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Mount Moriah Cemetery

Mount Moriah Cemetery, incorporated March 26, 1855 and established by an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, was operated under the auspices of the non-sectarian Mount Moriah Cemetery Association. The original cemetery occupied 54 acres in southwest Philadelphia, along Cobbs Creek. It boasted an ornate Romanesque entrance and gatehouse designed by noted Philadelphia architect Stephen Decatur Button (1813-1897).

Mount Moriah Cemetery was among a number of cemeteries established along the "rural ideal" in vogue at that time. Philadelphia was a booming city, and many of its older, smaller urban graveyards, located in city blocks and alongside churches, stood in the way of development. The concept of large pastoral cemeteries originated in Paris, and Laurel Hill Cemetery brought this concept to Philadelphia in 1836, followed closely by Monument Cemetery and in 1840 by the Woodlands Cemetery. A spate of new cemeteries, including Mount Moriah, followed these and put the bucolic rural cemetery within the grasp of much of Philadelphia's middle class.

Over time, Mount Moriah grew to up to 380 acres, spanning Cobbs Creek into the Borough of Yeadon in neighboring Delaware County. The cemetery's large size made it the resting place for many Philadelphians, whether famous or ordinary. The scale of the cemetery also enabled churches, institutions and fraternal organizations to establish their own subsections within its bounds. An expansion called North Mount Moriah Cemetery, or Graceland Cemetery, in Yeadon was later abandoned.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Mount Moriah Cemetery held a notable place among Philadelphia's grand rural cemeteries. Easily accessible by streetcar, it was a popular public destination for remembrance or just a quiet retreat along the hillsides down to Cobbs Creek.

During the latter half of the twentieth century, Mount Moriah and many other cemeteries of Philadelphia became victims of neglect. Suburban cemeteries replaced them in popularity, and the economics of perpetual care in the face of dwindling new business took its toll, aided by vandalism, dumping and theft. There has been a recent revival of interest in some Philadelphia cemeteries, through cooperative efforts by cemetery managements, "friends" organizations, foundations and volunteers. Sadly, even though Mount Moriah Cemetery is a National Historic Landmark and is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, its fate is still in limbo. The current ownership of Mount Moriah Cemetery is unknown; according to 2004 court documents, the owners were Horatio C. Jones and Lydia M. Jones.

Mount Moriah Cemetery was placed on Preservation Pennsylvania's Most Endangered Historic Properties List in 2004 and on The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Endangered Properties List in 2005.

On April 6, 2011, it was reported by the local news media that the cemetery was officially closed for business. Calls to the cemetery telephone number were greeted with the message "The Mount Moriah Cemetery is now closed for business effective immediately. Mount Moriah Cemetery is no longer accepting any orders. This includes orders for funerals or burials of any kind. No further information is available at this time."

MountMoriah.Info disseminates news and information about historic Mount Moriah Cemetery. It is intended for plot owners, relatives of the deceased, and anyone else interested in this historic cemetery.

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Location

Mount Moriah Cemetery is located at 6201 Kingsessing Ave, Philadelphia, PA.