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Erie Cemetery is the oldest of Erie Cemetery Association’s three cemeteries.
Situated on 75 acres, the cemetery is located in the heart of the city at 21st and Chestnut streets. Since opening in 1851, more than 50,000 Erieites have made Erie Cemetery their final resting place, including General Strong Vincent, Daniel Dobbins and Sarah A. Reed.
Erie Cemetery has long been appreciated by not only the families we serve every day, but also historians, genealogists, tourists and walkers, who come to enjoy some of the oldest trees in the city, to study over 165 years of funerary art, to learn about the past, and to enjoy a peaceful time out in the middle of the day. Our first and foremost priority remains the families of the deceased, ensuring that the cemetery they visit today will allow them the peace and time to grieve for those they love and miss.
Erie Cemetery is still an active cemetery, performing over 100 services a year, and continuing to sell burial space near to many of the key figures in our history.
Erie Cemetery offers primarily raised and monument lots, flush cremation lots, columbarium niches, and some flush marker graves for sale at the time of need. There is a beautiful chapel on the grounds available as well.
Erie Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is situated on 75 acres of land bordered on the east by Chestnut Street, the west by Cherry Street, the north by 19th Street, and the south by 26th Street.
The cemetery was conceived in October 1846 when a citizens group circulated a petition and collected $1,500 towards the purchase of land. A new subscription effort in December 1849 led to the incorporation of the cemetery on 29 January 1850, at which time seven managers were named. The deed was conveyed to the corporation on 28 March 1850, at which time a $1,500 deposit was paid and a judgment bond of $6,000 signed to secure payment of the balance due. Officers of the corporation were elected on 24 May 1850, namely George A. Eliot, President; William A. Brown, Secretary; and J. C. Spencer, Treasurer. H. Daniels was hired in December 1850 to develop the property. The formal opening of the cemetery took place on 20 May 1851. A porters' lodge was erected near the main entrance before 1885.
The Erie Cemetery Association manages the Erie Cemetery, as well as Laurel Hill Cemetery in Millcreek Township and Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery in Harborcreek Township.
This cemetery is located on 2116 Chestnut Street, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania.