Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group.

History

The Woodmere Cemetery Association was organized on July 8, 1867, by a group of prominent Detroit businessmen who purchased approximately 250 acres to establish a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

for the city of Detroit. Woodmere's layout was designed by Adolph Strauch, who also designed

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Construction began in 1868 and the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

was dedicated on July 14, 1869. The first burials occurred prior to the cemetery's official opening. The first burial was for Anna Maria Schwartz, who was buried in Section C in November 1868. She was soon joined by approximately 2,000 removals from Detroit's City Cemetery that were reburied at Woodmere. In addition to these burials, the city of Detroit also contracted for approximately five acres for the burial of the city's poor. Section C is the cemetery's oldest section and where the large Elks' Rest monument can be found. Once Section C was filled, Woodmere ended its contract with the city to bury the city's poor.

Notable Sections

The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

section is at the cemetery's southern end, next to Dearborn Street. The army purchased this section which contains

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s from the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

as well as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1896 the Civil War soldiers buried at Fort Wayne were moved to Woodmere as the cemetery there had fallen to decay and the records were in shambles. The

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

in this section divides the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

section to the east from the U.S. Army section to the west. Temple Beth El purchased two sections at Woodmere, Section Beth El and part of the adjacent Section NF. Many of the mausoleums in Section NF were vandalized in December 2012. The bronze doors were removed, leaving the mausoleums open to the elements. These doors were presumably sold for scrap. Th
American Moslem Society
purchased a section at the northwest corner of the cemetery within view of its

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

on Vernor Highway. This mosque was established in 1937 and is Michigan's oldest. Victims of the

Ford Hunger March The Ford Hunger March, sometimes called the Ford Massacre, was a demonstration on March 7, 1932 in the United States by unemployed auto workers in Detroit, Michigan, which took place during the height of the Great Depression. The march started in ...

killed on March 7, 1932, are buried in the Ferndale section at the cemetery's north end abutting Vernor Highway. The victims are Joseph York, Joseph Bussell, Kalman Leny, and Joseph DeBascio. The

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

also placed a headstone on an empty space in the same row as the others for Curtis Williams, a marcher who died several months later due to unrelated causes. Williams was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

at Woodmere, but his ashes were not interred there. A marker is located along the fence outside of the cemetery near these graves.

Notable Burials

* John J. Bagley (1832–1881), Michigan Governor (1873–1877) * Charlie Bennett (1854–1927),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player * David D. Buick (1854–1929), founder Buick Motor Company *Hamilton Carhartt (1857–1937), founder of Carhartt Inc. Clothing * Dexter M. Ferry (1833–1907), founder of D.M. Ferry & Co. * Henry M. Leland (1843–1932), founder of Cadillac and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

luxury car brands *Frederick Matthaei (1892–1973), founder of Matthaei Botanical Gardens *

Philetus Norris Philetus W. Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that position. Early life Philetus Walter Norris was born in Palmyra, New York on Aug ...

(1821–1885), founder of Norris, Michigan (now Hamtramck) and 2nd Superintendent of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

* Charles A. Roxborough (1888–1963), first African-American man elected to the Michigan Senate * James E. Scripps (1835–1906), founder of

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

* Private Eddie Slovik (1920–1945), only WW II U.S. soldier executed for desertion *David Vartanian (1890–1966), RMS ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'' survivor *

James Vernor James Vernor, Sr. (April 11, 1843 – October 29, 1927) was an American pharmacist and druggist who began selling Vernors brand ginger ale in 1880. Biography Vernor was born in Albany, New York, moving with his parents to Detroit, Michigan in hi ...

(1843–1927), inventor of Vernor's Ginger Ale * David Whitney (1830–1900), lumber baron *

Ahmad Bakhsh Sindhi Ahmad Bakhsh Sindhi (22 October 1917 – 28 April 2000) was an eminent leader of the Indian National Congress from the state of Rajasthan. He was a very close companion of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He served as ...

(1917–2000), Former Law and Justice Minister in

Rajasthan, India Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

*Three British Commonwealth war graves, of two

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

soldiers of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

airman of

. * Grace Whitney-Hoff (1862-1938), American philanthropist, founder of the Foyer International des Etudiantes in Paris.

References

External links

Woodmere Cemetery ResearchFind a Grave
{{coord, 42, 17, 45.1, N, 83, 07, 54.4, W, display=title, type:landmark Buildings and structures in Detroit Cemeteries in Michigan Rural cemeteries