Woodmere Cemetery: Difference between revisions

The Woodmere Cemetery Association was organized on July 8, 1867, by a group of prominent Detroit businessmen who purchased approximately 250 acres to establish a [[rural cemetery]] for the city of Detroit.<ref>{{cite book| title=Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| last=Hershenzon| first=Gail D.| year=2006| page=7| isbn=978-0738541204}}</ref> Woodmere's layout was designed by [[Adolph Strauch]], who also designed [[Spring Grove Cemetery]] in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Woodmere Cemetery Association| title=Rules and Regulations of Woodmere Cemetery Association| year=1888| location=Detroit| page=6}}</ref> Construction began in 1868 and the [[cemetery]] was dedicated on July 14, 1869.<ref>{{cite book| last=Farmer| first=Silas| title=The History of Detroit and Michigan| url=https://archive.org/details/historydetroita00farmgoog| year=1889|publisher=Silas Farmer & Co.|location=Detroit| page=57|edition=Second}}</ref>

The first burials occurred prior to the cemetery's official opening. The first burial was for Anna Maria Schwartz, who was buried in Section C in November 1868.<ref>{{cite book| title=Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| last=Hershenzon| first=Gail D.| year=2006| page=8| isbn=978-0738541204}}</ref> She was soon joined by approximately 2,000 removals from Detroit's City Cemetery that were reburied at Woodmere.<ref>{{cite book| last=Farmer| first=Silas| title=The History of Detroit and Michigan| url=https://archive.org/details/historydetroita00farmgoog| year=1889| publisher=Silas Farmer & Co.| location=Detroit| page=57| edition=Second}}</ref> In addition to these burials, the city of Detroit also contracted for approximately five acres for the burial of the city's poor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Farmer|first=Silas|title=The History of Detroit and Michigan|url=https://archive.org/details/historydetroita00farmgoog|year=1889|publisher=Silas Farmer & Co.|location=Detroit|page=57|edition=Second}}</ref> Section C is the cemetery's oldest section and where the large Elks' Rest monument can be found. Once Section C was filled, Woodmere ended its contract with the city to bury the city's poor.<ref>{{cite book| title=Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| last=Hershenzon| first=Gail D.| year=2006| page=38| isbn=978-0738541204}}</ref>