York Street Cemetery Walking Tour

This is York Street Cemetery here in Plymouth, Michigan. I went on a walking tour of it tonight and Leann was right, its not creepy at all. I'm not sure if its because so many of the grave stones are missing or if its just a peaceful spot. The guide did tell us tonight that they aren't completely certain how many people are buried here because at one time it was "fashionable" to take the grave stones from the cemetery and put them in your garden. So a lot have been stolen. Which, to be honest, I think is quite rude.

But what is left there is fascinating to look at. There are several that have the most beautiful carvings on it. Which, the fact that they have lasted so long is amazing in and of itself. This cemetery dates back to the 1800s. In fact, the most "recent" date I could find on one was for 1914.

Here is one that I thought was particularly beautiful.

The inscriptions are just as interesting. If you want to know Emma's last name, you have to read farther down her stone to find the name of her husband. And it also states that she was "Aged: 30 years" at the time of her death.

Below is a detail of the hand carving on her stone:

Its really quite beautiful and in remarkably good shape. I'm not sure what type of stone it is but Emma's death is dated to the 1800s. So it certainly wears well!

And of course what good would a cemetery be without some overgrowth to add to the ambiance?


Below is a photo of one of the stones laying on the ground, there are several like these. I'm not really sure if they were standing at some point and then fell over or if they started out laying down. But the ones that are resting that way are sinking into the grass. Its a strong testament to how long they've been around.


I took more photos then this but didn't want to upload them all in one post. If you'd like to see more, you can visit my Flickr site. Flickr didn't let me load them in them in the order I would have liked but what can you do? Technology can be a pain sometimes.

I found the carvings so interesting that I'm going to try to locate more old graveyards. I know of one not too far away. It could become a new hobby...

I also got a most awesome shot for this week's Where I Stand Sunday post so be sure to check back to see it.