Bury yourself into Baltimore’s history with walking tours of two unique cemeteries, Westminster Hall and Burying Ground and the Green Mount Cemetery.
As a restored Gothic church, Westminister Hall boasts stained glass windows, oak woodwork, and an 1882 Johnson pipe organ that adds beauty to the building. However, the most fascinating detail is that the church was built on top of the original Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery in 1852. Elevated on brick piers above the graves, the church’s foundation created catacombs containing the graves underneath. The church remained in use until 1977, when the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law took over its operation. We’ll take a look above and below at the Burying Ground while we look for the final resting place of many famous individuals including Edgar Allan Poe. Tombs can be found of prominent political, military, and business leaders, four of the city’s earliest mayors, and several generals from the American Revolution and War of 1812. The Burying Ground also features Maximilian Godefroy’s Egyptian Revival Gates located at the Greene Street side of the cemetery, also.
After finishing our time at Westminister, we will walk to Lexington Market for a quick lunch. Lunch choices are endless and can be found here: https://lexingtonmarket.com/merchants?category=restaurants. After eating, we will drive to our next stop, Green Mount Cemetery, about ten minutes away with easy parking at the cemetery. If you prefer to bring lunch or to eat elsewhere, you are welcome to meet us at 1:30 pm at Green Mount.
Green Mount Cemetery is one of the earliest rural or garden cemeteries in the United States. Samuel Walker, a Baltimore tobacco merchant, visited the garden-like Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1834 and came home with a mission to fund a similarly styled cemetery here. The land was purchased four years later and the cemetery was officially dedicated on July 13, 1839.
These garden cemeteries were unique, and not laid out in the normal grid pattern. Rather, they were designed in the “picturesque” style found on English country estates with winding paths and streets, vistas and scenic overlooks, various water features, and a landscape enhanced by the planting of thousands of trees and ornamental shrubs. The gardens were so beautiful that thousands of city dwellers spent Sunday afternoons picnicking and strolling in their new “park.”
Nearly 65,000 people are buried here, including John Wilkes Booth and two other conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the poet Sydney Lanier, philanthropists Johns Hopkins and Enoch Pratt, and numerous military, political, and business leaders.
NEW – Payment and Cancellation Policy: Payment is due online at the time of registration. Cancellations made seven or more days in advance of the event will receive a refund minus a 5% processing fee. Cancellations made within seven days of the event will not receive a refund. NHSM retains the right to update or change these requirements at any time.
For questions, please email Jayne at JAsh@marylandnature.org.
Location
Green Mount Cemetery, Westminister Hall and Burying Ground
