The above-ground tombs in New Orleans cemeteries are often referred to as "cities of the dead." Enter the cemetery gates, and you will be greeted by rusty decorative ironwork and blinded by sun-bleached tombs. Crosses and statues jutting from tomb surfaces cast contrasting shadows, adding to the sense of mystery. Votive candles line tombs on holidays, reminding you that the dead have living relatives who still care.
New Orleans has always respected its dead, but this isn't the reason that the departed loved ones are interred above ground. Early settlers in the area struggled with different methods to bury the dead. Burial plots are shallow in New Orleans because the water table is very high. Dig a few feet down, and the grave becomes soggy, filling with water. The casket will literally float. (You just can't keep a good person down!) The early settlers tried placing stones in and on top of coffins to weigh them down and keep them under ground. Unfortunately, after a rainstorm, the rising water table would literally pop the airtight coffins out of the ground. To this day, unpredictable flooding still lifts the occasional coffin out of the ground in areas above the water table, generally considered safe from flooding.
Another method was to bore holes in the coffins. This method also proved to be unsuitable. Eventually, New Orleans' graves were kept above ground, following the Spanish custom of using vaults. The walls of some cemeteries here are made of economical vaults stacked on top of one another, while wealthier families could afford the larger, ornate tombs with crypts. Many family tombs look like miniature houses, complete with iron fences. The rows of tombs resemble streets--and this is why New Orleans burial plots quickly became known as cities of the dead.
According to a local ordinance, as long as a previously deceased family member has been dead for at least two years, the remains of that person can be moved to a specially made burial bag and placed at the side or back of the vault. The coffin is then destroyed, and the vault is now ready for a newly deceased family member. What happens if a family member dies within that two-year period? Generally, local cemeteries are equipped with temporary holding vaults, and the newly deceased family member is moved into his or her final resting place when two years have elapsed. This provides for quite an "efficient" use of limited space in graveyards....not to mention 'keeping the family together'.
Here is a very ornate Celtic Cross we found in the Metairie, just outside New Orleans. This was erected to pay homage to the Brewster and Stillwell families buried there.
This tomb with the crying angel is one of the few very ornate monuments in the Butterfly Garden section of the cemetery.
This very elaborate tomb for the Walmsley family
has polished granite steps and columns and a very
decorative gable end with a large urn sitting on the
top. A second polished urn sits centered on the top
step with fresh, white flowers. And a loved one has
left a piece of artwork at the bottom of the very
decorative ironwork doors.
If you find yourself in New Orleans, don't miss an opportunity to visit one or more of these famed
cemeteries. They are fascinating.
