Tour Newark's Mount Pleasant Cemetery: A 'Walk Through History'

From the The Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association: On Saturday, June 24 from 2 to 5 pm, the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee and Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association will present a special tour of the historic grounds of Mount Pleasant Cemetery on Broadway in the Newark’s North Ward.

Established in 1844, the Mount Pleasant Cemetery is the resting place of some of Newark's prominent leaders, industrialists and inventors. The June 24 tour will introduce visitors to those people and their place in our history through volunteers dressed in period costumes enacting some of the cemetery’s famous figures.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet Thomas A. Edison as he sits on the bench that he designed for the gravesite of his first wife, Mary Sitwell. John Dryden will be seen at his mausoleum where he will tell visitors about the founding of the Prudential Insurance Company. And Peter Ballantine will be there to talk of his immigration from Scotland and his founding one of America's largest breweries. Samuel Ward, composer of "America the Beautiful”, will sing a verse of his famous hymn, while a deceased Newark firefighter will tell the story of his tragic death and the history of "The Firemen's Plot". There will be more stories to hear among the winding paths of this beautiful and historic space.

The cemetery includes interesting styles, inscriptions and designs on the grave markers. Mount Peasant boasts some of the best funeral sculptures ranging from simple graves to elaborate mausoleums designed in architectural styles ranging from Romanesque and Egyptian Revival to Baroque, Victorian and Art Deco.

"This beautiful space holds so much history and so many stories, please join us so that we may share them with you,” says Liz Del Tufo, president, Mount Pleasant Board of Managers.

The cemetery is located at 375 Broadway, and parking is available next to the cemetery at Rafael Hernandez School. Tour admission is $5 per person and the tour’s rain date is Sunday, June 25.

For more information call 973-483-3348.

Photo courtesy of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association