Photo by Cheryl Gerber
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery #1 in the Garden District.
This is, in our estimation, one in a list of thirty marvelous places, flavors, events, and experiences that anyone who lives in—or loves—our part of the world should experience at least once in his or her lifetime.
“Bury Me Above Ground,” exhorts the message adorning one of New Orleans t-shirt company Dirty Coast’s most popular designs. It’s a reference to the city’s iconic raised cemeteries, the first of which—St. Louis #1—opened in 1789. Imported from France and Spain, the practice was adopted in low-lying New Orleans in response to the high water table, upon which wooden caskets would literally float to the surface after heavy rain. As Troy Taylor wrote in Haunted New Orleans, “The Cemeteries of New Orleans are much like the city itself. They are a mirror to the opulence and desecration of a mysterious and enchanting city. They dance back and forth between beauty and ruin. Like New Orleans, the city cemeteries hide secrets… secrets that most will never discover.”
Atmospheric? Definitely. Creepy? Sure. But you don’t have to go it alone. The organization Save Our Cemeteries offers regular tours of St. Louis Cemetery #1—final resting place of Etienne de Bore and voodoo priestess Marie Laveau—and Lafayette Cemetery #1 in the Garden District, plus various special tours throughout the year. (504) 525-3377 or saveourcemeteries.org.
