mound cemetery

We walked the short distance from downtown to the cemetery. The grounds were well kept. Numerous flag holding markers are a nice memorial to special accomplishments in the lives of those interred here. The mound is spectacular and a great history lesson in itself. I have learned there is the greatest concentration and number of Revolutionary Military Officers laid to rest here. I found numerous ones at the base of the steps to the Mound. Must see for history buffs.

A large, green space in the residential section of Marietta, the Mound Cemetery could well serve as a park if it weren't for the numerous burials contained within its black rod iron fence. More or less in the center of the cemetery is a large Indian burial mound with a dry moat surrounding it. The mound was built by the Hopewell Indians as a burial site for their Chief. Trees and shrubbery grow wild on the mound which is accessed by an earthen walkway and a series of cut stone steps that were erected to the top of the mound in the early 1800s. Once at the top, visitors can view the entire cemetery when the leaves are off the trees and sit and ponder the lives of those buried below. Marietta was founded by a group of 49 Revolutionary War generals who were given land grants in the Northwest Territory as payment for their military service. Many of those generals and their families are buried in the cemetery including Rufus Putnam, who lays claim to being the founding father of the city. (His original grave marker can be seen in the Campus Martius Museum which also literally is build around his original wooden house.) Small American flags mark the site of those men who served in all US military conflicts from the Revolutionary War up through the Afghanistan War. Visitors interested in genealogy and history will find the cemetery an interesting place for research. Those who are into the history of death and dying will delight in the many styles and shapes of stones and the symbolism found on the grave markers throughout the cemetery. The grounds were immaculate when I visited. The grass was mowed and trimmed away from the stones. The lower portion of the mound and its moat was also well trimmed. There were very few toppled stones. Those who care for the grounds as well as the visitors seem to respect the cemetery. There was no trash to be seen, just a lovely park-like expanse in the midst of a neighborhood filled with stately Victorian houses.