Mount Auburn Cemetery
About
Mount Auburn Cemetery is a historic active cemetery that also serves as a public garden, accredited arboretum and botanical garden and place of reflection for Watertown and the greater Boston region. Founded in 1831, it spreads across 175 acres of designed landscape with miles of walking paths, display gardens, historic monuments, waterbodies and 200-year-old trees. Visitors come to connect with nature, history, art and remembrance, and the grounds are open free every day of the year.
Its staff care for a National Historic Landmark while still providing burial and memorial services, including chapels and ornamental gardens that families can use for commemorative events even without burial space on the grounds. The landscape supports hawks, butterflies, toads and many other species, and Washington Tower gives one of the best views of Watertown and the Boston skyline. Horticulture, preservation, education and public programs round out its mission to honor the dead while serving the living.
What to Know
- An online burial search lets visitors locate the grave of anyone buried at Mount Auburn.
- SOLSTICE, an annual December event, pairs outdoor light and sound artworks by MASARY with candle lighting and live music.
- A new Welcome Center and Gift Shop is located in the Egyptian Revival Gateway.
- Membership in the Friends of Mount Auburn supports projects such as the conservation of the Nathaniel Bowditch statue.
- Parking is allowed along any cemetery road without green lines.
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