Once again I bring you to Lakeview Cemetery which it one of the most beautiful resting places I have ever visited.
Lakeview Cemetery opened in 1869 and was the idea of Jeptha Wade. Now you know where the Wade Chapel gets it's name from. Mr. Wade was the founder of a company still in existence today. The Western Union Telegraph Company.
The first burial was in 1870 and was the 31 year old Civil War veteran Captain Louis Germain Deforest. There are now 895 Civil War veterans buried here.
During World War II, part of the cemetery was used for "Victory Gardens".
The location of the cemetery was orginally called Smith's Run and the orginal size was 175 acres but quickly grew to 211 acres and 500 plots. The cost of an in ground plot when the cemetery opened was $4.00. Large family plots went for 20 cents per square foot. This was quite expensive at the time which meant only middle class and above could afford to be buried here.
By 1873 the cemetery had grown to 266 acres and 300 acres by 1888.
The Wade Memorial Chapel was completed in 1898. The actual cost has never been released but it was between $100,000 and $350,000. Over $3.6 to $12.8 million in today's dollars.
The Rockefeller obelisk monument is so large that it once it arrived at the railroad station on Mayfield Road, it took close to 7 months to get it to the location it stands today.
Today the cost for burial spots is:
Standard lot - $2195+
Monument Lots - $10,000+
Estate Lots - $85,000+
There is a US Veteran area in the cemetary and these spots are provided to honorably dischaged veterans at no cost.