Cemeteries: December 2007 Archives

Tomb of Edward Pilsbury (d. 1882) in St. Louis Cemetery Number Three, on Esplanade Avenue in Faubourg St. John.

Pilsbury was the 38th Mayor of New Orleans, holding the office from November of 1878 to December of 1880.

The tomb is unique for a number of reasons. It's on the end of a row of tombs, so the plot is larger than most. It's almost large enough to be a coping, but the tomb built there is just a "single." The obelisk is typical of late 19th century cemetery architecture. Egyptian themes were very popular at that time.

A Durkee photo of Holt Cemetery from 1907. Holt is New Orleans' "potter's field," the burial ground for indigent folks. It was opened in 1879, and is located off of City Park Avenue, near Delgado Junior College.

Because it's a potter's field, few graves in Holt have stone markers. Most, like those seen in this photo, are made of wood. As the wooden markers decay, the look of the cemetery changes every few years. The "feel" doesn't however, as new wooden markers are lovingly placed as new burials take place. Jazz great Charles "Buddy" Bolden is buried in Holt, but the exact location of his grave is unknown.

Holt was quite the eyesore in the early 1990s, but volunteers from Lakeview as well as from Save Our Cemeteries worked to clean the cemetery up, so it's more accessible to visitors. Holt's location along the Metairie Ridge spared it from the worst of the storm flooding, but wind and water did take their toll on the markers.