Photos by Molly Turpin, Senior Editor; Sketch of Matthew Vassar’s gravestone courtesy of Special Collections
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.A crisp, colorful October day is certainly one of the finest for visiting a cemetery, and no finer cemetery than the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, where several important figures from the history of the College currently reside, including the founder of the College himself.
The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is an example of a burial movement from the mid-nineteenth century. To alleviate crowding in churchyards, address hygiene concerns and enhance the spiritual nature of burial, towns and cities began looking for more bucolic, natural venues for the burial of their citizens. Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery was founded in 1853, and Matthew Vassar was a member of the committee that was in charge of choosing its location and arranging for its design. They hired renowned landscape architect of the period Andrew Jackson Downing to oversee the project.
The beautiful, rolling landscape allows a visitor to get lost in the site. Situated over the Hudson, the residents have some spectacular views. The graves themselves are very characteristic of the 19th century, including many examples of carved drapery and not a few obelisks. “It’s really quite striking almost any time of the year,” said Dean Emeritus of the College Colton Johnson.
Vassar’s gravestone takes its form from a design that he drew himself, which he often liked to show students. Though it lost a little something in translation.
“It’s supposed to be an acorn—the drawing looks more like an acorn. It’s always looked to me like an egg in an egg-cup,” said Dean Emeritus of the College Colton Johnson. “But when you get there you’ll see the smaller acorns are more recognizable. The idea was [from] his college: ‘Great oaks from little acorns grow.’ He had planted the acorn.”
Vassar’s grave is no less dramatic than was his death. “You know, he died in the trustee meeting of 1868, giving his final address,” explained Johnson. “He just got to the paragraph where he said ‘And now I bid you farewell,’ and he died. And they adjourned for a couple, three hours, and then the chairman of the board read the final paragraph.”
Students of the College also used to have more of a relationship with the cemetery. “When they did the full-dress Founder’s Day, back in the ‘30s, they had scripts that faculty and administration would come out and read things at the various stones. It was a big deal,” said Johnson. Though this seems like a far cry from present-day Founder’s Day celebrations, Johnson still leads a group every year to the cemetery to lay a wreath on Vassar’s grave.
Other figures from the College’s history who have been laid to rest in the cemetery, include Vassar’s nephews, John Guy Vassar and Matthew Vassar, Jr.; Vassar’s wife, Catherine; and President of the College from 1885-1914 James Monroe Taylor.
An afternoon visit to the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, more picturesque than morbid, adds historical flare to any Halloween plans.
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