Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn A Dynamic and Evolving Landscape | Page 9

intervention in shaping the landscape. Iron fences gave way
to stone curbing as a means of delineating the boundaries
of individual lots.
By the late 19th century, Mount Auburn had to cope
with its own success. As changing social and economic
needs after mid-century drove demand for smaller lots, the
trustees authorized the laying out of “quarter lots” of 75
square feet each.

Landscape Cemetery: Expansion and
Engineering (1874–1919)
Mount Auburn (will) meet the prevailing taste for grassy lawns,
ornamented with flowers and shade trees; where the monuments
are not obtrusive, the boundaries of the lots only marked by sunken
posts; and where, from the absence of stone-work and iron fences, a
general aspect of rural beauty, and quiet is the characteristic features.
– Annual Report 1875
Until 1871, when
Jacob Bigelow
resigned after 26
years as president,
there was remarkable
consistency of vision
and leadership at the
Cemetery. However,
the early 1870s saw
a major turnover in
the trustees, followed
by a reassessment
of policies and
procedures. This
change of approach
was most obvious in
the new sections in
Stereoview of family lot enclosures, circa 1860s.
the southern part of
the cemetery.
Fences and curbing fell out of fashion, and lot owners
began to clear them away. The first fence removal was
recorded in 1871, and by the late 1870s large numbers of
fences were being taken down. The removals were partly
due to changing tastes and partly due to the expense of
maintaining the iron fences. Curbs, which flourished in
the 1860s, were removed for much the same reasons. The
terrain changed dramatically in the 1850s and the 1870s as
well. Many of the hills were leveled and the hollows filled,
smoothing out much of the original rugged topography.
The trees were drastically thinned and replaced with a
greater variety of plants, including exotic species introduced
for their decorative qualities. At the time, these changes
were considered a return to the original rural ideals of the
cemetery, but the look was far from natural.

Present-day view from Mount Auburn.

Cemetery as Arboretum: The Vision
Reinterpreted (1920s–present)
The new cemetery should become a park-like area with inspiring
natural scenery carefully preserved and developed to attain a high
degree of quiet dignity and peace…an area of cheerful landscapes, a
place that will not be forbidding but will attract those who wish an
opportunity to appreciate nature in its beauty and tranquility.
– Lawrence Caldwell, 1935
By 1920, Mount Auburn consisted of the original 110 acres
developed through the 1860s in the older ornamented style
and the newer sections in the southern and southwestern
part of the cemetery. The new landscape-lawn style treated
the cemetery as a unified landscape of small lots with
headstones limited to 30 inches in height. The 1875 Annual
Report described it as being “not so high, of a more durable
character, and more suitable to the cheerful aspect of the
garden and lawn part of the cemetery” (Annual Report, 1875).
Another strong influence of the early 20th century was
horticulturist Oakes Ames, president of the Cemetery from
1934 to 1963 and again from 1967 to 1968, who sought to
expand Mount Auburn’s role as an arboretum and display
garden.
In the late 1980s, the Cemetery crafted an extensive
master plan that was published in 1993 and integrated
all aspects of Mount Auburn’s stewardship. The master
plan continues to function as the guiding document that
provides a consistent approach to the preservation and
enhancement of all Mount Auburn’s bountiful resources.

2016 Volume 2 | 7