The Cemeteries of New Orleans are much like the city itself. They are a mirror to the opulence and desecration of a mysterious and enchanting city. They dance back and forth between beauty and ruin. Like New Orleans, the city cemeteries hide secrets... secrets that most will never discover.
The culture of New Orleans is one rich in history and diversity. It is unique among all other cities in America. The city’s “way of death” may be the most distinctive part of its culture. For more than 200 years now, the people here have housed their dead in small, above ground tombs. They are built along streets in miniature cities of the deceased and the forgotten. These cities of the dead provide hours of discovery for the intrepid seeker and for the brave of heart. For not only ghosts lurk here, but the thief and the brigand as well.
The original site of New Orleans, which is the French Quarter today, had a water table just beneath the soil. The land sloped back from the river toward Lake Pontchartrain, falling quickly below the level of the sea. The question soon arose.... where would the colonists bury the dead in such water-logged conditions?
The highest area in the region was along the banks of the Mississippi. The natural levees there had been created by years of soil being deposited by the river’s current. This was the first site chosen for burial of the deceased. During floods though, the bodies of the dead would wash out of their muddy graves and come floating through the streets of town. Obviously, this was considered a problem.
A few years later, a graveyard was created outside of the city. It was overseen by the priests of the St. Louis Church. It could only be reached by a winding path from town. This was not done for aesthetic reasons, but for ones of health. It was commonly believed that graveyards exuded a noxious odor which carried disease. Combined with the marshy soil of the area, it was considered to be an unhealthy place. For this reason, the cemetery was placed outside of town as a precaution against infection.
The cemetery was known as St. Peter Street Cemetery. Most of the burials here were below ground and space was reserved for the clergy and the wealthy and distinguished of the city. In spite of this, the cemetery, which has long been built over, was said to be as shabby and dirty as New Orleans itself in those days. The cemetery remained a prime burial spot for many years, until finally; it was simply filled to capacity.
A new graveyard was desperately needed and the St. Peter Street Cemetery closed down for good. The land was sold off for building lots. The first of the now classic St. Louis cemeteries was officially opened in 1789. The new cemetery was a walled enclosure with its main entrance off Rampart Street. The poor were buried here in unmarked graves until the middle 1800’s and as available space filled, the level of the soil began to sink. Contracts for dirt were frequently bid upon and city chain gangs shoveled it evenly throughout the graveyard, making room for more bodies. It is believed that beneath the grounds of the cemetery, there are layers of bones several feet thick.
Most of the early tombs were not fancy or decorative though. Most were simple but functional enclosures and most of the doors were bricked over once the burial had taken place. Years later, architects would design more elaborate tombs for the city’s elite, but few of those can be seen in the older graveyards.
For those who could not afford a private tomb, but dreaded the idea of the soggy earth, they had the option of a wall vault or a society tomb. The wall vaults were constructed directly into the walls surrounding the cemetery and resembled old-time baker’s ovens.
Perhaps one of the most famous residents of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is Marie Laveau. Born a free woman of color in 1794 and died an old woman in 1881, she became the most famous and powerful Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. She was respected and feared by all. Her tomb is the most frequently visited site in the graveyard. The tomb looks like most others in the cluttered cemetery, until you notice the markings and crosses that have been drawn on the stone. Apart from these marks, you will also see coins, pieces of herb, beans, bones, bags, flowers, tokens and all manner of things left behind in an offering for the good luck and blessings of the Voodoo Queen.
If you’re ever in New Orleans and decide to take a tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1, they will lead you to this tomb and the stories of Marie Laveau. I believe this is to deter out-of-towners from destroying the original tomb for only locals know the whereabouts.
Legend has it that Marie’s ghost sometimes walks here and one man claims to have been slapped by her spirit after making a disparaging remark at her tomb one day.
In many of the cemeteries you will be greeted by decorative, rusty ironwork, and blinded by the sun bleached tombs. Crosses and statues on tomb tops cast contrasting shadows adding a sense of mystery. Votive candles line tombs on holidays to remind you the Dead have living relatives that still care.
But St. Louis Cemetery was one of my favorites to walk through. Lots of mystery and wonderment.
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