Eastern Cemetery (Louisville)

Last updated
Eastern Cemetery
Eastern Cemetery (Louisville)
Details
Location
641 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky
Size28 acres (11 ha)
No. of graves16,000
No. of intermentsAbout 138,000

Eastern Cemetery is a 28-acre cemetery located at 641 Baxter Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, abutting Cave Hill Cemetery. [1] It contains about 16,000 graves, though documentation for about 138,000 bodies. [1] This imbalance is due to the cemetery formerly being a site for mass paupers' graves and from the reuse of grave sites. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Originally known as The Methodist, [3] the 28-acre[ citation needed ] Eastern Cemetery is located at 641 Baxter Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, abutting Cave Hill Cemetery. [1] [3] The grounds were purchased by two Methodist Episcopal churches and used for burials by 1844. [3] It hosted Louisville's first crematoriums. [4] Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Corporation owned the cemetery by the late 1980s. [4]

By the mid 19th century, mass paupers' graves were used for burial in Eastern Cemetery. As of January 2017, the site has about 16,000 graves, and documentation for about 138,000 bodies. [1] The pauper's graves contribute to the imbalance, but the public learned in 1989 that owners also had been reusing purchased grave sites. [1] [2] The property has fallen into disrepair since this news was brought to light, with neither Kentucky nor the original owners accepting ownership and financial responsibility for restorations. [1] [5] Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Corporation was dissolved, and its perpetual care fund lacks functional interest. [4] Maintenance is currently provided by veterans, volunteer groups like the Friends of Eastern Cemetery, and Dismas Charities. [1] [5]

Mismanagement

In 1989, a whistleblower working for Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Company made the public aware that graves purchased by families had been reused. [1] Bodies were buried atop other bodies, graves were carelessly excavated for reuse, and medical cadaver body parts from the University of Louisville were buried in-mass rather than intact (as is legally required for donated bodies). [1] Human bones were found in inappropriate areas, including in a tool box, a glove compartment, a fast food bag, and shallow graves. [2] Some of the behavior had been practiced since the 1920s, [2] and records indicate reuse began in 1858. [4] Officials resigned and were charged with 60 counts of charges that included reuse of graves and abuse of corpses, [2] but there were no legal consequences. [1] The behavior is the subject of the 2017 documentary Facing East, referring to Eastern as "the most over-buried cemetery in America". [1]

People interred at Eastern Cemetery

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cremation</span> Burning of a dead body as a disposal method

Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burial</span> Ritual act of placing a dead person into the ground

Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objects in it, and covering it over. A funeral is a ceremony that accompanies the final disposition. Evidence suggests that some archaic and early modern humans buried their dead. Burial is often seen as indicating respect for the dead. It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the afterlife or to give back to the cycle of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookwood Cemetery</span> Burial ground in Surrey, England

Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl D. Perkins</span> American politician

Carl Dewey Perkins, a Democrat, was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexington, Kentucky in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zachary Taylor National Cemetery</span> Veterans cemetery in Jefferson County, Kentucky

Zachary Taylor National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at 4701 Brownsboro Road (US-42), in Louisville, Kentucky. It is named for Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, who is buried there with his wife, Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor. Zachary Taylor National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 3, 1983. As of 2014, the cemetery has over 14,000 interments and is one of seven national cemeteries in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and one of 112 in the United States. Those buried at the national cemetery served in six wars: Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave Hill Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Jefferson County, Kentucky

Cave Hill Cemetery is a 296-acre (1.20 km2) Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of burials in Louisville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainey Bethea</span> Last American criminal to be publicly executed (c. 1909–1936)

Rainey Bethea, was the last person publicly executed in the United States. Bethea, who confessed to the rape and killing of a 70-year-old woman named Lischia Edwards, was convicted of her rape and publicly hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky. Mistakes in performing the hanging, and the surrounding media circus, contributed to the end of public executions in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Glendale, California

Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory is a historic cemetery located in Glendale, California, in the United States. Established in 1884 as Glendale Cemetery, it changed its name to Grand View Memorial Park in 1919. The cemetery was the focus of a scandal that began in 2005, during which the operators were accused of leaving thousands of cremated remains unburied. New owners changed the name to Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory in 2015 and began a restoration of the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Highlands, Louisville</span>

The Highlands is an area in Louisville, Kentucky which contains a high density of nightclubs, eclectic businesses, and many upscale and fast food restaurants. It is centered along a three-mile (5 km) stretch of Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue and is so named because it sits atop a ridge between the middle and south forks of Beargrass Creek. The commercial area extends from the intersection of Bardstown Road and Taylorsville Road/Trevillian Way in the south, to the intersection of Baxter Avenue and Lexington Road in the north, a length of 3.2 miles (5.1 km). A 12-mile (800 m) section of the nearby Barret Avenue also contains many similar businesses. The residential area is separated from other adjacent areas like Germantown and Crescent Hill by the south and north forks of Beargrass Creek. The middle fork runs through Cherokee Park, and the south fork divides Germantown from Tyler Park, after flowing past several cemeteries and undeveloped forests downstream from Joe Creason Park. Due to its large collection of night clubs and restaurants, it is locally known as "Restaurant Row".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linden Grove Cemetery</span> United States historic place in Kentucky

Linden Grove Cemetery is located along Holman Street, between 13th and 15th streets in Covington, Kentucky, United States. It is the second public cemetery in Covington, the city's first public burial ground being Craig Street Cemetery, which dates to 1815. Craig Street Cemetery closed in 1872. Most of the bodies were moved to Linden Grove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane of 1928 African-American Mass Burial Site</span> United States historic place

The Hurricane of 1928 African-American Mass Burial Site is a pauper's cemetery and mass grave in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is situated near the junction of 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue between I-95 and U.S. Route 1. The site is the location in which 674 bodies of African Americans or those of an unknown race were buried following the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, while most of the white victims of the storm received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery due to segregation laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toowong Cemetery</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemetery and is located on forty-four hectares of land at the corner of Frederick Street and Mount Coot-tha Road approximately four and a half kilometres west of Brisbane. It was previously known as Brisbane General Cemetery. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 December 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Louisville, Kentucky</span>

Since it earliest days, the economy of Louisville, Kentucky, has been underpinned by the shipping and cargo industries. Today, Louisville, Kentucky is home to dozens of companies and organizations across several industrial classifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown</span> United States historic place

The Confederate Martyrs Monument at the Jeffersontown City Cemetery in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, marks where four Confederate soldiers were executed "without cause or trial". Their execution was under Order 59, created by Union General Stephen G. Burbridge, known as "Butcher Burbridge" in Kentucky, which called for the execution of four Confederate prisoners for every unarmed Union citizen killed. The total number of executions performed as a result of this order was fifty. The four soldiers commemorated on the stone were Wilson P. Lilly, Rev. Sherwood Hatley, Lindsay Duke Buckner and M. Blincoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton Old Cemetery</span>

The cemetery has had various titles including The Cemetery by the Common, Hill Lane Cemetery and is currently known as Southampton Old Cemetery. An Act of Parliament was required in 1843 to acquire the land from Southampton Common. It covers an area of 27 acres (11 ha) and the total number of burials is estimated at 116,800. Currently there are 6 to 8 burials a year to existing family plots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Township, Jefferson County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Madison Township is one of ten townships in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 17,415 and it contained 8,087 housing units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pewee Valley Confederate Cemetery</span> United States historic site in Oldham County, Kentucky

Pewee Valley Confederate Cemetery is one mile from the old Kentucky Confederate Home site. The National Register of Historic Places lists the cemetery and separately an individual monument within it, the Confederate Memorial in Pewee Valley, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. It is the only cemetery for Confederate veterans, 313 in total, that is an official state burying ground in Kentucky.

Stone box graves were a method of burial used by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in the Midwestern United States and the Southeastern United States. Their construction was especially common in the Cumberland River Basin, in settlements found around present-day Nashville, Tennessee.

Eastern Methodist Cemetery, also known as Old Ebenezer Cemetery and Ebenezer Cemetery, was a 4-acre (16,000 m2) cemetery located in the Barney Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Eastern Cemetery documentary 'Facing East' aims to finally tell the full story – Insider Louisville". Insider Louisville. 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Thousands Buried in Old Graves, Investigators in Kentucky Report". The New York Times . 1989-11-28. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Kleber, John E. (2015-01-13). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. p. 170. ISBN   9780813149745.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "History". Friendsofeasterncemetery.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  5. 1 2 "Party held at Eastern Cemetery on Baxter sparks concern about treatment of resting place – Insider Louisville". Insider Louisville. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  6. "Felton Snow, Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson". Wdrb.com. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

38°14′47″N85°43′29″W / 38.2465°N 85.7246°W / 38.2465; -85.7246