Elizabethtown City Cemetery, Elizabethtown Kentucky
Elizabethtown and Hardin County lies in the north central region of Kentucky historically called Severn's Valley. Historical accounts and sources suggest that John Severn and a group of explorers first explored the area of Elizabethtown in the summer of 1779 and then settled in the area in the spring of 1780. While John Severn and other early settlers remained in the area for several years, they had a limited impact on the permanent establishment of Elizabethtown and Hardin County.
In the spring of 1780, three settlers, Captain Andrew Hynes, Samuel Haycraft Sr., and Thomas Helm, along with their families, arrived in the Severn's Valley. These three settlers constructed individual forts located approximately one mile apart and creating a triangle. The construction of these forts was the first permanent settlement in the area of Elizabethtown. Besides the arrival of the Haycraft, Helm, and Hynes parties, Jacob VanMeter and a group of approximately one hundred individuals settled in the area.
The settlement of Elizabethtown and Hardin County continued to expand and predated the establishment of many communities in central and western Kentucky. In 1792, the first Kentucky legislature created Hardin County, the fifteenth county, and in 1797, the Hardin County Court established Elizabethtown as its county seat. According to the United States Census, the population of Hardin County was 3,653 persons in 4800 and was 17,531 persons in 1810. By 1810, the Elizabethtown population numbered 181 persons.
Today the cemetery is one of the only reminders of early Elizabethtown and Hardin County, and, its monuments are the only reminders of significant residents and their contributions to the settlement and early development of Elizabethtown and Hardin County. The city cemetery is the only site in its historic form existing from the early settlement and establishment of city and county. Evidence of the forts established by early settlers is nonexistent. Many first public buildings, such as the courthouse and jail, and significant residential, religious, and commercial structures were destroyed or have been demolished. For instance, the first three county courthouses, constructed in 1796, 1806, and 1932, were destroyed.
The earliest section (Section M) of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery is the only intact site available to communicate the community's earliest history and culture. Many early settlers and residents were interred in this cemetery, and the monuments and site clearly provide an association and knowledge of the early establishment.
Samuel Haycraft, Sr. (1749-1823) and his wife Margaret Haycraft (1760-1843) were among the first settlers in Severn's Valley (1780), and Haycraft, a Revolutionary War veteran, was influential in the city's establishment and responsible for the creation of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery. John L. Helm (1761-1840) was also an early Kentucky settler. Andrew Fairleigh, Sr. (1761-1829), a Revolutionary War veteran, and his wife Letitia Swan Fairleigh (1778-1845) arrived in Elizabethtown in the late 1790s. According to the Elizabethtown City Cemetery Directory, the marker of John Fairleigh (d. 1818), son of Andrew Fairleigh, Sr., is the one of the two oldest markers in the cemetery. Horatio Gates Wintersmith (1785-1835) moved to Elizabethtown in 1806 and became an influential businessman owning a dry goods store and hotel. Dr. William Young (1790-1827) moved to Elizabethtown in 1814 and was one of the first doctors in Elizabethtown. John Hill (d. 1855) came to Elizabethtown in 1818, served in the state legislature in 1832 and was a successful builder. Jacob VanMeter and his wife, Letitia Stroud VanMeter, were also among the first settlers in 1780. Originally, Jacob and Letitia VanMeter were buried on their family farm, but according to local citizens, descendants exhumed theirs remains and relocated the remains and markers to the Elizabethtown City Cemetery in 1965. The markers of Jacob VanMeter (1723-1798) and his wife, Letitia (1725-1799), are the oldest intact markers in the cemetery.
Over one hundred ninety-seven years after Samuel Haycraft donated the first acre for a public burial ground, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery is surrounded by residential development and Elizabethtown's central business district. The cemetery has been transformed by significant changes in cemetery design, urban growth, burial customs, and technology. The Elizabethtown City Cemetery began as a one-acre church graveyard and transformed into a twenty-acre, publicly-owned and operated, planned landscape. The Elizabethtown City Cemetery is significant as an example of the transformation of American cemetery design and an example of the early 20th century lawn-park cemetery. The City Cemetery also is an example of the work of surveyor and civil engineer Benjamin Grove who designed many cemeteries in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Frontier burials were the earliest type of interment in the history of American cemeteries. This type of burial practice occurred in the 17th century and extended into the 20th century in remote areas of America. Mostly, frontier burials occurred at the site of death, and often protection or maintenance was absent. Burial identifications, such as markers, were simple in design and material or often absent. Because documentary evidence does not indicate burials in the Elizabethtown City Cemetery before its creation in 1807, the City Cemetery cannot be classified as a frontier burial.
Because early inhabitants resided on farmsteads distant from towns and churches, they often interred family members or close neighbors in domestic or farm graveyards. This burial practice began in the 17th century and extended well into the early 20th century. Often located on elevated locations and in a grove of trees in a field, these graveyards had minimal organization in burial placement, and protection and maintenance often was minimal. Today domestic or farm graveyards are a common site on Kentucky's landscape but are deteriorating and abandoned. Evidence does not indicate that the Elizabethtown City Cemetery began as a domestic or farm graveyard. However, documentation does indicate that the original burials of Jacob and Letitia VanMeter occurred on their family farm in Hardin County. Their remains and markers were relocated to the city cemetery in 1965.
The most common type of cemetery historically and today is the church graveyard or cemetery. Located beside religious structures, this type of cemetery provided an independent burial ground for parishioners and their families. Often small, church cemeteries possessed little design and ornamentation before 1900. In a few cases, the design of 19th century church graveyards was geometric or resembled a formal garden. The range of ornamentation on markers was wide, from minimal elaborateness to artistic and symbolic. Often, these cemeteries were better protected and maintained. While church cemeteries are still used in many Kentucky communities, these cemeteries often became overcrowded, cluttered, and abandoned. Also, as a community's burial customs and preferences and demographics changed, church cemeteries came to be regarded as antiquated.
The Elizabethtown City Cemetery began as a church graveyard. About 1807, Samuel Haycraft, Sr." … donated about one acre of ground on the southeast of the town for a Baptist meeting house and a common burying ground, free for all societies". Located approximately one-fourth mile southeast of the courthouse square, this burial ground (Section M) shared a one-acre lot with a frame meeting house of the Severn's Valley Baptist Church. About 1815, the congregation demolished the unfinished structure and constructed a log structure on the site. In the early 1830s, the Baptist congregation constructed a brick building on a new site, demolished the log structure, and incorporated the vacant church site into the public burial ground.
Since its creation in 1807, this portion of the present Elizabethtown City Cemetery remained as a small church graveyard until the late 19th century. Historical documentation indicating the definite ownership of this burial ground is unavailable. However, its association with the Baptist meeting house suggests that the congregation assumed ownership and operation of the graveyard. This burial ground has a rectangular shape, and its internal configuration of lots developed without formal design. The original burial ground possesses monuments and markers of different ages, styles, materials, and ornamentation. In a few cases, family plots possess wrought iron fencing and large family monuments. The grounds possess few trees, shrubs, and plantings.
Besides the private burial grounds, two types of public cemeteries also existed in the early 19th century. These cemeteries were responses to the growing urban population and the overcrowding of private burial grounds. Public entities often provided burial grounds for the public and the indigent. Located on the edge of the city, the "potter's field," as it was called, afforded burial ground for the city's indigent. The potter's fields possessed a geometric layout with little or plain monumentation and were frequently under-maintained and not protected. On the other hand, public entities also provided a town or city cemetery. Established at the city's border, city cemeteries provided a convenient location for urban dwellers. Often designed on European cemetery practices, city cemeteries often resembled formal gardens and possessed three-dimensional markers and monuments. However, city cemeteries might have had little protection and maintenance and be subject to increased population, overcrowding, and changing burial customs and preferences.
In 1866, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery began its transformation from a small, private, church graveyard into a large, publicly-owned and operated, city cemetery. On December 19th, 1866, the Trustees of Elizabethtown purchased a tract (Section N) adjoining the original cemetery from the heirs of Jacob W. LaRue for $162 (Hardin County Deed Book 8, page 223-224). Located on an elevated site and south of the original burial ground, this tract contained five acres. However, the LaRue family said in the deed that a 38 feet x 44 feet lot was " … hereby expressly reserved and not hereby conveyed but is to remain perpetually as a burial ground for the family and heirs of Jacob W. LaRue, deceased".
The LaRue tract provided an opportunity for the Elizabethtown Trustees to design an organized and accessible landscape. Based on a simple grid pattern with little landscaping, this section was subdivided into blocks, lots, roads, and pathways. To provide a main entrance into the cemetery and access to the new and original sections, a main avenue (Main Avenue A) extending northwest between the sections and south along the rear of the new section was constructed. The new section also featured interior roads connecting the blocks and pathways within the blocks. Within each block, lots were layed off and ranged in size and price according to location within the section. After these improvements were made, the remaining acreage was dedicated for use as a potter's field.
On June 24th, 1889, the Board of Trustees of Elizabethtown purchased an adjoining one-half acre tract (Section L) from F.M. Joplin and Addie Joplin, his wife, for $125 (Hardin County Deed Book 34, pages 168-169). This one-half acre tract laid on the north side of the original burial ground and was divided into blocks, individual lots, and pathways. Again the City subdivided the new section into blocks and lots based on a geometric design. Each block contained four 16' x 24' lots, and the blocks were separated by a six-foot pathway. This section featured several interspersed trees and plantings.
As early as the early 1800s, people began to seek improved burial practices, and new cemetery designs emerged. Urban cemeteries were crowded, cluttered, vandalized, and deteriorated. Changes in demographics, technology, aesthetics and cultural values appeared, and epidemics, such as yellow fever, and other public health concerns emerged. These factors influenced new cemetery designs, aesthetic considerations, and management.
The rural cemetery was one response to the movement for improved practices and designs. The rural cemetery movement began in 4831 with the establishment of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts and represented French and English landscaping theories and designs, such as Paris's Pere Lachaise. Located in the suburb or an area removed from the town's center, the rural cemetery was a picturesque site and designed as a natural garden. Often resembling a forest, these cemeteries possessed winding roads along its terrain, wide pathways, and numerous trees and plantings. The site also contained multitudinous monuments, markers, and art forms. The rural cemetery featured individual family plots containing a large family monument and individual markers. Also the plots included trees and plantings preferred, planted, and maintained by the family. Compared to early burial grounds, the ownership and management of a rural cemetery were an innovative approach. Frequently, a private association was incorporated. The association sold individual family plots and allowed purchasers to create and maintain the individual sites.
Mt. Auburn in Massachusetts was the first rural cemetery in the United States and became a model for the creation and redesign of other American burial grounds. The rural cemetery movement continued for approximately forty years and its effects were many. This movement created a new and professional approach to cemetery design and provided for a method of separating the cemetery from everyday urban life. Another result was the creation of private associations, individual lot ownership, and perpetual care maintenance.
The Elizabethtown City Cemetery contains elements of a rural cemetery. However, its landscaping features, layout, and monumentation does not constitute the overall composition of a rural cemetery. Unlike late 19th century rural cemeteries, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery possessed a geometric layout with limited landscaping features, roads, and pathways. Its plan possessed individual lots with minimal monumentation and markers and without artwork.
While the rural cemetery movement provided one alternative to earlier burial practices and customs, this cemetery plan, too, became overcrowded and cluttered. By the mid-19th century, many individuals wanted a simpler cemetery design with fewer monuments and markers, trees, plantings, fences, roads, and pathways. The rural cemetery movement also passed with continuing changes in urban society, technology, and burial customs and practices.
Between 1855 and the 1920s, an alternative to earlier burial grounds and the rural cemetery emerged. The idea of the lawn-park cemetery began with Adolph Strauch's design of the Cemetery of Spring Grove in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1855. Born in Germany and trained as horticulturalist in England, Strauch designed a cemetery based on a scientific plan. Strauch's lawn-park cemetery resembled an urban park and pastoral scene. Less picturesque, the lawn-park cemetery featured expansive open space and fewer and interspersed trees, shrubs, and plantings. Monumentation and sculpture were fewer and less obtrusive and elaborate. Roads and pathways were limited, and the complete layout was more formal and organized. Influenced by the City Beautiful movement, the lawn-park cemeteries did not possess a geometric layout but featured concentric circular sections, curved pathways and roads, and open space. Adolph Strauch became known as the "founder of modern cemetery" and the Cemetery of Spring Grove became a model for the lawn-park cemetery design. This form of cemetery design was also promoted and adapted by other landscape architects, such as Frank Law Olmstead.
The lawn-park cemetery also was a model for an innovative approach to cemetery management. Strauch modernized cemetery management in the early 20th century by promoting professional central management. While individuals continued to purchase lots, a cemetery association existed, and the association's board of directors and a superintendent or sexton managed the entire cemetery operation, including appearance and maintenance. Strauch expanded the idea of perpetual care and professional management.
By the turn of the century, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery began its transformation into a carefully planned and modern landscape and lawn-park cemetery. The cemetery's transformation was a response to the city's growth and modernization and to the National City Beautiful movement. On July 20th, 1898, the City of Elizabethtown acquired the last tract historically associated with the city cemetery. The City purchased approximately fourteen acres from the Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans Railroad Company for $210 (Hardin County Deed Book 44, pages 458-459). Located to the rear of the existing cemetery tracts, the terrain of this fourteen-acre tract included rolling fields and a steep hill. This large tract and its topography provided the opportunity to create a modern, picturesque cemetery design. In 1901, the City Cemetery Committee hired Benjamin Grove to design and layout the newest section of the cemetery.
Born in England, Benjamin Grove (1824-1915) resided in Louisville in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was a surveyor and civil engineer. While working as a railroad engineer in his early career, Grove later specialized in the design and landscaping of cemeteries. By the turn of the century, Benjamin Grove became a respected and well-known cemetery designer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Grove designed many Kentucky cemeteries, including but not limited to Maysville City Cemetery, Flemingsburg City Cemetery, St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Louisville, Ryder Cemetery in Lebanon, Fairview Cemetery in Bowling Green, Israel Cemetery in Louisville, Ashland City Cemetery, Danville City Cemetery, Midway Cemetery, Grove Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville, and Sections A and P of Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. In an August 23rd, 1864 article of the Louisville Daily Journal, Benjamin Grove and his work are described as follows:
In reviewing cemetery designs by Benjamin Grove, apparently he combined elements of the rural cemetery and lawn-park cemetery movements and was influenced by the works of Strauch and Olmstead. Although many elements of Grove's design for the Elizabethtown City Cemetery were not completed, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery is an example of the lawn-park cemetery and an as example of Grove's work.
For the newest section of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery, Benjamin Grove's design possessed all elements of a lawn-park cemetery. His design used and enhanced the natural setting of the fourteen-acre tract and emphasized utility, accessibility, and simplicity. Grove designed a curving roadway system that used the existing contour changes of the site. He extended the main avenue of the original section. Within the larger tract, Grove designed circular and kidney-shaped sections surrounded by the curving roadways. The circular framework and curving roadways provided for easier access to individual lots within the sections. In addition, Grove subdivided the large circular sections into smaller lots and designed narrow pathways between rows of lots to provide walkways to the individual lots. Grove also designed triangular islands within the roadways for use as flower beds. His visionary design also included the retention of open spaces, the placement of benches, and the construction of a pool and fountain. Grove also envisioned each original tract or block bounded by a line of trees, shrubs, and other plantings and separating the older sections from the newly designed section by a dense tree line. In his plans, Grove also indicated the construction of a shelter house in Section A.
In comparing Grove's 1901 design and a current aerial photograph, it is obvious that the City Cemetery Association completed Grove's design as the need for burial space increased, that they elected to complete the layout and landscape in phases, and that they did implement the first phase (Sections A through H). A comparison of the 1901 plan and a current aerial photograph show the elements of Grove's design that were implemented. While the shelter house, pool, fountain, and benches were never constructed, the association did extend the main avenue from the original section and constructed the circular sections and the curving, interior roadways. Within each section, the association also completed the subdivision of individual lots and creation of narrow pathways. While the tree lines and separation of old and new sections were never created, the association did plant trees and shrubs within the sections and flower beds in the triangular islands. The second phase of Grove's plan was never carried out, but the rear section of the cemetery maintains the ideals of the lawn-park cemetery, including open space and fewer roadways.
In the early 20th century, a new form of cemetery design and management developed. Located in the suburbs, the memorial park featured a pastoral design similar to the lawn-park cemetery. However, the cemetery featured an expanded lawn with only flat markers and centrally located sculptures. Roads were limited, and interior pathways were often omitted. Memorial parks offered families all the necessities for burying a family member. This form of cemetery often became a real estate business venture. Its management style was strict and included marketing strategies for selling the cemetery. Redesigned in 1917 by Hubert Eaton, Forest Lawn in Glendale, California was the first memorial park in the United States. While memorial parks became a popular American cemetery design, the Elizabethtown City Cemetery never developed into this cemetery design.
During the 20th century, variations of these American cemetery designs and management forms appeared. However, the design and management of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery remains as it developed between 1807 and 1901.
Site Description
The Elizabethtown City Cemetery contains approximately twenty acres and is located on East Dixie Avenue and approximately one-fourth mile southeast of Elizabethtown's courthouse square. Situated on rolling land and a natural ridge overlooking Elizabethtown's central business district, the cemetery is bounded by East Dixie Avenue (U.S. Highway 31W) on the east side; open space, parking facilities, and Crestwood Street on the south side; Nicholas Street and residential and commercial development on the north side; and, Skyline Drive on the west side. The property developed in four tracts, and its current layout and design developed as a response to growing community needs and the emergence of landscape architecture as a scholarly discipline.
The original burial ground, established in 1807 and denoted as Section M, is approximately 220' in width and 450' in length. Fronting on East Dixie Avenue, this tract includes the primary entry (Main Avenue A) to the cemetery and the exit from the cemetery. Both avenues are one-way routes. The topography of this tract is gently sloping. Originally associated with the Severn's Valley Baptist Church, this burial site was not originally divided into lots. It has a rectangular shape defined by the existing entry and exit avenues, and its internal layout is unorganized and somewhat cluttered. This tract contains the oldest burials and markers in the cemetery. Significant family plots exist; however, grave markers and monuments vary in age, style, material, and ornamentation. The original site contains sparse landscaping.
Acquired in 1866, the second tract is located on the south side of the original burial ground and is today designated as Section N. Containing approximately four acres, Section N contains moderate to heavy sloping topography, and its design used and maintained the natural landscaping. This tract was designed on a grid pattern and included six blocks and smaller individual lots. The individual lot sizes ranged from the small lots of "one rod square" (16.5' x 16.5') to large lots (22' x 34"). Besides dividing the tract into blocks and individual lots, the tract also provided for a principal entry (Main Avenue A) from Dixie Highway into the cemetery. The main avenue abuts the original section and extends northwest to the rear of the property. Besides the main avenue, Section N also incorporates several minor avenues (Avenues B, C, D, and E) designed in a geometric pattern and providing access to the blocks. Within the blocks, narrow pathways were created to provide access to individual lots. This section possesses few trees and shrubs, and it is bounded on the south side by a small grove of trees.
The third tract, historically known as the "Joplin addition," was acquired by the City of Elizabethtown in 1889 and was located on the north side of the original burial ground (Section M). Designated as Section L, this tract contained only one-half acre (approximately 50' x 452') of moderately sloping land. This tract now abuts Nicholas Street on the north side. This small tract was divided into blocks containing four 16' x 24' lots, and each block was divided by a six-foot pathway. The Joplin addition features limited landscaping features.
The most organized and detailed section of the Elizabethtown Cemetery is located to the rear of the first three tracts. Acquired in 1898, this fourteen-acre tract is the balance of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery. Today the tract is bounded on the south by a natural ridge and a Crestwood Street, on the west by Skyline Drive, and on the north by dense trees and commercial and residential development. Its topography ranges from moderately to heavily sloping terrain, with the highest point being approximately 806.4' above sea level. In 1901, the City Cemetery Association hired Louisville cemetery designer, surveyor, and civil engineer Benjamin Grove to design and layout the new section. Grove's design resulted in a lawn-park cemetery featuring curving roadways, circular sections, minimal landscaping, and use of natural topography and features. The Cemetery Association implemented many elements of Grove's design and completed these projects in phases.
The first phase of Grove's design included the extension of Main Avenue A between Sections M and N into the new section. Grove designated the extension as Pine Avenue. Besides the main avenue, Grove also created an internal road system and named the individual roads after local species of trees. This road system created three inner loops around the sections with the outer loop being Birch and Oak Avenues, the middle loop as a grassy pathway called Mahonia Walk, and an inner loop called Cedar Avenue. Outside each section, Grove also provided narrow grassy pathways or walkways for easier access to individual lots and named the walks after local flowers. While Benjamin Grove designed the triangular islands in the roads for use as landscaping islands, the cemetery used these small triangular sections for lots. Besides the triangular islands, the first phase of Grove's design also contained eight sections (Sections A through H).
While Grove envisioned the construction of a shelter house in Section A, this element was never implemented. Thus, instead of ten lots, Section A contains thirteen lots. A pathway around Section A and a T-shaped pathway within the section exist. This section contains few trees and minimal landscaping. Located as a central section in the design, Section B contains twelve lots, designed as spokes from a central circular lot. The center lot is 30' in diameter with a cedar tree in the center and ultimately became the thirteenth lot of Section A. Because the intended use of the center lot was a landscaping lot, the only constructed pathway is a small walkway around the outer edges of the section.
Situated on the south side of Pine Avenue, Section C contains two kidney-shaped parts consisting forty-two lots. The lot sizes within this section vary. To provide access to the exterior lots, a pathway called "Privet Walk" and located along the outer edge of the section's parts was built.
Situated between Oak and Cedar Avenues, Section D is a circular division divided by Mahonia Walk. Besides its thirty-four lots, this section includes a six-foot u-shaped walkway on the eastern side. Section E consists of two parts. The main part is located between Birch and Cedar Avenues and is further divided into two parts by Mahonia Walk. The second part of Section E only contains eleven lots. Daisy Walk, a narrow pathway, is behind the rear lots. Containing thirty-seven lots, Section F also fronts on Birch and Cedar Avenues and is divided into two divisions by Mahonia Walk. Section G fronts on Pine and Willow Avenues and is divided into two divisions by an internal pathway named Myrtle Walk.
On the northern side of Pine Avenue and Willow Way, Section H includes eighty-three lots with differing sizes. Section H includes minimal landscaping and trees but provides sufficient access to individual lots by pathways. The pathways are located within and on the outer edge of the section and are called Verbena Walk, Clematis Walk, and Pansy Walk.
The second phase of Grove's 1901 design was never implemented. However, the remaining acreage has recently been used for expansion of the cemetery. The existing Birch Avenue was extended into two directions, creating a connected drive and creating Section K. In addition, a gravel road extending from Willow Avenue was recently constructed in Sections O and R. Sections J, K, O, and R are the newest sections of the cemetery and contain the largest concentration of twentieth century burials and markers. These sections are located at the extreme western portion of the property. Section J contains a secondary entrance (Cemetery). In 1970 and 1981, the City of Elizabethtown acquired three lots adjoining the cemetery for open space and parking facilities.
Today, the City of Elizabethtown continues to provide thorough maintenance and security of the Elizabethtown City Cemetery. Many improvements have been undertaken. Today a wrought iron fence and stone columns extend the width of the cemetery on the East Dixie Avenue side and extend approximately 135' on the cemetery's south side. The cemetery's entrance features a stone identification wall, a monument containing a bicentennial time capsule, and three Kentucky historical markers. A chain link fence provides adequate protection on sides less visible to the public, and a wrought iron gate and stone columns provide a secondary entrance to the rear sections of the cemetery. The most recent cemetery improvements include the paving of interior roadways, the planting of trees, the repairing of deteriorating markers and monuments, and the replacement of missing markers and monuments.