Frederick Maryland is known for it's church spires that rise into the city skyline. In 1745 founder Daniel Dulaney provided lots to different faith denominations to build churches. Many of these lots would also serve as the town's first burying grounds. As Frederick and the church congregations grew over the next 100 years additional room for expansion and more space for burials were needed. Representatives from Frederick's leading churches came together to put together the frame work for a new , community owned, non-denominational, cemetery.
The charter of the Mount Olivet Cemetery Company was recorded in October of 1852 with the purchase of the original 32 acres south of town.
In 1853 James Belden a landscape architect from Baltimore was hired to to layout a "garden" cemetery that would offer a peaceful resting place for both the wealthy and average citizen. The first interment took place in May of 1854 and Mount Olivet would collect additional inhabitants as bodies were re-interred from existing church yard cemeteries.
There are a number of notable Frederick County names that were among those who were re-interred in what would become known as "Frederick's Other City".
Francis Scott Key the man who penned "The Star-Spangled Banner" was originally buried in St. Paul's Cemetery in Baltimore following his death in 1843. In 1866 he and his wife were moved and re-interred at Mount Olivet. A group of local citizens organized a fundraiser and raised $30,000 to craft a memorial in honor of the author of "The Star Spangled Banner". Pompeo Coppini a young Italian immigrant sculptor was hired to create a bronze statue of Francis Scott Key. The monument that stands at the entrance to Mount Olivet Cemetery was dedicated on August 9, 1898.
The first Governor of Maryland Thomas Johnson who was also a delegate to the Continental Congress, nominated by George Washington as a commander of the Continental Army, and served in Maryland's militia as a brigadier general. He would later serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and died in 1819. At the time of his death he was buried in the All Saints Episcopal church grave yard and was moved to Mount Olivet in 1913 where a monument was erected.
Barbara Fritchie's remains were moved to Mount Olivet in 1914. She became a legendary Unionist figure during the Civil War due to the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1863 which portrays her defiantly waiving the U.S. Flag in Frederick as Confederate troops passed through.
Today the cemetery has over 41,000 graves which is equivalent to the population of the state capitol of Annapolis. It has grown from the original 32 acres and now has eight miles of paved roads that crisscross the grounds and is also used by walkers, runners and bikers.
Chris Haugh has been the historian / preservation manager at Mount Olivet Cemetery for the past ten years. He writes a fascinating blog called "Stories in Stone " and is also a master story teller as he offers local history courses and gives tours of the cemetery through History Shark Productions. My wife and I recently spent a bewitching evening on his "unsettling" candlelight walking tour of the cemetery listening to the stories of some of decedents untimely demise.
Thank you Debe Maxwell, CRS & Eileen Burns 954.483.3912 for hosting this months blog challenge Historical Stories about your location.
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