With the American population growing dramatically in the early 19th century, urban graveyards were quickly becoming overcrowded and unhygienic spaces, trapped between city structures with no place to expand. Waves of cholera threatened the living, underscoring an immediate need for an alternative to city burials.
A new exhibit will explore how 19th-century Americans managed public health concerns, developed a new appreciation for green space and wildlife, and ensured their memorialization in a newly established public space: the rural cemetery.
City expansion and an emerging appreciation for green spaces reshaped land use for burial grounds and transformed surrounding terrains. As the desire to be interred in these scenic landscapes grew, grave markers, tombstones, and monuments emerged as a high art form – a product of means, social connections, and endeavors to be memorialized.
Rural cemeteries quickly became social centers for the living, and were emulated across America, inspiring urban planning and city design. Rural cemeteries are not macabre or gloomy places to be visited only when necessary.
American rural cemeteries are open-air museums, acting as reliquaries of genealogical information, evocative iconography, landscape and horticultural design, and sanctuaries for wildlife.
Opening on Wednesday, May 8, a new multi-media exhibit at the Genesee Country Village & Museum’s John L. Wehle Gallery will explore the concept of the American rural cemetery.
“Everybody’s Going to be There! The American Rural Cemetery Movement” presents a wide variety of fine wildlife art, maps, memorial art, natural animal and geological specimens, mourning jewelry and stationery, and cemetery tourism ephemera of the 19th century.
Curatorial programs and guest speakers throughout the 2024 season are being planned. Upcoming talks include a curator-hosted debut of the new exhibit, at an Antiques Preview Party (Friday, May 10, 7 p.m.), Meet the “Gravestone Guy” talk with Dave Bloom (Saturday, May 18, 11:30 a.m.), Rochester Genealogical Society – Find a Grave Talk with Eric Vaugh (Saturday, May 25, 11:30 a.m.), Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery Talk with Dennis Carr (Saturday, June 29, 2 p.m.), and Forrest- Lawn Cemetery Talk with Amizetta Haj (Saturday, July 6, 1 p.m.).
The exhibit will remain on view for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Wehle Gallery is included in general Museum admission. You can learn more about the exhibit and purchase daily
admission tickets here.
GCV&M is the largest living history museum in New York State with the largest collection of historic buildings in the Northeast. The Museum, with its John L. Wehle Gallery, working brewery, vintage base ball park, and Nature Center, is located in Mumford, NY, 20 miles southwest of Rochester and 45 miles east of Buffalo.
Visit www.gcv.org for more information.
Photos of the exhibit provided.
