Tranquil Lawnview Memorial Park rests on 82 acres. It’s more than just a cemetery. It’s a poignant chapter in Philadelphia’s history.
Established in 1904 Lawnview Memorial Park wasn’t always so expansive. It began as a place for affordable burials. A stone chapel was added in 1914. It served as a non-denominational space for funerals and held receiving vaults. In 1979 the chapel became the Odd Fellows Cemetery Company’s offices.
Lawnview’s story is intertwined with the fate of other Philadelphia cemeteries. In the 1950s both Monument Cemetery and the Odd Fellows Cemetery closed. Tens of thousands of bodies were moved. Many ended up at Lawnview Memorial Park. Sadly most were placed in mass graves. The original headstones? Many ended up as riprap for the Betsy Ross Bridge. You can see them at low tide along the Delaware River.
Lawnview is also a final resting place for notable figures. Among them are Union Army Colonel DeWitt Clinton Baxter a Medal of Honor recipient Henry Brutsche and several US Congressmen. Major League Baseball player Andy Knox also rests here. Even Harold Charles Wilson an Olympic bronze medalist in rowing is buried here.
Explore the grounds of Lawnview Memorial Park. Reflect on the lives represented here. Their stories are woven into the landscape. The tranquility belies the magnitude of the lives and history contained within. This peaceful setting holds a profound history. It’s a place of remembrance a place of reflection a part of Philadelphia’s enduring legacy.