Rural Cemetery To Urban Oasis

Rural Cemetery To Urban Oasis

join LancasterHistory and The Friends of the Tanger Arboretum as we welcome Kate Benisek, landscape architect and professor at Temple University, and Jennifer O’Donnell, President of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery to our Regional History Colloquium. Benisek and O’Donnell will discuss how Mount Moriah Cemetery, a 200-acre cemetery established in 1855, came to be abandoned and unkept and how, in early 2011, it became certified as an arboretum with a “living legacy.” Once one of Philadelphia’s grand rural cemeteries, Mount Moriah Cemetery spans nearly 200 acres across Southwest Philadelphia and Yeadon Borough. The cemetery has been an inclusive final resting place for Philadelphia’s diverse population, welcoming people of all races and incomes, and adapting to the changing burial needs of its diverse communities, including incorporating US military lots, Muslim burials, and communal plots. After the cemetery was abandoned by its owners, The Friends of Mount Moriah, Inc. was formed and has cared diligently for the cemetery since 2011. Today, The Mount Moriah Cemetery and Arboretum cares for both the living and the dead, by focusing on ecological restoration, educational programming, and community events. This program is free and open to the public. In-person attendance requires advance registration in order to guarantee a seat, and registration will close on Wed., Oct. 4th at 5:30 pm. Due to capacity restrictions, tickets may not be available at the door. Register online or by calling.

Phone: 717-392-4633