The Woodlands Cemetery

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The Woodlands

The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark on the western banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a magnificent federal style mansion, its matching carriage house and stable, and its historic garden landscape that was later developed as a rural Victorian cemetery.

1 Early History
2 The Cemetery
3 Notable burials
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early History

The property was originally owned by the famous Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, who in 1735 purchased 300 acres in what is now West Philadelphia. When he died in 1741, he willed his lands to his son, also named Andrew, who survived his father but six years, devising the estate to his son, William, who rebuilt the original house over a period of years into16-room manor. The new Woodlands mansion was one of the greatest domestic American architectural achievements of the 18th century, recognized after the Revolutionary War as a leading example of English taste and presaging architectural trends in the following century. An active botanist, Hamilton's estate and greenhouses grew to contain more than 10,000 different species of plants including the first specimens introduced into America of the Ginkgo, Norway Maple, Ailanthus, and Lombardy Poplar as well as plants grown from seeds harvested during Lewis and Clark’s expeditions. Hamilton also collected numerous native plants with his friends and neighbors, the Bartram family of botanists of nearby Bartram's Garden. Today, more than 720 historic trees and plants have survived and are scattered throughout the property.

[edit] The Cemetery

After Hamilton's death in 1813, his heirs sold off much of the property for residential development. In 1840, The Woodlands Cemetery Company purchased the remaining grounds that included the mansion and carriage house.

The “Garden” or rural cemetery was an innovation during the first half of the 19th century which became a stylish alternative to crowded, inner city burying grounds, increasingly viewed as aestheticly and hygenicly undesirable. These rural cemeteries were usually private and non-sectarian and were unique for their use elaborate landscaping and architecture. The Woodlands estate’s isolated location and extensive gardens provided the setting for model rural cemetery where, according to an early advertisement, “..the decaying bodies of the dead may securely moulder into kindred dust, with an abundant vegetation and free winds to absorb and dissipate all noxious effluvia.”

Like its rival to the north, Laurel Hill Cemetery, trustees of the Woodlands spurred the cemetery’s early growth by interring the remains of a celebrity, Commodore David Porter. His remains, originally buried at the Philadelphia Naval Asylum cemetery, were reburied at Woodlands in 1845.

By mid-century, Woodlands was thriving and attracted many of Philadelphia’s elite.

Today, the Woodlands Cemetery Company is a non-profit organization. The Friends of Woodlands works with the Cemetery Company and the University City Historical Society to preserve and maintain both the mansion and the cemetery grounds. The site is also designated as The Woodlands National Recreation Trail by the National Park Service.