Hope Cemetery

Hope Cemetery is a cemetery in Barre, Vermont. The city calls itself the "Granite Capital of the World", and the cemetery is known for the superb granite craftsmanship on its memorials and tombstones. Barre is also home to the world's largest "deep hole" granite quarry, the Rock of Ages quarry, also known as the "E. L. Smith Quarry".

History

Hope Cemetery was established in 1895, and then consisted of 53 acres. It was designed and planned by the renowned landscape architect Edward P. Adams. By 1895, skilled artisans from around the world, especially Italy, had been flocking to Barre to become a part of the booming granite industry. One of the main uses of granite throughout the country was in tombstones and memorials. It is estimated that one-third of all memorials in the United States came from Barre.

Silicosis, a respiratory disease caused by granite dust, was common among the artisans and sculptors who were breathing it in every day, which led to an abnormally high death rate. In addition, the 1918-19 Spanish flu epidemic caused many additional deaths, adding to the need for tombstones. Knowing that death was imminent and possibly around the corner, many sculptors were given to designing their own tombstones to showcase their skill. It is estimated that 75% of the tombstones were designed by the occupants of the graves.

Hope Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts)

Hope Cemetery is an historic rural cemetery at 119 Webster Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it was the city's sixth public cemetery, and is the burial site of remains originally interred at its first five cemeteries. Its landscaping and funerary art are examplars of the rural cemetery movement, and the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The cemetery occupies 168 acres (68 ha).

Description and history

Hope Cemetery is located in far southern Worcester, atop a rise known as Webster Hill, which has commanding views to the north and east, including the campuses of Clark University and Holy Cross College. The cemetery was laid out, probably by a landscape designer (although none has been identified), in the rural cemetery style, with winding lanes that take advantage of the terrain. It also includes horticultural plantings of note, another hallmark of the rural cemetery style, including several distinguished specimens of beech, Norway maple, sugar maple, cedar, ash, and oak trees.