Erie Canal

Rochester, NY (1838)

Population

1820 - 1,502

1840 - 20,191

Dedication Ceremony - October 2, 1838

At few points on the surface of the globe has nature been more liberal...rural scenery, ponds, undulating surface uniting features both of beauty and sublimity that may be easily cleared and made to present a smooth and shining surface expanse of molten silver, a dry and light soil peculiarly favorable alike to the opening of graves and the preservation of them from the intrusion of water, and a location retired and yet sufficiently contiguous to our city are some of the advantages which conspire to make Mt. Hope one of the most inviting cemeteries in the world. Good judges who have visited both, pronounce its scenery even more bold and picturesque, than that of the celebrated Mount Auburn..

- Reverend Pharcellus Church

Union and Advertiser

Rochester has at Mt. Hope the most beautiful cemetery in the United States. It does not contain such costly monuments as Green Wood and Mount Auburn or those evidences of wealth which might be looked for in burial places of the great cities..., but in natural beauty, hill and valley, foliage, elevation and surroundings, together with its proximity, it has no rival... Mt. Hope is gradually improving under the strokes of art which at a small cost upon nature can make so favorable impression and it is receiving new monuments and tablets from year to year which add to its beauty. No expenditure upon marble and stone in a cemetery can be beautiful if the natural position is not good.

Panic of 1837

• Falling Prices for Wheat
• Lack of Cash
• Massive Emigration

transforms what is only a tame meadow and a bleak aspect into an Eden of interest and delights… It gives a bit of soil, too insignificant to find a place in the geography of the earth’s surface, such an importance in the eyes of its possessor that he finds it more attractive than countless acres of unknown and unexplored ‘territory.'

Patrick Barry

In relation to Horticultural matters...let us ask ourselves if we have taken our proper part in the great work of improvement that is going on around us, with such astonishing rapidity and happy results. Whether we have, as far as our means permitted us, enriched our Gardens and Orchards with the most valuable fruits that have been brought to notice—added to our homes the comforts and embellishments of trees, shrubs, and flowers—availed ourselves of the vast improvements in the modern construction of implements and modes of culture; or whether we have comparatively neglected all these things—planted one tree where we should have planted twenty—allowed weeds to grow up around our doors and windows, instead of flowers—

there are few places within the limits of our city, where an hour can be spent more profitably and pleasantly than at the Mount Hope Garden

Frederick Law Olmsted

It is a scientific fact that the occasional contemplation of natural scenes of an impressive character, particularly if this contemplation occurs in connection with relief from ordinary cares, change of air and change of habits, is favorable to the health and vigor of men…The want of such occasional recreation where men and women are habitually pressed by their business or household cares often results in a class of disorders the characteristic quality of which is mental disability, sometimes taking the severe forms of softening of the brain, paralysis, palsey, monomania, or insanity, but more frequently of mental and nervous excitability, moroseness, melancholy, or irascibility, incapacitating the subject for the proper exercise of the intellectual and moral forces.

Highland Park

Highland Park is on a commanding range of hills, and its scenic character is one of its strong and unique features. Comprehensive views of hills many miles to the south and east, with intervening stretches of quiet farm lands and detached pieces of native forest growths are obtained from many places in the park; the outlooks toward the north from the highest points in the park are also pleasing, as they take in nearly the whole area of the city; on clear days Lake Ontario can be seen ten miles to the north. The collection of shrubs contains more than twelve hundred species and varieties; in the pinetum on the  on the hillsides there are one hundred and fifty species of coniferous evergreeens.

Questions?