One cannot go to New Orleans without exploring its unique cemeteries, at least I can’t.
New Orleans is known for being an very easily floodable city. In turn, that effects how you can bury the dead. Well, you can’t really, unless you want to see the coffin again. During flooding events, the already high water table of the land gets higher, causing coffins to rise and make another appearance. For this reason, the residents of New Orleans chose a different way to “bury” their dead.
There are more than twenty historic cemeteries in New Orleans. Not all are designed the same. Some are the more “typical” New Orleans cemetery, others are considered rural cemeteries, which more are like parks. I was only able to visit four of the historical cemeteries, three of which were conveniently next to each other.
I will be starting with Lafayette Cemetery No. 2.
Jana Irving Lafayette Cemetery No. 2 is not well maintained, but I still love it.
Jana Irving A typical row of vaults.
Jana Irving These cemeteries are a bit more like the cemeteries in Europe. Multiple members of the same family would be entombed in the same vault.
Jana Irving But how do you fit multiple people in one vault? The top vault was used for new arrivals. The previous tenant would be removed, placed in a bag and put in the bottom. Many of the vaults had a caveau or larger space at the bottom to store the now skeletonized remains.
Jana Irving The same practice is used in the larger vaults, or Columbaria. Benevolent societies often constructed these in order to lower the cost of burial.
Jana Irving A huge Columbaria constructed by a French mutual aid society.
Jana Irving These are a bit different. I’m not sure exactly how these worked. If they work like European tombs, the top spot is for a new body and the older skeletonized remains are kept below or somewhere else in the vault.
Jana Irving A whole row of columbaria.
Moving on to St. Joseph Cemetery No. 1 and No. 2. They are technically separate cemeteries but these photos could be from either. The photos got a little mixed up.
Jana Irving St. Joseph Cemetery is still being actively used.
Jana Irving Some of the vaults are fancier than the others.
Jana Irving Rows and rows of vaults.
Jana Irving This vault has been used a lot, at least 26 times.
Jana Irving These cemeteries are only the size of a city block so they really have to pack in the vaults.
Jana Irving Plenty room left in this one.
Jana Irving The front slab is missing, showing the dates of when the last time this vault was sealed. Tradition states that the vault cannot be opened until a year and a day has passed since it was sealed.
Now for a cemetery that is completely different, Metairie Cemetery. When it opened in 1872, it was still on the outskirts of New Orleans. Now it is surrounded by the city. It’s a bit more like other rural cemeteries found elsewhere. Metairie Cemetery is a much larger cemetery than the previous three. I ended up exploring most it by car, with a bit of exploration on foot.
Jana Irving Metairie Cemetery starting off strong.
Jana Irving It’s a bit of a cross between a traditional rural cemetery, with a bit of New Orleans thrown in.
Jana Irving Some mausoleums are a bit more elaborate than others.
Jana Irving This one is a lot.
Jana Irving A few typical New Orleans style vaults still make an appearance.
Jana Irving Typical New Orleans.
Jana Irving Some people just need to show off.
Jana Irving Found some columbaria.
Jana Irving Very similar to what we have today in shared mausoleums.
Jana Irving Columbaria belonging to a Italian benevolent society.
Jana Irving I love the giant trees in this cemetery.
Jana Irving A mausoleum made to look like a ruined castle. I haven’t seen one like this before.
Jana Irving A few mausoleums had statues.
Jana Irving This one is a bit much.
New Orleans is a perfect place to go if you love to explore cemeteries. There are more like the first three I shared and there are even a few more rural cemeteries as well. You can spend an entire day exploring them and not see them all.
Check out my next update where I explore Dauphin Island!
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This is such a timely topic, and you’ve covered it beautifully.