The purpose of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery is to optimize the cemetery's potential as a cultural resource through education, preservation and promotion of Mount Hope Cemetery's unique heritage.

Dedicated in 1838 in Rochester NY, Mount Hope is America's first municipal Victorian cemetery.

Set in a picturesque landscape shaped by retreating glaciers, the cemetery features 82 mausoleums, soaring Egyptian obelisks, winged angels of mercy, a Florentine cast-iron fountain, two stone chapels in Gothic Revival style, a Moorish gazebo, and infinitely varied tombstones marking 350,000 graves across 196 acres.

Mount Hope Cemetery is listed in:

    •    Mount Hope/Highland Preservation District, Rochester, New York
    •    New York State Register of Historic Places
    •    National Register of Historic Places
    •    National Park Services National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
    •    Erie Canalway National Corridor as an Affiliate Site

and is a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat and a historic site on Rochester's portion of the Genesee Riverway Trail.


MAILING ADDRESS
Please address mail correspondence to:
Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery
P.O. Box 18713
Rochester, NY 14618-0713





2012 GUIDED WALKING TOURS
Saturday, May 5 - Sunday, October 28
To download the complete schedule, Click Here.

NEW THIS YEAR:
Regular Public Tours of Mount Hope Cemetery's South Section
Each Saturday at 1:00 p.m., May - October

This tour is a leisurely walk covering approximately 1 to 1-1/2 miles on paved roads and even terrain. Learn about 19th and 20th century Rochesterians, including Rufus Sibley, co-founder of Sibley, Lindsay, and Curr department store; Frank Gannett, founder of the Democrat and Chronicle; nurseryman James Vick, and many others.
Meet: South entrance, opposite the Distillery restaurant.
Admission: $5 per person. Free to members of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.

UPCOMING THEME TOURS:

The Bird Watcher Tour
Sunday, May 20, 8:00 a.m.
Tour Guides: June Summers & Joanne Mitchell
Meet: North Gatehouse opposite Robinson Drive
Admission: $5 per person. Free to members of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.

Rochester & the Legendary Erie Canal
Saturday, June 9, 11:30 a.m.
Tour Guide: Nancy Uffindell
Meet: North Gatehouse opposite Robinson Drive
Admission: $5 per person. Free to members of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.

TWILIGHT TOURS
7:00 p.m. each Thursday through August 9
Meet: North Gatehouse opposite Robinson Drive
Admission: $5 per person. Free to members of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.

SUNDAY TOURS OF THE NORTH SECTION
2:00 p.m. each Sunday through October 28
Meet: North Gatehouse opposite Robinson Drive
Admission: Free to everyone.

Click Here for more information on all tours, including this year's Theme Tours.


book cover image
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
And the Underground Railroad
Written by Richard Reisem
Photographs by Frank Gillespie