Remembering When Americans Picnicked in Cemeteries

For a time, eating and relaxing among the dead was a national pastime.

BY JONATHAN KENDALL APRIL 20, 2018


A small group picnics on ledger-style tombstones in Historic St. Luke’s Ancient Cemetery. The photo is not dated but is believed to have been taken prior to St. Luke’s 1957 Pilgrimage Service. COURTESY HISTORIC ST. LUKE’S

WITHIN THE IRON-WROUGHT WALLS OF American cemeteries—beneath the shade of oak trees and tombs’ stoic penumbras—you could say many people “rest in peace.” However, not so long ago, people of the still-breathing sort gathered in graveyards to rest, and dine, in peace.

During the 19th century, and especially in its later years, snacking in cemeteries happened across the United States. It wasn’t just apple-munching alongside the winding avenues of graveyards. Since many municipalities still lacked proper recreational areas, many people had full-blown picnics in their local cemeteries. The tombstone-laden fields were the closest things, then, to modern-day public parks.

In Dayton, Ohio, for instance, Victorian-era women wielded parasols as they promenaded through mass assemblages at Woodland Cemetery, en route to luncheon on their family lots. Meanwhile, New Yorkers strolled through Saint Paul’s Churchyard in Lower Manhattan, bearing baskets filled with fruits, ginger snaps, and beef sandwiches.



A historic image of the Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. COURTESY WOODLAND CEMETERY AND ARBORETUM

One of the reasons why eating in cemeteries become a “fad,” as some reporters called it, was that epidemics were raging across the country: Yellow fever and cholera flourished, children passed away before turning 10, women died during childbirth. Death was a constant visitor for many families, and in cemeteries, people could “talk” and break bread with family and friends, both living and deceased.

“We are going to keep Thanksgivin’ with our father as [though he] was live and hearty this day last year,” explained a young man, in 1884, on why his family—mother, brothers, sisters—chose to eat in the cemetery. “We’ve brought somethin’ to eat and a spirit-lamp to boil coffee.”

The picnic-and-relaxation trend can also be understood as the flowering of the rural cemetery movement. Whereas American and European graveyards had long been austere places on Church grounds, full of memento mori and reminders not to sin, the new cemeteries were located outside of city centers and designed like gardens for relaxation and beauty. Flower motifs replaced skulls and crossbones, and the public was welcomed to enjoy the grounds.


Enjoying a book and a snack in a Lower Manhattan cemetery. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / LC-DIG-GGBAIN-19433

Eating in graveyards had—and still has historical precedent. People picnic among the dead from Guatemala to parts of Greece, and similar traditions involving meals with ancestors are common throughout Asia. But plenty of Americans believed that picnics in local cemeteries were a “gruesome festivity.” This critique, notably from older generations, didn’t stop young adults from meeting up in graveyards. Instead it led to debate over proper conduct.

In some parts of the country, such as Denver, the congregations of grave picnickers grew to such numbers that police intervention was even considered. The cemeteries were becoming littered with garbage, which was seen as an affront to their sanctity. In one report about these messy gatherings, the author wrote, “thousands strew the grounds with sardine cans, beer bottles, and lunch boxes.”

Though the macabre picnics were considered “nuisances” in some communities, they did give participants a sort of admired air. One reporter lauded the fact that the picnickers looked “happy under discouraging circumstances,” and even said it was a trait “worthy of cultivation.” The fad of casual en plein air dining among the crypts would soon come to an end, though.


A reproduction of an admittance pass to Woodland Cemetery from 1926; it notably prohibits bringing in refreshments. COURTESY WOODLAND CEMETERY AND ARBORETUM

Cemetery picnics remained peripheral cultural staples in the early 20th century; however, they began to wane in popularity by the 1920s. Medical advancements made early deaths less common, and public parks were sprouting across the nation. It was a recipe for less interesting dining venues.

Today, more than 100 years since Americans debated the trend, you’d be hard-pressed to find many cemeteries—especially those in big cities—with policies or available land that allow for picnics. Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, for example, has a no picnic rule.

But the fad isn’t entirely dead in the United States. The country’s immigrant population includes families carrying on traditions that call for meals with departed loved ones, and cemeteries will hold occasional public events in the spirit of this era. There are still scattered graveyards where you can picnic among tombstones, too, particularly if you know someone with a sizable family lot. In those cases, all you need is a picnic basket filled with treats, and you and your undaunted party can partake in an old American tradition. Just remember to clean up after yourselves. The penalties for doing otherwise may be grave.

1860 Accomack County, Virginia Mortality Schedule

1860 Accomack County, Virginia Mortality Schedule Accomack Parish Name                    Age Sex     Race          Month  Occupation    Cause Ester                    18 Female  Black Slave   SEP                 Cong. brain Lin                      21 Male    Black Slave   OCT                 Typhoid Peter Allen              60 Male    Black Free    FEB    Farmer        Cold Susan Baker              37 Female  White         MAR                  Measles George P. Bannawell      37 Male    White         SEP    Sailor   Supposed killed Emily E. Bardslaw         7 Female  White         AUG                 Brain fever John Becket              40 Male    Black Free    DEC    Farming       Unknown Joseph H. Birch           2 Male    White         JUL                  Pneumonia John W. Blake          3/12 Male    Black Free    MAY                  Dropsy Nancy Bloxom             48 Female  White         AUG                  Unknown Ellinora Brittingham   4/12 Female  Black Slave William Bundick          79 Male    White         MAY    Farming     Dropsy chest William Burns             1 Male    Black Free    JUN                  Worms Susan Byrd               56 Female  Black Slave   AUG                 Consumption John B. Chandler         38 Male    White         MAR    Farming      Consumption T. Chesser                8 Female  White         SEP                  Unknown William P. Chesser    10/12 Male    White         JUN           Cholera infantile Delight Christopher      63 Male    White         OCT                 Consumption Dennis Clayton           84 Male    White         OCT                  Old age John Colona               1 Male    White         AUG                  Dysentery Hetty Conquist           62 Female  White         JUN                  Dyspepsia Sophia S. Copes          52 Female  White         JUN                 Consumption Emma Crippin           8/12 Female  Black Free    JAN                  Unknown Ellen Crockett           19 Female  White         MAY                  Unknown Hannah Cuse              50 Female  Black Slave   JUN             Dropsy of heart John P. Daisey            1 Male    White         JUN                 Brain fever Washington Davis       6/12 Male    White         OCT                  Croup Henry Dix              5/12 Male    Black Slave   SEP                  Bilious Amanda Drummond           3 Male    Black Free    MAR                  Unknown Augustus Ewell           30 Male    White         Forgot               Unknown Jacob Ewell               1 Male    Black Free    MAY                  Unknown Margaret A. Ewell      8/12 Female  White         JUN                  Unknown C. Feddiman               1 Female  White         MAR                  Unknown Susan Feddiman            2 Female  Black Slave   MAY                  Unknown N. Fields                75 Female  Black Free    MAR                  Old Age Mahala Finny             27 Female  Black Slave   DEC               Typhoid Fever William T. Fisher         6 Male    White         APR                  Pneumonia Rose A. Fletcher          2 Female  Black Slave   MAY              Whooping cough F. T. Gillespie        1/12 Male    Black Slave   OCT                  Unknown O. W. Godwin              2 Male    White         MAY                  Burned Mary Hale                22 Female  Black Slave   MAY                  Unknown A. Henderson              4 Male    White         JAN                 Consumption Samuel Henderson          3 Male    White         JUN                  Unknown Margaret Hickman       6/12 Female  White                              Unknown Major Hill                4 Male    White         OCT                  Dropsy George Hollam          6/12 Male    White         SEP                  Dysentery C. V. Holland          8/12 Female  White         JUN                  Unknown George F. Hope         9/12 Male    White         AUG                  Dysentery Mary Horsey              60 Female  Black Slave   MAR                 Cong. brain William James             1 Male    White         JUL                  Dysentery Kate S. Johnson        2/12 Female  White         JUN                  Thrash Mason Justice          8/12 Female  White         SEP                  Unknown Polly Lewis              18 Female  White         OCT   Seamstress     Hemorrhage Name                    Age Sex     Race          Month  Occupation    Cause Oceanna Lucas          8/12 Female  White         MAY                  Pleurisy Jane Mapp              6/12 Female  Black Slave   JAN                  Unknown John Mapp                 1 Male    Black Slave   JUL                  Dysentery Ann E. Marshall          27 Female  White         SEP                Consumption Denard Marshall           2 Male    White         JUL                 Cong. Brain George Marshall           2 Male    White         AUG                  Diarrhea William H. Marshall    4/12 Male    White         JUL                  Unknown David Masey              80 Male    Black Slave   SEP   Farming        Burning William F. Mason      10/12 Male    White         JUL                  Unknown Ezekiel Matthews          1 Male    Black Slav    MAR                  Dropsy M. E. Matthews           28 Female  White         AUG                  Lockjaw Willie Anna Miles     10/12 Female  White         FEB                  Unknown Thomas Moore             57 Male    White         APR Master Carpenter Pneumonia James Oliver              3 Male    White         OCT                  Unknown Molly Pettis             62 Female  White         NOV                  Unknown Thomas Poulson      2 weeks Male    Black Free    MAR        Accidentally killed                                                                     by his mother Tridelphia Rapell         1 Female  White         JUL              Whooping cough B. A. Ross            10/12 Male    White         AUG                 Cong. Brain Sylvester Ross         3/12 Male    White         MAR                  Unknown I. Savage                38 Male    Black Slave   APR                 Consumption Custis Shay              30 Male    White         AUG         Congestion of brain Margaret Shay            38 Female  White         AUG              Whooping cough Margaret Shay (of MO)    26 Female  Black Slave   APR                  Childbirth Mary L. Shay             10 Female  White         AUG              Whooping Cough Cummins Shrieves          3 Male    White         SEP                  Croup L. Slocum                30 Female  Black Slave   APR         Congestion of brain Abigail Smith           103 Female  White         JAN                Consumption Lilly Smith              90 Female  Black Slave   SEP                  Old age S. Smith                 88 Male    Black Slave   AUG                  Old age Name                    Age Sex     Race          Month  Occupation    Cause Charles Spencer           - Male    White         AUG               Stillborn Elizabeth Staten         73 Female  White                            Pleurisy A. D. Steelman            6 Male    White         NOV                  Unknown Irving H. Stephen         2 Male    White         JUL               Dysentery William Stokely          10 Male    Black Free    JUL                 Unknown Martha Taylor            66 Female  Black Slave   MAY                 Unknown Julius Thomas             1 Male    White         AUG                 Measles J. H. Thornton           23 Male    White         DEC    Farming   Cong. of Brain William G. Townsend       3 Male    White         SEP                  Worms John Troder              31 Male    White         MAY    Sailing      Consumption Wm. G. Tull            4/12 Male    White         JUN               Dysentery Anna Turlington          64 Female  White         JUN              Bilious Fever Edmon Turner             60 Male    Black Slave   DEC             Consumption William I. Ward     2 weeks Male    White         JUL               Head fall Z. T. Watson           6/12 Male    White         SEP           Bilious fever Elizabeth West           24 Female  White         OCT               Gastritis H. White                 18 Female  Black Free    JUL           Bilious Fever Mary A. Wimbrough        19 Female  White         JAN               Pneumonia William Wright         6/12 Male    White         JUL             Brain fever Unnamed                1/12 Male    Black Slave   MAY           Died suddenly Unnamed                1/12 Female  Black Free    JAN                  Unknown Unnamed                3/12 Male    Black Slave   APR                  Unknown Unnamed              5 days Male    White         FEB                  Unknown Unnamed              6 days Female  White         MAR                  Unknown Unnamed             2 weeks Male    White         JAN                  Unknown Unnamed                3/12 Female  White         JUL                  Unknown Unnamed               1 day Male    White         SEP                  Unknown Unnamed              1 week Female  White         SEP                  Worms Unnamed                   3 Female  White         MAY                  Unknown Unnamed                1/12 Female  White         MAR                  Unknown Unnamed              9 days Male    Black Slave   SEP               Head fall