Established 1855 Size 380 acres (150 ha) Founded 1855 | Country United States No. of graves 85,000 | |
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Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Website Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Address Philadelphia, PA 19142, USA Burials George Dovey, John Lafferty, Moses Orr Similar Laurel Hill Cemetery, The Woodlands, Zagray Farm Museum, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Frosty Drew Observatory Profiles | ||
Mount Moriah Cemetery is a historic cemetery in southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along Cobbs Creek. It was incorporated on March 27, 1855 and established by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature. The cemetery, which originally occupied 54 acres (22 ha), was among a number of cemeteries established along the "rural ideal" popular at that time. An ornate Romanesque entrance and gatehouse were built of brownstone on Islington Lane, today known as Kingsessing Avenue.
Contents
Mount Moriah Cemetery held a notable place among Philadelphia's grand rural cemeteries like Laurel Hill Cemetery and the Woodlands Cemetery. It was easily accessible by streetcar. Over time, Mount Moriah grew to 380 acres (150 ha), spanning Cobbs Creek into the Borough of Yeadon in adjacent Delaware County, making it the largest cemetery in Pennsylvania.
Management
For several years the cemetery has suffered from neglect and the ownership and management responsibilities of the cemetery have been in a state of confusion. Two military plots dating back to the Civil War are well cared for by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Horatio Jones, who was the last known member of the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association, died in 2004 and the cemetery closed its gates in 2011. Having no known owner, the cemetery may be in a unique legal situation in the United States. Several volunteer cleanup days have been organized by a private group, Friends of Mt. Moriah Cemetery, and progress has been made to returning the cemetery to normal condition, but, as of January 2013, the legal situation is unresolved. Expected annual maintenance costs are about $500,000.
In 2014, Philadelphia Orphan's Court appointed Mount Moriah Cemetery Preservation Corporation as receiver for the long neglected cemetery. In February 2015, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission announced that the Cemetery was eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, subject to review by the NRHP, and Friends of Mt. Moriah Cemetery began a campaign to raise funds to stabilize the gatehouse.
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Notable burials
Among those buried in the cemetery are:
In 1856, the remains of Betsy Ross and her later husband John Claypoole were moved from the Free Quaker Burying Ground to Mount Moriah.
The cemetery contains one British war grave, of a World War I Serjeant of the Royal Scots Regiment.