Hazel Dell Renovation
Improvements in Hazel Dell are underway!
In Fall 2022 the old deteriorated pathway was removed and replaced with a wheelchair accessible path that also allows for limited vehicle access for maintenance. We also brought electricity into the space to support public programming and events. In the spring we will finish the surface of the path and replace the temporary railings currently installed. Also planned for the spring are new plantings around the tombs and in the areas that were mulched for the winter. The plants will bring a more welcoming entrance to Hazel Dell, and compliment the recently completed project on Indian Ridge Path. Photo above by Sarah Hinzman, Summer Solstice event.
Hazel Dell History
Hazel Dell is a low, secluded area bounded on the north and east by a tall glacial esker (Indian Ridge Path) and on the south and west by a granite retaining wall and Linden Path. A row of large granite hillside tombs built in 1859 overlook an open, grassy area. In the 19h century, the center of the Dell was seasonally wet, so the land was regraded to eliminate the boggy areas and in 1862, a small circular pond with an ornamental fountain was added. Today, Hazel Dell is often referred to as a dry dell, in contrast to the wet kettle pond of Consecration Dell.
Grants Awarded for Native Plantings in Consecration Dell
We are happy to announce that Mount Auburn has received two grants to support a sustainable planting project in Consecration Dell: $100,000 from the A.J. & M.D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust and $20,000 from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust.
The new landscape design features native New England woodland plantings in our historic Consecration Dell. This project brings more horticultural improvements to an area of the Cemetery that has been undergoing an ambitious series of transformations since 1997. At the heart of Mount Auburn’s historic core, the Dell is a 4.2-acre natural valley with a small vernal pool in its center. Thanks to years of restoration and extensive care, the area once again honors the earliest era of Mount Auburn’s history. It now features native trees, shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers that provide year-round horticultural interest, as well as essential food and shelter for resident and migratory wildlife. This entire initiative, perhaps more than any other, symbolizes our longtime commitment to pairing horticultural design with environmental sustainability.
In this newest project, we will install native woodland plants along the shady upper slopes of the Dell above Violet Path. The design will highlight woodland spring ephemeral species such as Sanguinaria canadensis, whose short-lived and delicate blooms coincide with the breeding season of the Cemetery’s resident Spotted Salamander population at the vernal pool below. As the summer season progresses, unfurling ferns, groundcovers, and leafy shrubs will provide a layering of vegetation to increase habitat for birds, insects, and mammals. These will include Lindera benzoin – one of two host plants to the Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) caterpillars that have been found in nearby stands of Sassafras albidum. Additionally, the design will consider erosion control strategies and maintenance practices that will improve growing conditions for the new plantings.
If you’re interested in supporting native plants in Consecration Dell, donate here!
Member Spotlight: Harold I. Pratt’s Family Research Guide
Curiosity about past generations of our families is a common interest for many of us, especially at a site like Mount Auburn where our landscape and historical collections are filled with tangible records of so many individuals from nearly two centuries. Longtime 1831 Society member Harold I. (Harry) Pratt has been finding out compelling, noteworthy stories of some of his nineteenth-century ancestors for many years, including two Mount Auburn notables: famed mathematician and navigator Nathaniel Bowditch and Civil War colonel Norwood Penrose Hallowell (Harry’s great-great-great and great-great grandfathers on different sides, respectively). He and his wife, Frances, were eventually inspired to create a short reference book on four of their ancestors, including Bowditch and Hallowell, as a family resource for future generations. The final product was Four Worthy Ancestors, printed by The Ascencius Press in Bar Mills, ME in 2022.
Learning about everyone was a gradual process, Harry recalls, thanks to a combination of saving family documents and participating in programs, trips, and exhibit events with ties to these individuals. “I’d accumulated quite a bit of information about them, which at first ended up on an apocryphal lower shelf in my home. It got bigger and bigger with stuff from the family that I didn’t know much about. And then more time passed, and the lower shelf was getting pretty full. So I began to separate the material and put together a three ring notebook for each of the four ancestors. That got me to thinking that it might be good if I could put together a little book about all this, for the benefit of our children, grandchildren, etc.” That inspired him to read everything more carefully and do additional research, deepening his knowledge of each individual. Now, he and Frances have distributed the final version among their extended families – as well as sending a copy to Mount Auburn’s Historical Collections & Archives as an informal, non-academic resource on both Bowditch and Hallowell.
Harry’s advice to anyone interested in researching family history is that there are more resources than you might think, if you start asking around. “I was so blessed by having access to a significant amount of written material about the old boys. But my advice is that if someone is interested in their family’s lineage, start talking to other relatives. Very often cousins have quiet interest in these things that you wouldn’t have known about. Find out if there are any family diaries. If you want to find out deeds or that kind of stuff, try the local probate court. There’s more out there than anyone might suspect. And as I said, I’ve been so fortunate in having – either by accident, or by pure luck – ended up with a lot of material. My job was to try to sort it out and make some sense of it.”
Mount Auburn resources on Nathaniel Bowditch:
https://mountauburn.org/nathaniel-bowditch-1773-1838/
https://mountauburn.org/nathaniel-bowditch-statue/
Mount Auburn resources on Norwood Penrose Hallowell:
https://mountauburn.org/paul-laurence-dunbar-voice-of-fate/
https://mountauburn.org/sesquicentennial-second-battle-of-fort-wagner/
https://mountauburn.org/civil-war-union-colonels/
Proprietors’ Annual Meeting 2022
The Annual Meeting of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery will be held virtually on Tuesday, September 20th at 9 AM. We welcome voting proprietors to join us for a summary of the most recent fiscal year. Those who cannot join us but wish to cast a vote on behalf of their lot may also do so below.
VOTE BY PROXY
Voting by proxy is now closed. Voting Proprietors may still cast their vote by joining us at this year’s virtual Annual Meeting. Please register below to attend.