Elmwood Cemetery in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

is one of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's

Eastside Historic Cemetery District The Eastside Historic Cemetery District is a historic district bounded by Elmwood Avenue, Mt. Elliott Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Waterloo Street in Detroit, Michigan. The district consists of three separate cemeteries: Mount Elliott Cemeter ...

, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan.

History

The cemetery was dedicated October 8, 1846, as a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

and incorporated as a non-profit corporation by Special Act 62 of the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

on March 5, 1849. The first burial occurred three weeks prior to the dedication on September 10, 1846. Founded by some of early Detroit's leading residents, Elmwood originally covered . Over time, it expanded to encompass and is the final resting-place of many notable Detroiters as well as ordinary citizens. In 1850, however, the cemetery became slightly smaller when Temple Beth El purchased one-half acre to establish what is now Michigan's oldest Jewish cemetery. The State of Michigan designated it as a State Historic Site in 1975. Burt family tombstone

Elmwood was the first fully racially-integrated cemetery in the Midwest. A short distance from downtown Detroit, Elmwood continues to serve residents of all ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. Elmwood's park-like grounds containing a gently-flowing stream and low hills were designed in 1890 by landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. They are based on the design of

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. The

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

chapel on the grounds was constructed in 1856. It underwent renovation in 1961 and was destroyed by fire in 1976. With a public outpouring of support, the building was restored and continues to play an important role. Elmwood Chapel

In 1874, the state of Michigan purchased a section to inter

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veterans and in 1876, the ''Firemen's Lot'' was dedicated with a monument that depicts firefighting equipment and the fire hall that once stood at the corner of the present

Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center, commonly known as the RenCen, is a complex of seven connected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. Located on the Detroit International Riverfront, the RenCen is owned and used by General Motors ...

on Randolph and Jefferson Avenue. The Civil War section holds 205 graves today. The Gothic Revival gatehouse was added in 1876 and in 2003 its portal was closed and filled with a reception room designed to harmonize with the historic architecture. The gate was closed because it was unable to accommodate larger vehicles which needed access to the grounds.

In popular culture

The cemetery makes an appearance in the film ''

Detroit 9000 ''Detroit 9000'' is a 1973 American action film directed by Arthur Marks from a screenplay by Orville H. Hampton. Originally marketed as a blaxploitation film, it had a resurgence on video 25 years later. Plot Street-smart white detective Dann ...

'' as the scene of a shootout.

Prominent burials

Russell A. Alger Russell Alexander Alger ( ; February 27, 1836 – January 24, 1907) was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 20th governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War. Alger's life was a "rags-to-riches" success tal ...

(1836–1907),

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

(1885–1887),

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, and

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the C ...

* William Edmond Armitage (1830–1873), second Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin The Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin, originally the Diocese of Wisconsin and later the Diocese of Milwaukee, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America located in the state of Wisconsin. It is in Province V (for the Midw ...

(1870–1873) * John Biddle (1792–1859), delegate to

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

from

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

Mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History of Detroit's executive authority During the earliest part of its history, Detroit was a ...

(1827–1828) *

Henry Billings Brown Henry Billings Brown (March 2, 1836 – September 4, 1913) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1891 to 1906. Although a respected lawyer and U.S. District Judge before as ...

(1836–1913),

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

(1890–1906) *

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...

(1782–1866), Michigan Territorial Governor (1813–1831), U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of War,

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the

1848 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1848. Held in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War, General Zachary Taylor of the Whig Party (United States), Whig Party defeated Se ...

. *

Zachariah Chandler Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was an American businessman, politician, and one of the founders of the Republican Party, whose radical wing he dominated as a lifelong abolitionist. He was mayor of Detroit, a four-ter ...

(1813–1879), U.S. Senator from Michigan,

U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

, Mayor of Detroit (1851–1852) *

Philip St. George Cooke Philip St. George Cooke (June 13, 1809 – March 20, 1895) was a career United States Army cavalry officer who served as a Union General in the American Civil War. He is noted for his authorship of an Army cavalry manual, and is sometimes calle ...

(1809–1895),

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded fr ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

* Donald M. Dickinson (1846–1917), U.S. Postmaster General (1888–1889) * J. P. C. Emmons (1818–1877), Michigan State Representative (1848),

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

(1872–1873) *

Elon Farnsworth Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863) was a Union Army captain in the American Civil War. He commanded Brigade 1, Division 3 of the Cavalry Corps (Union Army) from June 28, 1863 to July 3, 1863, when he was mortally wounded and ...

(1799–1847),

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from 1843 to 1845 and

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of Michigan *

William Webb Ferguson William Webb Ferguson (May 22, 1857 – March 30, 1910) was the first African-American man elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. Early life Ferguson was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Joseph and Martha Ferguson. His father, Joseph ...

(1857–1910), first African-American man elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

* Harry P. Guy (1870–1950),

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

composer *

Douglass Houghton Douglass Houghton (September 21, 1809 – October 13, 1845) was an American geologist and physician, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It was the site of a copper boom and extensive copper mining beginning ...

(1809–1845), geologist and Mayor of Detroit (1842) *

Jacob M. Howard Jacob Merritt Howard (July 10, 1805 – April 2, 1871) was an American attorney and politician. He was most notable for his service as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan, and his political career spanned the Ame ...

(1805–1871), U.S. Senator from Michigan (1862–1871), helped draft

Thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...

and Fourteenth Amendments to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

Bela Hubbard Bela Hubbard (April 23, 1814 – June 13, 1896) was a 19th-century naturalist, geologist, writer, historian, surveyor, explorer, lawyer, real estate dealer, lumberman and civic leader of early Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States. Hubbar ...

(1814–1896), geologist, surveyor * Jonathan Kearsley (1786–1859), two-time Mayor of Detroit (1826, 1829) and veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

Charles Larned General Charles Larned (ca. 1787 – August 13, 1834, Detroit) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician. He fought in the War of 1812 and was Attorney General of Michigan Territory. Biography Early life Charles Larned was ...

(c. 1787 – 1834), Attorney General of Michigan Territory and veteran of the War of 1812 *

Lucius Lyon Lucius Lyon (February 26, 1800September 24, 1851) was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan. Along with Louis Campau, Lucius Lyon is remembered as one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the state's second-largest city. A ...

(1800–1851), U.S. Senator from 1837 to 1839, first congressman from Michigan's second district and a founding father of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Margaret Mather Margaret Mather (1859–1898) was a Canadian actress. Biography She was born in poverty in Tilbury, Canada West, as Margaret Finlayson, daughter of John Finlayson, a farmer and mechanic, and Ann Mather. She was one of the most famous Shakespearea ...

(1859–1898), Victorian actress *

James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to: Sportspeople * James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland * James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St B ...

(1838–1902), U.S. senator from 1889 to 1902 * Robert McClelland (1807–1880), 4th

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

* Charles Merrill (1792–1872), American entrepreneur and lumber tycoon * Truman H. Newberry (1864–1945), businessman, U.S. Senator from Michigan (1919–1922),

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

John Norvell John Norvell (December 21, 1789April 24, 1850) was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan. He is known as one of two co-founders of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-longest continually operating daily newspaper in ...

(1789–1850), U.S. Senator (1837–1841), War of 1812 veteran and newspaper editor *

Thomas W. Palmer Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a U.S. Senator from the U.S. state, state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Palmer was born in ...

(1830–1913), U.S. Senator (1883–1889) *

Zina Pitcher Zina Pitcher (April 12, 1797, in Sandy Hill, New York – April 5, 1872, in Detroit) was an American physician, politician, educator, and academic administrator. He was a president of the American Medical Association, a two-time List of mayors o ...

(1797–1872), physician and two-time Mayor of Detroit (1840–1841, 1843) * Andrew Porter (1820–1872), U.S. Army general in the Civil War * Jerome H. Remick (1867–1931), music publisher * James Robinson (1753–1868), African-American Revolutionary War and 1812 War Veteran *

Solomon Sibley Solomon Sibley (October 7, 1769 – April 4, 1846) was an American politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory who became the first mayor of Detroit. Early life: 1769–1815 Sibley was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth and Reube ...

(1769–1846), delegate to U.S. Congress from Michigan Territory, Territorial Supreme Court Justice, and first Mayor of Detroit (1806) under the first charter *

Fred "Sonic" Smith Frederick Dewey Smith (September 14, 1948 – November 4, 1994), known professionally as Fred "Sonic" Smith, was an American guitarist and member of the rock band MC5. He married and raised two children with poet and fellow rock musician Patti S ...

(1949–1994), guitarist best known for his work with the rock band

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

* Martha Jean Steinberg (1930–2000), radio personality * David Stuart (1816–1868), congressman (1853–1855) * Sam Thompson (1860–1922), outfielder and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

member *

Hiram Walker Hiram Walker (July 4, 1816 – January 12, 1899) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He p ...

(1816–1899), entrepreneur; founder Hiram Walker and Sons Distillery *

Eber Brock Ward Eber Brock Ward (December 25, 1811 – January 2, 1875) was an American industrialist, iron and steel manufacturer, and shipbuilder. Ward invested in several industries in Michigan and the Midwest. He started as an owner of steamship interest ...

(1811–1875), Detroit's first millionaire * Alpheus S. Williams (1810–1878), American Civil War general and U.S. Representative from Michigan. * John R. Williams (1782–1854), first and sixth Mayor of Detroit under the second charter (1824–1825, 1830) and namesake of John R. Street * Thomas Williams (1815–1862), American Civil War general killed at the Battle of Baton Rouge *

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit and has been described as the "single mo ...

(1918–1997), Mayor of Detroit (1974–1994)

References

External links

Elmwood Cemetery official site
*

Tales from the Crypts: Elmwood Cemetery stories
(''The Detroit News'') * {{usurped,

} Cemeteries in Wayne County, Michigan Geography of Detroit Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Historic district contributing properties in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit 1846 establishments in Michigan Frederick Law Olmsted works Rural cemeteries Tourist attractions in Detroit Cemeteries established in the 1840s

History

In popular culture

Prominent burials

See also

References

External links