Are graveyards ever moved?
Cemetery relocations are not at all uncommon, since developers often need to clear out graveyards from valuable tracts of land. Procedures for doing so vary from state to state, but most places require some careful planning and historical study.
What is the oldest cemetery in Delaware?
Delaware: Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church Cemetery.
Why are cemeteries on the outskirts?
As the 19th century progressed, towns grew to cities, and population increased proportionally. For reasons of public health and overcrowding, burial grounds began to be located outside of population centers, no longer on church ground.
Were cemeteries were among the first public parks?
Garden cemeteries were among America’s first urban parks Garden cemeteries were among the first public parks in the United States. Long before today’s sprawling, grid-like “memorial parks” were the norm, burial grounds were carefully designed green spaces as welcoming to the living as they were to the dead.
Why do they move cemeteries?
Forgotten and Found: One of the main reasons for moving an entire cemetery is because it is forgotten and refound during construction. While we often think of cemeteries as important memorials, over time they can become overgrown, lost, and forgotten.
What did they do with bodies before cemeteries?
Cemeteries, however, are a relatively new way of disposing of bodies. Prior to burial, the dead of ancient times were often left in caves, on mountaintops, disposed of in lakes or oceans, burned and even left in trees.
What was the purpose of the rural cemetery movement?
The rural cemetery movement signified a shift in the human processing of the phenomenon of death. In the place of dreary, dark burial grounds, cemeteries were to be made into celebrations of life, and the beauty surrounding it.
Why are cemeteries built on hills?
Originally, settlers had buried their dead at Army Forts located throughout the territories. But when lawlessness set in, and people were being killed faster than they could bury them, the need for a local cemetery became clear. Hence, the boot hills.