Elmwood Cemetery is a 50-acre municipal cemetery established in 1853. It is just across the street from Norfolk’s first municipal cemetery, Cedar Grove, and beside Norfolk’s first African American cemetery, West Point. Designed in mid-nineteenth century grid style, Elmwood is filled with monuments and mausoleums that embody the pathos and symbolism of the Victorian era’s romantic idea of death as temporary sleep.
Within its boundaries are works of nationally known sculptures Edward Field Sanford, Jr. and William Couper as well as memorial architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle. An oasis in the middle of the modern city of Norfolk, this outdoor museum contains a wealth of Victorian funerary art. Elmwood Cemetery thrives today as a great source of genealogical information and as a biographical representation of the history of Norfolk, of its artists and craftsmen, soldiers, sailors, and ordinary citizens, from the wealthiest of merchants to the poorest of commoners buried in “strangers and paupers” lots.
It is a visual representation of the evolution of American funerary art reflecting changing believes and tastes of successive generations. It was a 2013 National Register of Historic Places nominee.
CONSERVATION
Elmwood Cemetery is currently undergoing a cultural resource management assessment to determine and prioritize conservation goals. The ravages of weather, time, and occasional vandalism wreak havoc on the historic landscape, monuments, statues, tombs, mausoleums and other cultural artifacts that define this beautiful and sacred space. If full fledged conservation is not undertaken soon, we will lose this outdoor museum of history, public art, and culture.
If you are interested in learning more about Elmwood Cemetery, consider attending one of several exciting walking tours. All Tours are open to the public; a $5 donation to the NSCC is greatly appreciated. For tour dates, please visit our tour page.
