Lawnview Memorial Park

Lawnview Memorial Park
Map
Details
Established1904
Location
Rockledge, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°04′52″N 75°05′54″W / 40.0812139°N 75.0982272°W / 40.0812139; -75.0982272
Typeprivate
Owned byOdd Fellows Cemetery Company of Philadelphia
Size82 acres (33 ha)[1]
No. of graves>36,000
Websitecemeteryco.com/lawnview-cemetery/
Find a GraveLawnview Memorial Park

Lawnview Memorial Park, also referred to as Lawnview Cemetery, is a cemetery located at 500 Huntingdon Pike in Rockledge, Pennsylvania. It is 82 acres (33 ha) in size and is managed by the Odd Fellows Cemetery Company of Philadelphia. It contains the reburial of tens of thousands of bodies from Monument Cemetery and the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Philadelphia after they were closed in the 1950s.

History

In 1904, the cemetery was established in Rockledge, Pennsylvania. In 1914, a stone chapel was built to provide non-denominational services for funerals.[2]

28,000 bodies were moved to Lawnview Cemetery from Monument Cemetery when it closed in 1956. However, most of the tombstones were used as riprap during the construction of the Betsy Ross Bridge and can be seen from the shore of the Delaware River at low tide

In 1956, Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia was closed and the property sold to Temple University and the Philadelphia Board of Education.[3] The University contacted 748 families about the cemetery closure.[4] Approximately 28,000 bodies were reinterred to Lawnview Memorial Park with only 300 grave markers included in the move for families members that were located.[5] Most of the reinterments were placed in a mass grave.[6] The original headstones were not used at the new grave sites. The majority of the remaining headstones[7] were used as riprap during the construction of the Betsy Ross Bridge and can be seen on the shores of the Delaware River at low tide.[8]

In 1951, the Oddfellows Cemetery in Philadelphia was acquired by the Philadelphia Housing Authority for construction of the Raymond Rosen housing project.[9] The bodies were moved to two other cemeteries owned by the Odd Fellows – Mount Peace Cemetery in Philadelphia and Lawnview Memorial Park.[10]

In 1973, the Oddfellows Cemetery Company of Philadelphia [11] installed a flag pole in Lawnview Memorial Park with a memorial plaque commemorating veterans buried in Lawnview and other current and defunct Oddfellows cemeteries in the Philadelphia region.

In 1979, the chapel was converted to the Odd Fellows Cemetery Company's general offices.[2]

Notable burials

  • Flag Memorial to Veterans
    Flag Memorial to Veterans
  • The bronze profile of the Marquis de Lafayette originally from the Memorial in Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia.[12] It was originally dedicated in 1869 and moved to Lawnview Cemetery in 1956
    The bronze profile of the Marquis de Lafayette originally from the Memorial in Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia.[12] It was originally dedicated in 1869 and moved to Lawnview Cemetery in 1956
  • The bronze profile of George Washington originally from the memorial in Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia.[12] It was originally dedicated in 1869 and moved to Lawnview Memorial Park in 1956
    The bronze profile of George Washington originally from the memorial in Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia.[12] It was originally dedicated in 1869 and moved to Lawnview Memorial Park in 1956

References

  1. ^ "Lawnview Cemetery". www.cemeteryco.com. Odd Fellows Cemetery Company. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "History". www.cemeteryco.com. Odd Fellow Cemetery Company. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Defunct Cemetery Ask Remission of Old Lien" (PDF). www.fultonhistory.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. ^ Dembele, Marian (11 November 2014). "Before there was Geasey, there were tombstones". www.temple-news.com. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. ^ Kyriakodis, Harry. "The Missing Namesake of North Philly's Lost Necropolis". www.hiddencityphila.org. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  6. ^ Zaman, Natalie (2016). Magical Destinations of the Northeast. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-7387-4988-4. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. ^ Keels, Thomas (2003). Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 118–119. ISBN 0-7385-1229-X. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ^ Ohstrom, Katrina. "Watery Graves". www.hiddencityphila.org. Hidden City Philadelphia. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  9. ^ Oordt, Darcy (2015). Haunted Philadelphia: Famous. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-4930-1579-5. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  10. ^ Thomas H. Keels (2003), Philadelphia graveyards and cemeteries, Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-1229-7. pp. 120–121.
  11. ^ Fischer, William Jr. "Veterans Memorial". www.hmdb.org. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b Scharf, John Thomas and Thompson Westcott (1884). History of Philadelphia, 1609–1884, Volume 3. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co. p. 1873. Retrieved 17 March 2021.