Major Cemetery Visit Achievement Unlocked

I have been a tour guide at Laurel Hill Cemetery, in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, for ten years. During that time, I have often stood in the south section of LHC, staring across Ridge Avenue at the gatehouse of Mt. Vernon Cemetery, wondering if I’d ever get an opportunity to walk through that gate.

Yesterday, it finally happened. My son Chris and I, along with several dozen curious people entered that gate and toured Mt. Vernon. It was a surreal experience and a revelation, on several levels.

I can’t tell the complicated story here, but suffice to say that over the last 40 years, Mt. Vernon had fallen into a gradual, and then not-so-gradual, state of deep neglect. Over the course of the last year, certain events have happened that have sparked the beginning of what is going to be a long process of bringing Mt. Vernon back from the brink. The future of Mt. Vernon is still not entirely clear, but a crew of volunteers is working hard to make sure that the place has a future, and that’s a start.

Thanks to Brandon Zimmerman for giving a great tour and to everybody who is working to save Mt. Vernon Cemetery. Check out the photos/captions below to read more about the tour.

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