Cemeteries in American History: An Alternative Landscape Tradition

Speaker:  Aaron Sachs, Cornell's department of History

The best known environmental tradtion in America upholds wilderness -- the National Parks, for instance -- as the ultimate landscape.  But a different tradition held sway for much of the 19th century, one that put less emphasis on sublime grandeur and more on an everyday engagement with nature.  It started with the garden-style cemeteries that sprouted up in the 1830s, 40s and 50s and that served as the nations first urban parks.  In 19th century America culture, it turns out, some of the most powerful environmental ideas were entwined with ideas about death.

Site:  Trinity Lutheran Church, Honness Lane

Chair:  Mildred Staples

Hostesses:  JanHertel*, Sherry Adree, Diane Childs, Nina Fuehrer, Pat Moran