Mount Moriah Cemetery is one of the rural cemeteries located at the border between South West Philadelphia and Yeadon in Pennsylvania. It is the largest cemetery in Pennsylvania and One of the oldest, having opened for operations in 1855. The actual size of the cemetery is 200 acres and consists of 150,000 burials. It was claimed to be more efficient compared to the other rural cemetery like woodlands cemetery because of its easy access by streetcar. The cemetery as well did not discriminate and allowed the burial of African-Americans, Muslims, and Jews. The cemetery was the most preferred by middle-class citizens. The cemetery was later shut down in April 2011 and was left without ownership after the death of the last member of the board of directors in 2004. 

History of Mount Moriah Cemetery 

The existence of Mount Moriah Cemetery came as a result of the Pennsylvania legislature act which Incorporated the cemetery on March 27th, 1855. The cemetery began with the occupation of 54 acres of land but was later expanded. Philadelphia and Yeadon had almost equal shares of the cemetery separated by a tributary. Later in the years, the plots of land were bought by the US department of defense to be used as the designated burial grounds for the fallen soldiers. 

One was named the Novel Plot which had 2400 graves of sailors while Soldiers Rest had 406 graves. The cemetery’s drainage system was renovated by the Works Progress Administration Program in the 1930s. There was an incident where a statue named ‘The Silent Sentry’ was stolen from the Soldier’s Home of Philadelphia burial plot but was later recovered when thieves tried to sell it to a scrap metal dealer in a New Jersey scrap yard. 

The decline of Mount Moriah cemetery

The cemetery closed in April 2011. The abandonment of the cemetery led to the growth of intense vegetation giving it a wild look. It was made a site for illegal dumping making the buildings, graves, and monuments inaccessible.

 What is the current condition of the place? 

Eventually, after abandonment, a non-profit organization named the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, organized a cleanup of the cemetery. This was to clear the overgrown vegetation, maintain the graves, and renovate the almost falling gatehouse to stability. The organization raised money and petitioned to make the cemetery a National Historic Landmark. Finally in February 2015, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission declared the cemetery a National Historic Landmark. After the death of the president of Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Paulette Rhone, in February 2019, the organization made another petition to the orphan's Court to allow her burial to be the first one since the closure in honor of her efforts towards the cemetery.