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Rural Cemeteries
In the 19th century, cemeteries took on a whole new meaning. Instead of just being a place to put the dead, it became a social center. When the cities became crowded, the churches soon ran out of room in their churchyards, and the cities soon looked towards the rural outskirts. People now had the opportunity to bury their loves ones in a more romantic setting and the chance came to work with the landscape. Thus began the era of rural garden cemeteries. With rolling hills, lush gardens, and winding pathways, cemeteries became a social gathering place. They would be a place to go to for the day, for relaxing and even for meetings. This later became the idea for designed public parks.
The first of these romantic parks is that of Mount Auburn in Massachusetts. In 1831, Mount Auburn opened and was the first to be a public place that was landscaped. People flocked to the cemetery to see its beautiful landscape and soon took the idea for their own. Rural Cemeteries popped up surrounding the area, including one in Rochester, New York.
Mt. Hope cemetery is a beautiful example of a rural cemetery. Opened in 1838, rural cemeteries were still at the beginning of their rise and Mt. Hope exemplifies many characteristics of rural cemeteries. Planned by Fredrick Law Olmstead, a landscaper who also made plans for Prospect and Central Park, Rochester’s Mt. Hope Cemetery is one of a kind while still maintaining the basics of a rural cemetery.
Mt Hope website: http://www.fomh.org/
Mount Auburn Cemetery Website: http://www.mountauburn.org/
Woodworths
Upon walking through the cemetery, I had noticed a plot of land with a specific family’s marker. On the side of a hill sits a small court where lay rest the Woodworth’s. Small and secluded, these graves and monument are very intimate, yet rise above the rest of the yard by means of a narrow iron staircase and fence.
Frank E. and Minnie A. Woodworth’s grave lay just in the shadow of the tremendously beautiful monument. As described in the link below, the Woodworths were a family of perfumers in Rochester. The father of Frank, Chauncey, started the business which Frank transformed into C. B. Woodworth and Sons where he was tremendously successful. By the end of the eighteen hundreds, the company had spread to several cities throughout the U.S. and were even recognized by a perfume company in France. For such a great family of Rochester, their resting place shares their grandeur.
Gravestone Symbolism
The gravestone with Frank and his wife Minnie’s engravings is very simple and modest, while the family monument, on the other hand, is not. It stands high above the other graves with a large figure standing atop. One visual aspect that is repeated frequently throughout is that of the trefoil design. Describes in the following link, this could allude to that of the Holy Trinity. It could also symbolize God’s eye or that of pure wisdom. Another striking feature of the monument are the columns that support it. These are very characteristically Greek Corinthian columns recognized so because of the acanthus leaves that fold out at the capital. The acanthus leaf is associated with the Garden of Eden and peace.
http://www.memorials.com/Headstones-Symbolism-information.php
Material
Both the gravestone and monument to the Woodworths appears to be marble. This is evident in the ridged character of the stone and the movement of the stone in the carving of the female figure above. Also with its ability to be polished almost to a mirrored state.
Deterioration
Though the integrity of the piece has not been threatened, the stone has begun to deteriorate. Possibly due to softer nature of the sandstone. Most prominent of deteriorations is that of biological. This simply means that lichen or mosses have grown on the stone. Also, some areas of the stone have begun to turn black which is a process where sulfur from acid rain works into the stone and when the water evaporates, leaves a gypsum crust exterior, found very scarcely in some small over hangs.
The extent of the deterioration is minor. The sculpture of the lettering is still in excellent condition. This is most often observed by how rounded the edges are and how they are fading, but neither are present here. Nor is there the presence of sugaring. The figure that stands above the monument is starting to deteriorate a bit quicker.some of the edges are becoming more rounded and small details are beginning to fade. This could be due to the fact that it is a sculpture and has more appendages than the flat, solid blocks of stone underneath. Also, it stands at a greater height so physical damage from the weather would be more powerful. It would be beneficial to keep an eye on the effects from the acid rain, but the black crust was so scarcely found that it should not be a concern at the present time.
In years to come, the monument and grave may take a turn for the worse, but due to the fact that it is so recent (1930's-1950’s), such little deterioration had occurred that it is hard to say whether or not the stones integrity could be compromised. No tell of faulty craftsmanship has arrived. The only design that would have helped it would be to make it of a harder material such as granite or marble.
As for now, the grave and monument of Rochester’s Woodworth family stands beautifully amongst those of the great sculptures and tales of the rural cemetery of Mount Hope.
