View source for Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester)

{{Short description|Historic cemetery in Monroe County, New York state}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox cemetery
| name = Mount Hope Cemetery
| image = 1874 Gate House.jpg
| imagesize = 
| caption = Gate House of Mount Hope Cemetery
| established = 1838<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Comeau |first1=Katie Eggers |title=125 Years of Rochester's Parks |journal=Rochester History |date=Fall 2013 |volume=75 |issue=2 |url=https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v75_2013/v75i2.pdf |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref>
| country = United States
| location = [[Rochester, New York]]
| coordinates = {{coord|43.127763|N|77.616265|format=dms|W|display=inline,title}}
| type = Public
| owner = City of Rochester
| size = {{convert|196|acres|ha|abbr=on}}
| graves = 350,000
| website = {{Official|https://www.cityofrochester.gov/mounthope/}}
| nrhp = {{Infobox NRHP
 | embed  = yes
 | name   = Mount Hope Cemetery
 | added  = April 30, 2018
 | refnum = 100002361
}}
| findagraveid = 65340
| politicalgeo = NY/MO-buried.html#cms00423
}}
'''Mount Hope Cemetery''' is a municipal cemetery in [[Rochester, New York]], United States. Founded in 1838, it is the burial site of [[Susan B. Anthony]] and [[Frederick Douglass]]. Situated on {{convert|196|acre|ha}} of land adjacent to the [[University of Rochester]] on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people. The annual growth rate of this cemetery is 500–600 burials per year.

The cemetery hosts the sculpture ''Defenders of the Flag'', a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] monument made in 1908 by the American sculptor [[Sally James Farnham]]. In 2018 it was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="NRHP listing">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places actions for May 4, 2018|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2018-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|publisher=[[U.S. National Park Service]]|date=May 4, 2018|access-date=May 13, 2018}}</ref>

== Geology of Mount Hope ==
About 12,000 to 14,000 years ago, Mount Hope was covered with ice one to two miles thick. As the [[glacier]] receded, cracks appeared in the ice, and these [[crevasses]] became rivers of water and gravel. When the miles-high ice sheets finally melted, these [[river beds]] were left as ridges created from all the rock and rubble that had been deposited by the flowing river. In geological terms, these ridges are called [[esker]]s. One such esker snakes its way through much of Mount Hope Cemetery.

== Notable structures and events ==
[[File:Defenders of the Flag - Sally James Farnham - Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) 01.jpg|thumb|Sally (Sara) James Farnham sculpture, ''Defenders of the Flag'', in Mount Hope Cemetery in [[Rochester, New York]]|left]]
[[File:Frederick Douglass gravestone.jpg|thumb|right|The gravestone of [[Frederick Douglass]] at Mount Hope]]
[[File:MountHopeCemeterySectionL.JPG|thumb|right|View of grave markers in Section L]]
[[File:Defenders of the Flag - Sally James Farnham - Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) 04.jpg|thumb|Detail of the Civil War monument]]
[[File:Susan B. Anthony Gravestone.jpg|thumb|The gravestone of [[Susan B. Anthony]] with "I Voted" stickers on and around the gravesite]]

Mount Hope Cemetery was once the site of "The Fandango Tower."  This was a wooden structure, sitting atop the highest elevation of the cemetery, acting as an observation tower.  This offered visitors grand views of the city, as well as the meandering [[Genesee River]].  The Fandango was involved in the "Great Rochester Mirage" of April 1871.  Visitors to the tower noted on the morning of April 16, 1871, that views of the Canadian banks of [[Lake Ontario]] could be seen from the tower in great detail, as if replacing those of Rochester.  These views of Canada's lake shores, over 50 miles away, were indeed visible from The Fandango Tower, due to an atmospheric phenomena known as [[Fata Morgana (mirage)|Fata Morgana]].  The Fandango Tower is no more, however the ruined foundations can still be found in one of the deep kettles of the cemetery to this day.

The architectural styles of the cemetery's [[gravestone]] and grave markers, [[crypts]], [[chapels]], gatehouses, and [[mausoleums]] span three centuries.  Distinct motifs of the [[High Victorian Gothic]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] architectural traditions persist throughout the cemetery and its various structures. [[Tiffany glass]] windows may be found in several of the mausoleums.

The cemetery contains two non-denominational chapels which the Friends group refers to by their construction dates: the 1862 Chapel and the 1912 Chapel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fomh.org/data/documents/MHCManagementPlan.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20171208231742/http://www.fomh.org/data/documents/MHCManagementPlan.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-12-08 |title=Tree & Woodland Management Plan |website=Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery |publisher=Davey Resource Group|access-date=2 April 2024}}</ref> Neither has been used for decades and are closed to the public due to their structural deterioration<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/the-future-of-rochesters-past/Content?oid=2599496 |title=The future of Rochester's past|last=Fien |first=Christine Carrie |date=5 August 2015 |website=RochesterCityNewspaper.com |access-date=2 April 2024}}</ref> although in 2020 a local contractor completed masonry stabilitzation work on the 1912 chapel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mt. Hope Cemetery 1912 Chapel Tower |url=https://www.catenaryconstruction.com/projects/mt-hope-cemetery-1912-chapel-tower |website=Catenary Construction - Projects |publisher=Catenary Construction Corp. |access-date=2 April 2024}}</ref>

The cemetery is home to several working water features.  Sylvan Waters, a water feature constructed within a naturally forming kettle pond, was remodeled and brought back into use during the Fall-Winter season of 2016 and 2017.

In June 2000, [[American Civil War]] General [[Elisha Marshall]]'s crypt was desecrated and vandalized, resulting in his remains being scattered throughout the surrounding area.  Marshall's bodily remains were gathered and reinterred, however, the whereabouts of the skull remains a mystery.  The perpetrators were never apprehended or identified.<ref>{{cite news
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = General's skull taken from grave
| url         = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sPFDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-a8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3362,5703048&dq=general+elisha+marshall+rochester&hl=en
| work        = Sunday Times-Sentinel
| location    = Gallipolis, Ohio
| date        = 18 June 2000
| access-date = 31 August 2020
}}</ref>

For years it has been a tradition during elections for people, mostly women, to place "I Voted" stickers on the gravestone of Women's rights activist, Susan B. Anthony. In 2016, 10,000 people were estimated to visit the gravesite during the notable election of having the first woman, Hillary Clinton, running for president on a major party ticket. The headstone was damaged by the residue left by the stickers. As a result, in anticipation of visitors for the 2020 election, Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery placed a clear Plexiglass sleeve to protect the site from further damage.<ref>
{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/susan-b-anthony-women-voters-rochester-new-york-cemetery/ |title=Voters pay respect to Susan B. Anthony at her grave in Rochester|last=Hartman |first=Steve |date=October 30, 2020 |website=CBS News |access-date=November 18, 2020}}
</ref>

== Notable burials ==
{{See also|Category:Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester)}}
{{div col|colwidth=16em}}
* [[Samuel G. Andrews]]
* [[Susan B. Anthony]]
* [[Charles S. Baker]]
* [[John Jacob Bausch]]
* [[Anita Bush]]
* [[Hartwell Carver]]
* [[Jonathan Child]]
* [[Emma Lampert Cooper]]
* [[Adelaide Crapsey]]
* [[Algernon Crapsey]]
* [[Frederick Douglass]]
* [[Thomas B. Dunn]]
* [[George Ellwanger]]
* [[Frank Gannett]]
* [[Malcolm Glazer]]
* [[Morton Goldberg]]
* [[Seth Green (pisciculture)|Seth Green]]
* [[James Hard]]
* [[Myron Holley]]
* [[Thomas James (minister)|Rev. Thomas James]]
* [[Thomas Kempshall]]
* [[Alexander B. Lamberton]]
* [[Henry Lomb]]
* [[Elisha Marshall|General E.G. Marshall]]
* [[Vincent Mathews]]
* [[Lewis Henry Morgan]]
* [[Anna Murray Douglass]]
* [[Henry O'Reilly]]
* [[Jane Marsh Parker]]
* [[Amy and Isaac Post]]
* [[Charles Mulford Robinson]]
* [[Nathaniel Rochester]]
* [[Thomas H. Rochester]]
* [[Adolph J. Rodenbeck]]
* [[Abraham M. Schermerhorn]]
* [[George B. Selden]]
* [[Henry R. Selden]]
* [[Hiram Sibley]]
* [[Elijah F. Smith]]
* [[Lucy J. Sprague]]
* [[Fletcher Steele]]
* [[Margaret Woodbury Strong]]
* [[Theron R. Strong]]
* [[Samuel R. Thayer]]
* [[Lillian Wald]]
* [[Henry Augustus Ward]]
* [[William Warfield]]
* [[Don Alonzo Watson]]
* [[Jessica M. Weis]]
* [[George Whipple]]
* [[Frederick Whittlesey]]
* [[Abel Carter Wilder]]
{{div col end}}

General [[Elwell Stephen Otis]] was originally interred at Mount Hope before being removed to [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. Notable cremations at Mount Hope include [[Blanche Stuart Scott]] and [[George Eastman]].

Elizabeth Mackenzie, mother of [[Upper Canada Rebellion]] leader and first [[Mayor of Toronto]], [[William Lyon MacKenzie]], is interred here following her death in exile in 1839 and listed as Elizabeth Kenzie. Her son viewed her passing funeral from his cell at Monroe County Jail in December 1839 after failing to be granted leave to be at her deathbed. The Mackenzie family remained in the United States before returning to Canada in 1849.

== Friends of Mount Hope ==
The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery is a non-profit organization of volunteers founded in 1980 to restore, preserve, and encourage public use and enjoyment of this unique historical treasure.

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|New York (state)}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Rochester, New York]]
* [[Votes For Women History Trail]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Richard O. Reisem (2002). ''Buried Treasures in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York: A Pictorial Field Guide'' {{ISBN|9780964103337}}. {{OCLC|50799185}}
* Richard O. Reisem (2012). ''Gravestones in Mount Hope Cemetery'' {{ISBN|9780964103351}}. {{OCLC|801480231}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website|https://www.cityofrochester.gov/mounthope/}}
* [http://www.cityofrochester.gov/reforestmounthope/ Reforest Mount Hope]
* [http://www.cityofrochester.gov/mounthopevolunteer/ Volunteer At Mount Hope]
* [http://www.fomh.org/ The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery]
* {{Find a Grave cemetery}}
* [http://mcnygenealogy.com/cem/mh-intro.htm Tombstone Inscriptions from Mt. Hope Cemetery]
* [https://springwatertrails.org/event/mt-hope-cemetery/ Cemetery map]

{{City of Rochester, NY}}

[[Category:Geography of Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:History of Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Cemeteries in Monroe County, New York]]
[[Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Rural cemeteries]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1830s]]