Eastern Cemetery (Louisville)
| Eastern Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Location | 641 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky |
| Size | 28 acres (11 ha) |
| No. of graves | 16,000 |
| No. of interments | About 138,000 |
Eastern Cemetery is a 28-acre cemetery located at 641 Baxter Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, abutting Cave Hill Cemetery.[1] It contains about 16,000 graves, though documentation for about 138,000 bodies.[1] This imbalance is due to the cemetery formerly being a site for mass paupers' graves and from the reuse of grave sites.[1][2]
History[edit]
Originally known as The Methodist,[3] the 28-acre[citation needed] Eastern Cemetery is located at 641 Baxter Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, abutting Cave Hill Cemetery.[1][3] The grounds were purchased by two Methodist Episcopal churches and used for burials by 1844.[3] It hosted Louisville's first crematoriums.[4] Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Corporation owned the cemetery by the late 1980s.[4]
By the mid 19th century, mass paupers' graves were used for burial in Eastern Cemetery. As of January 2017[update], the site has about 16,000 graves, and documentation for about 138,000 bodies.[1] The pauper's graves contribute to the imbalance, but the public learned in 1989 that owners also had been reusing purchased grave sites.[1][2] The property has fallen into disrepair since this news was brought to light, with neither Kentucky nor the original owners accepting ownership and financial responsibility for restorations.[1][5] Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Corporation was dissolved, and its perpetual care fund lacks functional interest.[4] Maintenance is currently provided by veterans, volunteer groups like the Friends of Eastern Cemetery, and Dismas Charities.[1][5]
Mismanagement[edit]
In 1989, a whistleblower working for Louisville Crematories and Cemetery Company made the public aware that graves purchased by families had been reused.[1] Bodies were buried atop other bodies, graves were carelessly excavated for reuse, and medical cadaver body parts from the University of Louisville were buried in-mass rather than intact (as is legally required for donated bodies).[1] Human bones were found in inappropriate areas, including in a tool box, a glove compartment, a fast food bag, and shallow graves.[2] Some of the behavior had been practiced since the 1920s,[2] and records indicate reuse began in 1858.[4] Officials resigned and were charged with 60 counts of charges that included reuse of graves and abuse of corpses,[2] but there were no legal consequences.[1] The behavior is the subject of the 2017 documentary Facing East, referring to Eastern as "the most over-buried cemetery in America".[1]
People interred at Eastern Cemetery[edit]
- Henry Bidleman Bascom, (1796–1850), minister and former President of Transylvania University
- Hercules Burnett, (1865–1936), Baseball player
- Daniel Abraham Gaddie, (1836–1911), Baptist minister
- Valentine "Wall" Hatfield (1834–1890), participant in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud
- Arthur Samuel "Art" Payne, (1900–1965), Bandleader, jazz musician and Gennett Records recording artist of the 1920s and 1930s
- Felton Snow (1905–1974), Negro League Baseball player, buried in an unmarked grave[6]
- William Henry Steward (1847–1935), journalist
- Bartlett Taylor (1815–1901), African Methodist Episcopal minister
- Philip Tomppert (1808–1873), Louisville mayor
- Amelia Tucker (1902–1987), first African-American woman to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Eastern Cemetery documentary 'Facing East' aims to finally tell the full story – Insider Louisville". Insider Louisville. 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e "Thousands Buried in Old Graves, Investigators in Kentucky Report". The New York Times. 1989-11-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ a b c Kleber, John E. (2015-01-13). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. p. 170. ISBN 9780813149745.
- ^ a b c d "History". Friendsofeasterncemetery.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ a b "Party held at Eastern Cemetery on Baxter sparks concern about treatment of resting place – Insider Louisville". Insider Louisville. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ "Felton Snow, Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson". Wdrb.com. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
External links[edit]
- "Louisville's Crumbling Eastern Cemetery Desperate for Attention, Care"
- Eastern Cemetery at Find a Grave
- "Thousands Buried in Old Graves, Investigators in Kentucky Report"
- "Eastern Cemetery more a party site than resting place, says group"
- "Troubles continue at Louisville's Eastern Cemetery
- Facing East @ IMDb
- "Friends of Eastern Cemetery"
