Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (Tim1965 / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Cemeteries are more than places of burial: They are landscapes of memory that reveal how cities grow, communities endure, and histories are preserved. Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, leads an exploration of four historic Washington-area cemeteries and traces their stories of architecture, race, politics, reform, and remembrance across more than three centuries of local history.
Begin at Oak Hill Cemetery, the picturesque Georgetown burial ground founded in 1849 by philanthropist William Corcoran at a turning point in Washington’s growth. After the city banned new cemeteries within its limits in 1852, Oak Hill became part of a new generation of pastoral burial grounds on the urban edge. Hear stories of architect Cloethiel Woodard Smith, a force behind Southwest urban renewal and the National Building Museum, and learn how Oak Hill briefly became the resting place of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s beloved son whose 1862 death later inspired the novel Lincoln in the Bardo.
At Mount Zion Cemetery and the adjacent Female Union Band Society Cemetery, explore the oldest Black cemeteries in Washington, established in 1842 for free and enslaved Black residents. Among the 8,000 to 10,000 burials, discover the legacy of Mary Turner and the Female Union Band Society, the meaning behind seashell-covered graves, and the site’s connections to the Underground Railroad.
Continue to Rock Creek Cemetery, D.C.’s oldest cemetery, where winding paths and sculpture create one of the city’s most beautiful landscapes. Notable burials at the cemetery, founded in 1719 by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, include author Upton Sinclair and Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a prominent figure in Washington society.
Conclude at Glenwood Cemetery, one of Washington’s earliest secular cemeteries, where stories of exclusion, rediscovery, and political scandal emerge through the graves. Burials include Capitol artist Constantino Brumidi, whose long-lost gravesite was rediscovered in 1952, and Emmanual Leutze, the artist who painted Washington Crossing the Delaware.
Know Before You Go
- The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
- Tour participants meet at and leave by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave. and DeSales St. NW; no fringe pick-up.
- Lunch at a local restaurant is included.
- This tour includes walking on sloped and uneven terrain, some walking off the path, and stairs.
- Sturdy walking shoes are recommended.
General Information
- Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
- As we aim to move away from single use water bottles, guests are strongly encouraged to get in the habit of bringing their own reusable water bottle on tour.
- For additional tour information:
