Cedar Hill Cemetery | |
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![]() "The Bridge of Life", one of six pieces built by Dionicio Rodriguez, located on the cemetery grounds. | |
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Details | |
Established | 1895 |
Location | |
Size | 150 acres (61 ha) |
Cedar Hill Cemetery, previously known as Forest Lake Cemetery, and also formerly Nonesuch Plantation, is a cemetery located in Suitland, Maryland. [1]
Following a series of land purchases starting in 1890, Forest Lake Cemetery was chartered and opened in 1895, but by 1913 few bodies were buried there. [1]
In 1913, after going bankrupt in the wake of a failed 1908 sale to a developer, 130 acres (53 ha) of the 400-acre (160 ha) Forest Lake Cemetery were sold to form the Cedar Hill Cemetery. [2] [3]
Over time, the cemetery was expanded, and it is now over 150 acres (61 ha) in size. The oldest tombstone reads "Philenia W. Patte, Nov. 19, 1871, 58 years".[ citation needed]
From 1936 to 1938, Dionicio Rodriguez, a Mexican builder and artist, built six pieces in concrete at Cedar Hill, most using a faux bois technique to make them resemble wood. He built two footbridges, a bench, a table in a pergola, a hollow "tree trunk", and an Annie Laurie Wishing Chair, also in a pergola. [4]
The cemetery has a mass grave for the victims of the Terra Cotta Railroad wreck.[ citation needed]
38°51′46″N 76°56′44.5″W / 38.86278°N 76.945694°W