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Is it strange to love visiting cemeteries?
Not really.
I have been to some of the most famous cemeteries in the world;
Pere Lachaise in France, La Recoleta in Bueno Aires, Monumentale in Milan, just to name a few. The history, architecture and craftsmanship that can be viewed in each of these places is unparalleled.
Having grown up in Louisiana, seeing graves that are raised above the ground is nothing new to me. Because the water table is so high, graves would fill with water and the buoyant casket would seek to float, eventually popping out of the ground. Because of this dilemma, it was decided, hundreds of years ago, that tombs would be built above the ground to house the departed. Some tombs were (and still are) built to accommodate one casket and others, built on a grander scale could accommodate an entire family…some so large that they resemble small homes or chapels. Visitors to the south, however, are intrigued with our burial system and some of the most beautiful and immense tombs can be found in many of the New Orleans cemeteries…a sort of city of the dead.
St. Louis Cemeteries 1 and 2, located near the French Quarter, are both on the National Register of Historic Places and feature the tombs of several historic individuals and families including Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, Henriette Delille, Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family (presently awaiting canonization), Daniel Clark, financial supporter of the American Revolution and Jacques N.B. de Pouilly, architect of the St. Louis Cathedral.
Since I have seen some of the most famous cemeteries in the world, it was a given that I had to visit the most notable one in New Orleans, St. Louis Cemetery #1. Located a short walk from the city’s French Quarter, it was quite easy to locate, however, once I arrived, I was informed that I would be required to join a tour. With over 100,000 visitor’s each year, the cemetery has been subject to extreme vandalism. Hoping to preserve the sanctity of the cemetery, guests are now required to enter the premises with a licensed guide.
Paying my admittance fee, I waited patiently for the tour to start and was soon joined by Australians, Ethiopians and Italians, proving that curiosity about the oldest cemetery (built in 1789) and its inhabitants has a worldwide reach.
Eagerly following our tour guide, Steve, as he wove his way around the monumental tombs, we first learned how economical vaults were built into the cemetery walls. It was quite interesting to see the wall vaults stacked one above the other, with some now only partially visible near the ground, evidence that the below sea level city is sinking. These vaults contain the remains of many family members within the tomb. After the family member passes, the remains go untouched for a year and a day and then are pushed to the rear of the vault, making room for the next unfortunate soul.
In the center of the property. we witnessed white walls and roofs blocking our view of the entire cemetery. Here, the larger crypts also hold many family members within their massive walls.
With the cemetery being one of the oldest in the city, it is a given that many of the graves are in various states of repair…some taken care of by family, some by volunteers, some by process of having purchased Perpetual Care and many long forgotten. Crumbling and overgrown with moss and fern, the former graves’ appearance lends itself to the creepy image that many envision when thinking of old cemeteries and though you would think that many a horror movie would be shot here, filming is not allowed.
We waited patiently for our turn to stand in front of one of the most famous gravesites in St. Louis #1…the location where it is believed that Marie Laveau is entombed…next door to the former mayor, Dutch Morial, the first African American to hold the office. Laveau’s grave is marked with faded Xs, once a common practice in petitioning the deceased soul. It was believed that the Voodoo priestess would grant your wish if you marked the tomb, placed your hand over it, rubbed your foot three times against the bottom, placed some silver coins in the cup. Since this is actually desecration of a gravesite, it is evidently one of the reasons why visitors are only allowed in the cemetery with an escort.
We passed the tomb of Paul Morphy, who passed away in 1884 at the age of 47, and is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era. Considered a chess prodigy, he was described by Bobby Fischer as “perhaps the most accurate player who ever lived”. His grave is aptly marked with chess pieces.
As we turned to head further into the cemetery, we could all see the tip of what appeared to be a pyramid. In much newer condition that most of the other tombs, we were informed that it belongs to the actor Nicolas Cage. Though he now resides in Las Vegas, the performer once lived in New Orleans, at 1140 Royal Street (believe it or not!) in the LaLaurie Mansion! His pyramid presently stands dignified but empty, awaiting his demise.
How is it that someone like Nicholas Cage gets to be buried in St. Louis #1? Well, if you have $40,000, you can too. The steep price will buy you a plot next to some of New Orleans’ most notorious residents.
Following our guide, we continued on to the towering Italian Mutual Benevolent Society’s marble tomb, which was designed by architect Pietro Gualdi in 1857. Designed in the Baroque style, it includes three elegantly carved marble statues of female figures; one holding a cross crowning the top, one in a niche above the engraving “Italia” and another out of view in a niche on the left representing “Charity”. It contains 24 vaults which were for the temporary use of the society’s members whose bones would remain in the tomb for about a year and then removed and placed in a receptacle in the tomb’s basement. Nearby, are the Portuguese Burial Society and the New Orleans Musicians Tombs which operate on the same premise at the Italian Benevolent Society, giving those of the association a place to be buried.
At the rear of the cemetery, we were directed to the Protestant section, which was assigned to the Christ Church (Episcopal) for the burial of non-Catholics. All that remains of this area, however, is the area between the wall vaults and some brick walls. Between 1822-1838, the burials from the Protestant section, which extended beyond the back wall, were transferred to the Girod Street Cemetery to make way for neighborhood development. What I found interesting, however, was that non-Catholic burials have always been allowed in any part of the cemetery and some Catholics were actually buried in the Protestant section.
Nearby, we found the grave of Étienne de Boré, a local plantation owner and an important person to the sugar cane industry famous for producing the first granulated sugar in Louisiana. Making the sugar cane crop profitable for local farmers, the industry still continues strong today with more than 400,000 acres of land in 22 Louisiana parishes producing approximately 13 million tons yearly and employing about 17,000 employees.
It was quite interesting and yet peaceful to walk among the decrepit graves in the cold, winter morning and I thought it a pity that others’ desecration of the cemetery had made it hard for those of us who might like to take their time wandering among the lesser know grave sites instead of being ushered along by our guide in his attempt to keep the tour at the allotted forty-five minute limit.
The cemetery has been preserved as best as it can be and with the new fees imposed by the Archdiocese, it is the hope that the cemetery will be available for all to enjoy for hundreds of years to come. Security has been added and through the hard work of the caretakers, St. Louis Cemetery #1 will remain open to the public. One caretaker devoted most of his life to the care and preservation of this historic place, Alexander “Buddy” Anspecker. Working in the location for 41 years, he could always be counted on for his dedication and descriptive tours of the historic tombs.
Finally, however, I learned something very interesting…something that brought my adventures full circle.
The day before I had sought out the LaLaurie Mansion on Royal Street. Earlier in the tour, I learned that actor Nicolas Cage had resided in the LaLaurie Mansion. On this day, however, I learned that though it was thought that Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie had died in France, in a boar-hunting accident, a caretaker of the cemetery, Eugene Backes (many years before “Buddy”), discovered an old cracked, copper plate in Alley 4 of the cemetery. The inscription read, “Madame Lalaurie, née Marie Delphine Maccarthy, décédée à Paris, le 7 Décembre, 1842, à l’âge de 6–.” declaring that perhaps, Madame LaLaurie had returned from France to rest among the distinguished departed residents of St. Louis #1.
Though we were not made privy to the location of this copper plate, it gives rise to the notion that New Orleans’ history is quite complex and interwoven.
The walk to St. Louis Cemetery #1 is a short one and although the price a bit steep for the tours offered, keep in mind that the money is helping to preserve this treasure. Though you would never catch me in a cemetery at night, especially within a city rich in the Voodoo culture and alive with many superstitions, I was pleasantly surprised at the vast array of prominence laid to rest here. Definitely worth the visit in light of its history!
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St. Louis Cemetery #1
- https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/our-history
- Address: 425 Basin St, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Hours: 0900-1600, Monday through Saturday and 0900-1100, Sunday (last admittance 1 hour before closing)
- Admission: $20 for guided tour. Tours last approximately 45 minutes.