Mount Moriah Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup
philly, cemetery, abandoned

After deciding to take a spur of the moment trip to Philadelphia for Valentine’s Day, we hit the internet for ideas of what to do. I guess unlike most like people we weren’t looking for museums, or delicious restaurants, although we obviously love both of those things. We were looking for abandoned buildings, accessible rooftops, and any other little interesting, yet often overlooked, nooks and crannies. I knew from my last, visit a few years back, that Philadelphia has some really great cemeteries. I was thinking we could swing by Laurel Hill Cemetery again. It was beautiful, my photography has definitely improved since then and I’d love to re-shoot it. Then we found it… Mount Moriah Cemetery, the cemetery of my dreams.

Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855. It’s the final resting places for over 80,000 people. It spans 380 acres. You can read the full history of the cemetery here. The short version is that the cemetery was privately owned but in 2004 the last known member of the association passed away. Basically it was a big legal mess and the cemetery was essentially abandoned. It suffered from years and year of neglect. Large sections became completely overgrown with weeds. I even saw a tree growing straight out of an obelisk! By golly, this place is a sight to see!

philly, cemetery, abandoned

I didn’t do too much research on the cemetery before visiting. I guess I didn’t want to get too excited in case we weren’t able to make it there. So my first though upon parking outside the cemetery was “Okay, this has to be trespassing…”* Jeff and I slipped in through the broken fence and made our way to the gatehouse, which was what initially caught our attention in the photos online. It was in A LOT worse shape than we had seen. I actually didn’t even mange get a decent shot of it, the sun was at a funny spot in the sky, and I was completely overwhelmed with everything else that surrounded me.

I don’t even know how to describe this cemetery to you right now, except that it was all of my cemetery dreams come true. I know, I’m sorry, thats awful to say. I don’t think it’s awesome that someone royally screwed up and let this happen to a cemetery but I would be lying to say that “abandoned cemetery” didn’t rank SUPER high on my list of things I’d like to photograph.

philly, cemetery, abandoned, headstone

In 2011, Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery was formed, a group of clearly amazing volunteers dedicated to the preservation of the cemetery. Although the cemetery was definitely overgrown, and in the worst shape I have I ever seen a cemetery in, it was obvious that lots of hard work had been going into it recently. Trees growing up beside headstones and been cut down, and there were piles of brush waiting to be hauled away.

Right now FOMMCI has a gofundme running to raise the money needed to save the gatehouse. It will cost $35,000 to stabilize the structure.  They currently have $24,500 from a grant and previous donations. They need another $10,500 to keep it from becoming a pile of rubble. Any donations over their goal (which they reached in two days!) will be used for additional Mount Moriah Cemetery capital improvements. You can read more and donate, if you feel so inclined, here!

We barely saw a fraction of the cemetery. It’s the largest in the state of Pennsylvania! Part of me is sad that it’ll no longer exist in this condition. I’ll never be able to experience it like I did on this day but I guess that’s why I feel photography is so important… The other part of me knows that’s obviously a really good thing that it’s now on the up and up. I’m sure returning this cemetery to it’s former glory will take a very, very long time but it’s definitely on it’s way. FOMMCI, you guys rule!
xoxo

*Just wanted to note that everything I’ve read says the cemetery is open and visitors are welcome. 

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22 comments

B February 23, 2016 - 2:02 pm

What stunning photos but I agree with you that it's heartbreaking to see a final place of rest in such condition. But it's nice to see that there are people trying to fix it back up!

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:06 pm

I know! It makes me so happy to see how active their volunteers are! It's so wonderful!

Laura Jones February 23, 2016 - 2:22 pm

seems like a great cemetery! and the photos are lovely. i've not explored any cemeteries in ages which is a bit sad and makes me want to find some new ones soon, ha! xx

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:07 pm

Thank you!

Kristina Burkey February 23, 2016 - 3:24 pm

If you ever come to Massachusetts (HINT) you should visit Forest Hills cemetery. My grandparents are buried there. It's beautiful and the monuments are SO interesting.

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:09 pm

Hah! Will do!

We talked a little bit about doing some of the east coast so maybe I'll actually make it out there this year!

Randi C February 23, 2016 - 4:21 pm

It might sound terrible but "neglected" is my favorite kind of cemetery, so being able to explore one of that size is my dream as well– what an amazing place.
When I moved south, I was so surprised how many small family cemeteries I stumbled on in my travels, many of which have been left to return to nature since there's no one left to care for. So fun to explore and photograph but I've learned I need to wear tall boots as rattlesnakes and copperheads seem to like overgrown cemeteries as well.

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:10 pm

Oh no, I feel ya! Mine too.

Johnna LaFaith February 23, 2016 - 4:24 pm

This is AMAZING! My sister would love it too. It's really like something out of a Poe story or something, isn't it. My BF and I are looking for places to visit this spring, and I would REALLY love to stop here. WOW.

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:10 pm

It is definitely worth the trip there. It's such a HUGE cemetery.

Alexandra February 23, 2016 - 4:36 pm

Oh. My. This is literally my dream. Planning a trip ASAP. As always you have the BEST recommendations!

Kaylah February 23, 2016 - 5:11 pm

I hope you know you were my first thought upon seeing it in person! I wanted to tell you about it but figured you already knew since you're so close by.

Can't wait to see your photos from it! 😉

L'Oursonne February 23, 2016 - 6:50 pm

Nature took back her rights! I love these cemeteries with trees and plants…now the cemeteries are too much in marble! Bouh!

Jess Cohen February 23, 2016 - 11:25 pm

Oh wow, it actually looks amazing.

What a great idea actually – going somewhere different.

http://jesandbleu.com

Jennifer February 24, 2016 - 10:55 pm

Whoa! I had no idea this was in Philadelphia! This place sounds huge! I will make a trip soon!

The Evil Banana February 25, 2016 - 12:19 am

for come reason my first thought was Paris! If you haven't been, i just KNOW you will die. To this day (4 years later) I still remember the HUGE HUGE HUGE Pere Lachaise Cemetery (Jim Morrison is there, but in sad shape and one of the lesser exciting/beautiful headstones) and the Catacombs. Mostly what took my breath away and honestly scared the living crap out of me, is being in the Catacombs after going down underground roughly 88 stone steps without a tour guide and physically being able to touch the bones and take photos without being guided, sooo unheard of in the USA to my experience, with something so important to history.

Sarah Pete February 26, 2016 - 1:32 am

Daaang! This is so cool. Definitely kind of gives me the creeps looking at these photos and imagining being there, but I love it! Great pics.

Kaili Willows February 26, 2016 - 3:21 am

Oh wow, what an incredible find! I love that you include so much info about the place along with the photos. I really love hearing about these locations.

PeachSponge February 28, 2016 - 11:13 am

Awesome pics, but I am too distracted by the fact that I read the title as "Mount Mariah Carey"…..

jwils May 2, 2016 - 2:01 pm

If you're ever in Galveston, TX you should check out some of the old historic cemeteries there. Not quite this level of abandonment but definitely full of character. I think you'd really enjoy them. I have very fond memories of wandering around them in high school. So much history in one place.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/the-grave-history-of-galvestons-cemeteries

Eastern Cemetery - THE DAINTY SQUID September 26, 2017 - 8:30 am

[…] for a few years now. My thought was that the chances it was actually abandoned or anything like Mount Moriah were […]

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[…] The cemetery was a lot older than what it appeared to be from the road. While it was no Mount Moriah, it was even slightly overgrown in spots. I was in […]

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