Muleshoe, Texas

Adjacencies ~ Railroads: What is adjacent to the cemetery? Passing trains. So much for peace and quiet! But, it probably doesn't matter. These souls have departed for a more musical realm far way, while their bodies are almost re-animated by each passing choo-choo. Muleshoe Memorial Park. [2018]

Newport, Rhode Island

Adjacencies ~ Storefronts:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In the older parts of towns all across America, historical cemeteries are bordered by rows of storefronts. Land use changes, but sacred ground remains sacred ground: never erased. These are the cemeteries, frozen in time, that date the neighborhoods which embrace them. Burial Ground. [2008]

Boston, Massachusetts

Adjacencies ~ Midrise Apartments:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? The name of the cemetery tells you what used to be on its perimeter: a large building where grain was stored (a granary). Now it is surrounded by urban mid-rises. That means everyone who enters, exits, and looks out the windows gets a lesson in Puritan eschatology. Granary Burial Ground. [2010]

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Adjacencies ~ City Skylines:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? A city skyline. Most cities have an old cemetery that is on a hill or mesa just outside of town. Since we are in the western United States, we could call this Albuquerque's own Boot Hill. Mount Calvary Cemetery. [2017]

Hurricane, Utah

Adjacencies ~ Snow-Capped Peaks:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In this case, it's a range of snow-capped peaks known as the Pine Valley Mountains. Their function is to lift your gaze and your spirits as you visit the town's cemetery. Hurricane Cemetery. [2019]

Union City, Ohio

Adjacencies ~ Sunflowers:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In agricultural areas, fields of any and every crop may ring rural graveyards like this. But, none are as eye-catching as fields of sunflowers refracting the mid-day sun. Snell Cemetery. [2018]

Woodstown, New Jersey

Adjacencies ~ Farmsteads: What is adjacent to the cemetery? Sometimes cemeteries are part of the farm. Sometimes they are on the edge of the farm and open to the community, in this case the community of Quakers. Woodstown Friends Cemetery. [2017]

Jamestown, Ohio

Adjacencies ~ Grain Silos:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In the American agricultural heartland, both cemeteries and silos are virtually ubiquitous. When they are found together, they generate a doubly powerful spirit of place. Some of the souls buried here may very well have delivered corn to this set of storage bins. Silver Creek Cemetery. [2013]

Salvo, North Carolina

Adjacencies ~ Eateries: What is adjacent to the cemetery? In this case it is Dockside Crabs, which is not really dockside at all. Think about it, though: The name 'Cemetery-side Crabs' just doesn't have the same appeal. Rest assured, however, that the crabs are very local: We are on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Salvo Cemetery. [2019]

Cortland, New York

Adjacencies ~ Water Tanks: What is adjacent to the cemetery? Water tanks not water towers. Where are local cemeteries often situated? On a hill outside of town? What else craves the heights? Municipal water supplies that depend on gravity feed. These two tanks don't need to be water towers because they already have the elevation needed for down-hill flow. Judging from the logo, this water might be destined for the SUNY campus which is right next door. Cortland Rural Cemetery. [2017]

Crossett, Arkansas

Adjacencies ~ Mills:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? The world of work, which is quite in contrast to the world which is "at rest." Here the sense of place is accentuated by the sense of smell, as well as the sense of sight. That mill is a paper mill, and that smell is the smell of the town's economic base. Many of those buried here, probably worked in that mill. Lakewood Cemetery. [2018]

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Adjacencies ~ Schools:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? In this case, it's a school and a practice field. Actually, the proximity is a little jarring since the habit today is to hide cemeteries so we don't have to confront the inevitable. By contrast, these graves are seem every day by students at this school. And, some of those students must have relatives buried here. St. Mary Cemetery. [2014]

Abbottstown, Pennsylvania

Adjacencies ~ Churches:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? The most common answer, and certainly the most traditional, is a church. The church and cemetery are coupled components of landscape tapestries all over the Christian realm. Whatever is next door to the cemetery gives it character. April is the month to look at "adjacencies." Mummert's Church Cemetery. [2017]