It (St. Louis Cemetery No. 1) opens its gates only at the knock of an heir, so to speak; gives harbourage only to those who can claim a resting place by the side of an ancestor.

Grace King, 1895

Traditions

Historically, maintenance occurred yearly during All Saints' Day when families cleaned, repaired, and limewashed their tombs. This yearly attention kept the tombs well sealed and protected the interior structure from the aggressive New Orleans environment.

The many family and society tombs that dominate the cemetery today indicate the tremendous wealth and power New Orleans attained by the mid nineteenth century. Like its urban counterpart, many of the early single vault tombs were expanded with additions to become multiple vault family tombs to allow for repeated burials in a place of decidedly limited space.

As families grew larger, and as the almost yearly outbreaks of yellow fever caused many deaths, the family tomb was often not large enough, or available. Space could be rented in the surrounding wall vaults until a family vault was free. There is also abundant physical evidence that families expanded their tombs over time. As need for space grew, more vaults could be added and the tomb could expand upward on the same plot.

By the end of the nineteenth century, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 had fallen out of use from overcrowding and the public’s preference for more fashionable cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. As interment activity declined, so did visitation and yearly family maintenance activities that were so crucial to the upkeep of the tombs.

Opening quote: Grace King, New Orleans: The Place and the People. New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895.