Mount Hope Cemetery Tour

A few weeks ago, Aunt Kathy and I went on a tour of Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. We both pass by the cemetery all the time and it was really nice to actually take a few hours to stop and learn about it. Throughout most of the year the Friends of Mount Hope offers free guided tours on the weekends so we joined inand had an absolutely gorgeous fall day to tour on. Mount Hope is a 198 acre Victorian cemetery that was dedicated in 1838. It’s a very unique spot because the land was formed by glaciers so there are hills and valleys and its quite a workout to get around. There are over 375,000 people buried there, including some very famous Rochester residents. Our tour started at the plot of the Sibley’s. Hiram Sibley founded Western Union and was instrumental in the purchase of Alaska. Our guide pointed out 4 stones set in the ground that formed the borders of the plot. Apparently in the old days, families would come to their burial plots for a Sunday picnic as this was a nice place to relax. May as well get some use out of it while you are still alive I guess!We saw the grave of Susan B Anthony, who was a pioneer of the women’s rights movement. I learned so much about her and it was fascinating! I learned that when the police came to arrest her for voting she asked to change her dress first and then they took her to jail on a streetcar. After her arrest and prior to her trial, Anthony traveled across Monroe County (where her trial was to be held) and gave impassioned speeches in why women should have the right to vote. The DA obtained a change of venue because he determined that a fair trial could not take place in Monroe County. The trial was moved to Ontario County, where Anthony proceeded to give more speeches. The Justice of the trial was horribly corrupt and sexist and did the following: refused to allow Anthony to testify on her own behalf, allowed statements given by her at the time of her arrest to be allowed as "testimony," explicitly ordered the jury to return a guilty verdict, refused to poll the jury afterwards, and read an opinion he had written before the trial even started! So of course she was found guilty but apparently back in those days people felt that women did not belong in jail, so they ordered her to pay a $100 fine which she never did because she knew they wouldn’t put her in jail.Anthony’s lawyer was Henry Seldon and he is buried at Mount Hope along with his son, George Selden who invented the gas powered automobile (take that Henry Ford).Rochester’s other most famous burial at Mount Hope is Frederick Douglass who is a famous abolitionist (and friends with Susan B Anthony). We also saw the grave of Henry Ward who was the founder of Ward’s Natural Science. There is a large boulder atop his grave that is flecked with red jasper. It is very unusual for a cemetery but fitting for his lifelong love of science.Mount Hope also has several sculptures from the Vatican sculptor, Papotti. Here is the Weary Pilgrim (who is missing a toe).

I had a great time playing around with all the setting on my camera to get some interesting pictures. Many people use the cemetery to jog or walk their dogs so it's not a creepy place at all. However, this one statue was pretty spooky as it was headless!

The tour lasted about 2 hours and was absolutely fascinating. We even got lemonade and cookies at the end! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone in the Rochester area as it provides tons of interesting information on our famous cemetery and its residents.