Stories from Mount Hope: A Brief History

Mount Hope Cemetery was founded in 1852 as a private cemetery much like its neighbor, Forest Hills Cemetery. But in 1857, the City of Boston acquired Mount Hope. Boston had a desperate need for new burial space.  The old historic burying grounds were overcrowded and quite frankly, were considered a health hazard. By the 1870s, people had come to favor a garden cemetery model, which promoted the tranquility of nature over a congested urban setting. They wanted a landscape that was deliberately laid out with lovely winding paths and pleasant plantings, not the “mess” presented by the old burial grounds. 

Mount Hope Cemetery was laid out in 1852 by David Haggerston, who previously served as the Superintendent at the first American garden cemetery, Mount Auburn. Originally, Mount Hope covered 85 acres, but was expanded over time and now covers 125 acres.  Mount Hope is Boston’s largest and most active cemetery (although space is running out and it will eventually no longer be able to take more burials). 

Mount Hope sits in both the Roslindale and Mattapan neighborhoods, which are in the southern part of Boston and were developing rapidly as streetcar suburbs when the cemetery was consecrated in 1852.  The older parts of Mount Hope have retained their historic aspects, but being a City cemetery, Mount Hope also has many other interesting features beyond Victorian splendor. It is where the City’s poor were buried in an area designated as a Potter’s Field, now known as Cypress Vale (look for a future post on this topic). Mount Hope has many lots associated with charitable and civic organizations, lots occupied by specific ethnic groups, and lots dedicated to veterans of all the wars since the Civil War.  The Stories from Mount Hope blog hopes to cover all of these areas in future posts. Indeed, stories abound given there are over 370,000 individuals buried in the cemetery.

In 1920, the Cemetery Division was moved under the jurisdiction of the Boston Parks Department. The dedicated staff of Mount Hope over the years are another area the blog wants to highlight.

This post was written by Gretchen Grozier and edited by Sally Ebeling, January 2022

Bibliography: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, 2009, Shary Page Berg

The Stories of Mount Hope blog features periodic posts on a variety of topics concerning historic Mount Hope Cemetery. This blog is hoping to unearth the hidden stories of Mount Hope Cemetery. Please let us know if there is something you think should be highlighted by emailing storiesfrommounthope@boston.gov