Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park
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Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park is a pet cemetery located in Elkridge, Maryland, USA. The cemetery was established in 1935, and was actively operated until 2002. Approximately 8,000 animals and humans are buried in the cemetery's 11½ acres, which is large enough to accommodate about 24,000 pets.
The cemetery is named for Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899), a French painter and sculptor noted for her paintings of animals.
Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park made national headlines in 1979 when it became the first pet cemetery in the world to allow humans to be buried alongside their pets. There are at least 20 humans, and perhaps as many as 100, buried at the cemetery.[1][2]
As of 2007, the cemetery is no longer accepting pet or human burials. The grounds of the Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park are currently being maintained by local volunteers.[3]
Noted animals buried at Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park include:
- Gypsy Queen. In 1925, World War I veteran Frank Heath and his horse Gypsy Queen began a journey across the United States, with the goal of visiting all 48 states. They completed the trip more than two years later, returning to their starting point in Washington, D.C. in 1927. In all, the pair covered 11,356 miles, making it the longest trail ever covered by one horse under saddle. Gypsy Queen died in 1936, and a bronze tablet was erected in her honor at the Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park in 1938. Gypsy Queen also has a burial plot at the cemetery.[4][5]
- Mary Ann. Mary Ann was the first elephant at the Baltimore Zoo. She was brought to Baltimore from India in 1922, and was especially popular with children. Mary Ann died in 1942 after falling over in her sleep and injuring her spine. Her heart was buried at the cemetery after her death.[6][7]
- Corporal Rex Ahlbin. Rex Ahlbin was a combat dog who served with the US Marine Corps during World War II. Rex served with the US 3rd Marine Division during the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay at Bougainville Island in 1943. Rex, a two-year-old Doberman, warned of the presence of Japanese soldiers near a Marine position, enabling Marines to fend off a later attack. Rex also served with the Marine Corps during the Guadalcanal campaign and at the Battle of Tinian. For his service, Rex was promoted to the rank of corporal by the Marine Corps in 1944. Rex is buried near the center of the cemetery, with a marker noting his service to his country.[8]
Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park is located at .
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Dear Abby", Sunday Intelligencer/Montgomery County Record, November 27, 1983.
- ^ "Pet cemetery to bury people with pets", Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio), May 20, 1979.
- ^ Save Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park
- ^ Heath, Frank. Forty Million Hoofbeats. The Long Riders' Guild Press, 2001. ISBN 1-59048-072-4
- ^ "What became of Gypsy Queen, the famous horse?", The Helena Daily Independent, August 3, 1938.
- ^ "Sleepy Elephant Topples Over, Injures Spine", The Washington Post, April 23, 1942.
- ^ Mary Ann: The Forgotten Dream
- ^ "More Dogs Join Heroes' Ranks", The Washington Post, January 23, 1944.
