CW: Mention of death and corpses
One of the biggest draws of living in Portland is how easy it can be to get out and go hiking. There’s so many iconic, breathtaking places: Mt. Hood, the Gorge, the Coast, and of course, the cemetery.
The cemetery? You read that right. For an activity that can make us feel so alive, the sport actually owes a lot to the history of the body's final resting place.
Hiking emerged as a popular American pastime primarily among white, urban, upper-middle class folks in the mid-nineteenth century. Public transportation meant traveling by foot was less of a daily necessity. Meanwhile, the Transcendentalist and Romantic movements endowed the natural world with new religious and aesthetic values that could best be experienced by the act of walking.
This newly-born hiker could go to experience the beauty of nature in the mountains or go traipsing along in the forest, but it was indeed the spooky, scary cemetery that helped foster Americans’ love for walking in the natural world. Let me ~plot~ out the history for you.
The cemetery, as well as ideas about public health and death itself, were undergoing transformation during the nineteenth century, resulting in what is known as the rural cemetery movement. Cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were experiencing rapid industrialization, making them crowded, polluted, and downright deadly.
The same went for their graveyards—a city cemetery was likely completely full of graves stacked upon each other, or teeming with the sights and smells of corpses dug up by graverobbers. Citizens weren’t content with this nightmare anymore; in addition to not wanting to vibe around dead bodies, people wanted to grieve in peace. High mortality rates during the Victorian Era meant that anyone mourning a loved one was keenly aware they could be next on the Grim Reaper’s list, so naturally folks wanted to imagine death with hope for the afterlife and not as eternal damnation. Citizen groups and city officials began constructing cemeteries only a few miles outside of town, complete with English-style gardens and rolling hills modeled after picturesque and pastoral landscapes.
The other major issue of urban overcrowding was alleviated by making these cemeteries open to the public for outdoor recreation, giving residents an escape from the polluted urban center for a short time. This was before the establishment of large public parks, meaning that if you were a Victorian-era urban American, you most likely spent your time outdoors strolling and picnicking with family, friends, and lovers, all amidst the dead. The practice of walking in cemeteries could be controversial; some considered it highly disrespectful, yet its accessibility and popularity amongst middle-class Americans led to the formation of a distinct culture centered around the love of walking outdoors. This, in turn, led to the establishment of the nation’s very first walking and hiking clubs, which sponsored the rise of the backcountry escapades, trail-blazing, and conservation efforts we associate with hiking today.
River View Cemetery Overview
Portland’s very own River View Cemetery was established in 1882 in the style of the rural cemetery, and it too has been a recreational destination for urban citizens since its inception.
While I’ve never been, I’ve seen bikers and walkers pour out of there on a regular basis, showing that even today people still harbor a deep appreciation for the wonder of the urban outdoors. The fact that it’s within the confines of a glorified boneyard doesn’t change a damn thing.
Do you think the Reed Outdoor Program would ever sponsor a trip?
Sources and Further Reading:
On The Trail: A History of American Hiking by Silas Chamberlin
Rest in Peace: A History of American Cemeteries by Meg Greene