservation and continuance of the fund which has been ordered to be established, for the per- petual care and preservation of the Cemetery and its appurtenances ; and also to report such regulations for the investment and use of the said fund as they may deem expedient."
A Report, with the Orders accompanying, was presented by a majority of the Committee, April 6th, 1857, and, on the same day, was adopted by the Board of Trustees, and is as follows: -
" The undersigned, the majority of the Com- mittee appointed to report a plan for ensuring the preservation and continuance of the accumulating fund, have considered the subject, and ask leave to Report : -
That they find that the establishment of the said fund is an act generally received with favor
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
by the proprietors whom they have conferred with ; and they have no doubt that it will be universally approved, when it is known that by it the future prosperity of the Cemetery will be secured. With a view to this end, your Com- mittee have taken into consideration the means of securing the perpetual preservation of this safety fund ; and, after consulting some of the most sagacious proprietors, they have come to the conclusion to recommend the adoption of an order by the Trustees, - that, in all the deeds of lots which shall hereafter be issued, there be inserted a covenant, that this fund shall be increased, by yearly additions, and by the accumulation of the interest, until it reaches the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; when the interest, and that alone, may be applied, if the wants of the Corporation require it, to the payment of the expenses of the Cemetery. If the Trustees in office at that time shall not need the income of this fund for expenses, they can, if they see fit, permit it to accumulate still longer.
In order to carry this design into effect, it will be expedient to amend the proposition adopted January 5th, 1857, by providing that, instead of placing the income at the disposal of the
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officers, at the end of twenty years, it shall not be made use of until the accumulated capital shall amount to the sum before mentioned, namely, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
With these views, your Committee recommend the passage of the following Orders.
CHARLES P. CURTIS, CHARLES C. LITTLE.
It is ordered, by the Trustees of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, that, in the month of Decem- ber of each year, the Treasurer of the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn shall deposit with the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, if they will receive it on as favorable conditions as other deposits, in trust for the said Proprietors, a sum equal to one fifth part of the gross proceeds of the lots, and parts of lots, and intermediate spaces between lots, which shall have been sold subsequently to the first day of Decem- ber, in the year preceding ; the interest of which sums shall, annually or oftener, be added to the capital, for the purpose, and upon the principle, of accumulation, until the whole of said deposits, with the accumulated interest, shall amount to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
And, when the said sum shall have amounted to the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, it shall be lawful for the Trustees, if they see fit, to withdraw the income thereof, and appropriate the same to the care, preservation, and keeping in order of the Cemetery and its appurtenances, to the payment of the salaries, and to the other necessary expenses of the insti- tution ; and, by vote of four fifths of the Trustees for the time being, they may withdraw, from time to time, the principal of the said fund, and invest the same as hereinafter is prescribed.
If, at any time, the Trustees shall deem the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company to be an unsafe place of deposit of the said fund, and shall by a vote of a majority of all the members of the Board, so declare of record, the said fund may be withdrawn from the custody of the said Insurance Company, as soon as by the conditions of the deposit it may be, and shall then be, invested in the name of the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, upon the same trusts, in the public debt of the United States, or in that of the State of Massachusetts, or in the debt of the City of Boston, or the City of Charlestown, or the City of Roxbury, or the
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City of Cambridge, or in mortgages of real estate in Boston : provided that no mortgage shall be taken for a sum exceeding two thirds of the value of the estate as it stands, when taken, on the valuation books of the assessors of the city taxes ; nor for a period exceeding five years; nor in which the interest shall not be payable as often as annually ; to which shall be added insurance against fire by some competent insurance com- pany in Boston, for the amount of the loan, or such proportion thereof as the value of the buildings on the land shall enable the owner to obtain ; which insurance shall be renewed, from time to time, at the expense of the mortgagor and his assigns, and shall be payable, in case of loss, to the Trustees of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn.
It is ordered, that in all the deeds which shall hereafter be issued, to the purchasers of lots, parts of lots, or other parcels of land in the Cemetery, the following covenant shall be inserted : -
' And the said Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn further covenant to and with the said heirs and assigns, that the Provisions of an order passed by the Trustees of this Corporation, on the sixth day of April, in
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven (which is made part of this covenant, as if herein repeated), for the establishment and security of a fund for the preservation of the Cemetery and its appurtenances, shall be forever kept, observed, and performed by the said Corporation.'"
The permanent fund thus instituted is already in a state of prosperous growth, in the third year of its accretion; and without inconvenience to the Corporation. Its present rate of accumulation is about $5000 per year, and this ratio may be expected regularly to increase with the accumula- tion of interest.
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The remaining History of Mount Auburn Cemetery will be learnt from the following cotem- poraneous reports of the last four years :-
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, READ TO THE PROPRIETORS AT THEIR MEETING IN JANUARY, 1856.
Previously to 1856, the Annual Report, required by the Art of Incorporation, had, in most cases, been made orally by.the President at the yearly meeting of the Proprietors. Of late years the increased interest manifested by the Proprietors in the affairs of the Cemetery, has called for the reading and subsequent printing of this Report.
THE Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery are gratified in being able to report that the property of the Corporation remains as heretofore, in a secure and satisfactory state.
A considerable sum has been expended during the last year, in repairing, grading, and paving at the sides, some of the principal avenues. Many of the superfluous trees have been removed, and the
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
branches of others trimmed away, so that the whole ground has a more finished and ornamental appear- ance than it before possessed. Much remains still to be done in the judicious and careful prosecution of these and similar improvements.
The westerly portion of Garden Pond, near Cen- tral Avenue, has justly been considered a blemish to Mount Auburn, on account of the stagnant con- dition of the water, and the muddiness of the banks and bottom. A contract has been made for filling up this pond with gravel from the neighboring hill, for the sum of $ 850. The earth will be raised about six and a half feet above the present surface of the water, by which operation the Corporation will gain more than an acre of valuable land in one of the most eligible parts of the Cemetery.
Some preparatory arrangements have been made for the occupation of the Stone Farm purchased last year by the Trustees. The principal avenues have been prospectively surveyed and planted with young trees at suitable distances. Nearly the whole of these trees were in healthy condition at the end of the summer.
The Chapel has been taken down as far as the base course, and rebuilt during the past season, in a strong and durable manner. The blemished and
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insufficient stones inserted by the unfaithfulness of the contractors, have been replaced with others of proper size and appearance, and the character of the building is now in all respects satisfactory as to strength, solidity, and durability. No change has been made in the design except by the introduction of some additional ornament outside. The interior walls not being sufficiently dry, the painting is de- ferred till next season.
The Statues intended to occupy the interior of the Chapel are all in progress, under contracts made with artists of high eminence in their profes- sion. The statue of Gov. Winthrop is to be exe- cuted by Richard Greenough, - that of James Otis by Thomas Crawford, - that of John Adams by Randolph Rogers, - that of Judge Story is by William W. Story. The model statuettes of the first and third of these, are already completed, - that of the second is promised soon, while the fourth statue is already finished and in possession of the Trustees.
A vote has passed the Trustees for laying out quarter lots of seventy-five square feet each, and offering them for sale at $50 each. This will accommodate a certain class of purchasers who have occasion for but small space, and at the same time will enhance the product of the land sold.
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MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.
The late Superintendent, Mr. Rufus Howe, having resigned his office, the Trustees have elected Mr. Jonathan Mann to fill the vacancy. This election, however, is temporary, and subject to future confirmation.
An application has been made to the Trustees by a large and influential body of the proprietors, in favor of building a Conservatory for the benefit of those persons who may wish to obtain plants or flowers upon the spot. The subject has received consideration, and is referred to the next Board of Trustees.
It will be seen by the Treasurer's Report that the expenditures of the last year have considerably exceeded those of any preceding year. This is in part owing to the payments which have become due on certain large operations, such as are not likely to recur, and partly to the state of transition between the retirement of the former Superintend- ent and the introduction of his successor. The Trustees entertain the hope that a more economical system of labor will be introduced, and that the necessary work on the grounds will be performed by a smaller number of hands than heretofore.
A great number of outstanding accounts for work done by order of individuals, in different lots of the
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Cemetery, had remained uncollected by the late Superintendent, until they were found to amount in the aggregate to about $5000. Immediate measures have been taken to collect these dues as far as possible, and about $2500 have already been received by the Treasurer. It is hoped that a large portion of the remainder may yet be saved to the Corporation.
The future security of Mount Auburn will depend on the fidelity and economy with which its affairs are administered, and with which its pros- pective plans are carried out as contemplated by its founders. It may be assumed that all the large and more expensive operations which have been kept in view since the foundation of the establish- ment, are now either paid or provided for. It only remains, by a judicious and careful management of expenditures, to keep the Cemetery in suitable repair, and at the same time to accumulate a fund for its perpetual preservation. Both these objects can easily be accomplished by the exercise of a common degree of discretion and economy in the management of the receipts and funds. But on the other hand, they will assuredly be defeated, if hereafter, either by reckless expenditures or by improper appropriations, the steady accretion of a reserved fund should be prevented.
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As nearly as it can now be estimated, the event- nal value of the unsold land at Mount Auburn may be assumed at about 8300,000, at present prices. The current expenses of the Cemetery may be assumed at $10,000 per annum. On this ap- proximate calculation, if the whole of the unsold land should be disposed of in ten years, there would remain a balance of $200,000, without including interest. But on the other hand, if it should take thirty years to sell the land, then the whole pro- ceeds would be absorbed by the current expenses, and not a dollar from these receipts would be left for the future support of the establishment.
It must be obvious to the proprietors, as it has been to the Trustees, that the only safety against the ultimate impoverishment and decay of the Cemetery must consist in a rigid determination on the part of future Boards who may be entrusted with the management of this property, to reserve annually, such a sum from the receipts of the current year, whether those receipts be larger or smaller, as shall insure the steady increase of the permanent fund, and the eventual realization of sufficient invested property to keep the Ceme- tery in perpetual repair after the sale of the land shall have been completed.
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It is in the power of every proprietor to promote the interest and increase the income of the Corpo- ration, in the following ways : -
1. By employing none but the workmen belong- ing to the place, for the execution of labor and the repairing of lots. A circular on this subject has already been addressed to the proprietors.
2. By introducing new proprietors or otherwise promoting the sale of lots. If each proprietor should introduce a new proprietor, the establish- ment would at once be placed on a footing of entire independence.
Mount Auburn, in most respects, takes prece- dence of other cemeteries which have been founded in imitation of it. The peculiar character of its natural features had attracted attention long before its purchase, and the surrounding landscape now seen from the top of its highest edifice, is unsur- passed in natural and cultivated beauty. It ex- ceeds all similar establishments in this country in the size and durability of its larger constructions, and is about to lead, instead of following them, in the interest of its historic and monumental sculp- tures. As it is not probable that the present boundaries can ever be much enlarged, and as the lots are being steadily taken up at increasing
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prices, so that the map of the ground already ap- pears covered with them, we may anticipate that the time is not very remote, when the value of these lots will be best known by the difficulty of obtaining them.
By order of the Trustees.
JACOB BIGELOW, President.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1857.
THE Cemetery of Mount Auburn continues in a safe and improving condition, not less than it has done in all the previous years of its history. During the past season, some new works of small magnitude have been undertaken, and some large ones previously begun have been carried to completion.
The upper end of Garden Pond (a pool of stag- nant muddy water) has been filled up to the height of about six feet above its former surface, with gravel taken from the hill near the gate. A large 7
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stone drain is laid through the centre, over which, for economy of space, an avenue will be laid out. The greater portion of the hill has been levelled. Garden Avenue has been moved nearer to the fence. A part of the trees on its border have been transplanted to the south side, and the whole re- arranged with reference to their good appearance and room for future growth. A hollow near Alder Path, and one south-westerly of the Chapel, have also been filled up. By these measures collec- tively, about two acres of valuable land in the most eligible parts of the Cemetery have been redeemed, at an expense many times less than their present value.
The old house occupied by the Superintendent, together with its outhouses, have been removed, and a new house for the Superintendent has been built on land owned by the Corporation, outside and easterly of the gate. This building (designed by Mr. H. W. Hartwell) has been constructed in a substantial and durable manner, at an expense of about four thousand dollars .*
The area in front of the Chapel has been en-
* A stable, fences, and other appurtenances were afterward added, increasing the cost about $1000. The stable was built in 1859.
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larged, by the purchase and removal of several lots which were formerly situated on the same space. It is justly considered important to the good appearance of the principal edifices, such as the Tower, the Chapel, and the Gate, that no inferior structures should be placed so near them, as to interfere with, or impair their isolated effect.
The Chapel has been completed in a satisfactory manner, both as to appearance and durability. Two of the pedestals and one of the statues, des- tined for the interior, are already in their places. The three remaining statues are understood to be in a state of forwardness, and may be expected to arrive here in from one to two years.
Due attention has been paid to repairing and improving the avenues and paths, and to extend- ing the pavement of gutters where it was thought necessary. Some expense has been incurred in repairing the damage done by the heavy rains of the last summer.
The thinning out and trimming of trees has been in gradual progress, under the superintendence of Mr. Mann, the present able and active Superin- tendent, with whose economy and skill as a land- scape gardener, the Trustees have great reason to be satisfied.
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