Any discussion of the role of our cemeteries today requires some historical context. In 1831, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge/Watertown, Massachusetts, was established by Massachusetts Horticultural Society members who envisioned a place for burials and commemoration that would simultaneously serve as an experimental garden and an inspirational sanctuary for the living. It was a bold, new concept, and the success of Mount Auburn as both a cemetery and a popular tourist destination spurred the development of the "rural cemetery" movement. Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia was created in 1835, followed by Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in 1838. By 1853, similar garden or rural cemeteries had been created in at least twenty cities around the nation, including Atlanta, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville.
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