The Gatehouse

“It might sound macabre, but some of the country’s best-known cemeteries are actually also havens for nature-lovers, culture-hounds and even after-dark revelers.”

Wall Street Journal, September 27, 2024

Do you enjoy exploring cemeteries, reading gravestones, and studying the art, history, and rituals associated with death and burial? If the answer is “yes,” then you might be a “taphophile.” This term comes from the Greek words “taphos” (meaning tomb) and “philia” (meaning affinity or love). Moreover, if you travel to take part in this hobby, then you are part of a growing global phenomenon called cemetery or tombstone tourism.

Growth of Dark Tourism

Dr. Susan Slocum, a professor at George Mason University, considers tombstone tourism to be a form of “dark tourism.” This encompasses visits to sites of death, disaster and human suffering in a touristic form. The popularity of dark tourism has grown in recent years; one online survey found that 82% of Americans had visited at least one dark tourism destination in their lifetime.

What catalysts are driving this growth? According to Grand View Research, “Consumers are increasingly drawn to experiences that offer a deeper understanding of history, culture, and the human condition.” They also note that visitors are “driven by a desire for meaningful and educational travel experiences, as well as the influence of media and popular culture.”

Two of the most visited dark tourism sites in the U.S. are locations associated with historical tragedies and disasters. First, the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, which marks the resting place of more than 1,100 sailors and Marines killed during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Second, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, where 3,000 people died at the World Trade Center in 2001.

Other popular dark tourism sites include former prisons like Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay and Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. People also visit the locales of disasters like the Hindenburg crash site in New Jersey. Finally, they go to locations of historical events like the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the building from which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Dark tourism is also a global economic powerhouse. An August 2024 report from Grand View Research indicated that the industry, which was worth an estimated $32 billion in 2023, is on track to reach $38.6 billion by 2030.

Rise of Tombstone Tourism

Professor Slocum indicates that tombstone tourism is a relatively small part of dark tourism. While there are no statistics on cemetery tourism specifically, the evidence suggests it is a growing phenomenon, especially when you look at the number of news articles and books published recently about cemeteries.

There are many reasons why people visit cemeteries as tourists. Professor Slocum notes they may seek out personal genealogy and family connections. Or patriotism may motivate them — think of the Normandy American Cemetery in France, where more than 9,300 American soldiers who died on D-Day lie. Another goal may be to visit the graves of famous people. (John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley receive the most visits in the U.S.) Dr. Philip Stone, the Executive Director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, likens tombstone tourism to “sightseeing the mansions of the dead.”

Tombstone tourism is not a new phenomenon in the U.S. Up until the 19th century, prior to the establishment of public parks, people considered cemeteries as places for leisurely strolls or picnics. In Brooklyn, NYS Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s gravesite not only helped to put Green-Wood Cemetery on the map, but by 1860 the cemetery welcomed over 500,000 visitors per year. This made it the second most popular tourist attraction in all of New York State after Niagara Falls. Similarly, a 1931 article in the New York Times noted that more than 70,000 people annually visited Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia. This house of horrors is the site of the notorious Confederate prison camp where almost 13,000 Union soldiers perished during the Civil War.

Since the 1997 release of the movie Titanic, Halifax, Nova Scotia has experienced a surge in Titanic-related tourism. The city became a popular destination for those interested in the tragedy, likely due to its role in the recovery and burial of Titanic victims. Halifax is the final resting place for 150 Titanic victims; 121 of whom rest in Fairview Cemetery. One grave marker, which only has “J. Dawson” written on it, has left many wondering if he is the model for Jack Dawson, the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Most Visited Tombstone Destinations

Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris — which houses the remains of numerous famous figures, including Jim Morrison, Frederick Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Édith Piaf — is widely considered to be the most visited cemetery in the world, attracting over 3.5 million visitors annually. With over 3 million visitors each year, Arlington National Cemetery is the most visited cemetery in the U.S. The grave of President John F. Kennedy holds first place for tourists there.

This Is Going to Sound Crazy…

By Daryl Kovalich, LMSW

When I tell people I work as a Grief Counselor, they often ask, “How can you do that all day? It must be so difficult.” I get it. We usually associate grief with heavy feelings like sorrow, heartache, and longing. These are normal responses to death, and so are some of the “messier” emotions we don’t like to talk about, such as fear, regret, and even anger. But feelings of loss are only one facet of grief, and there are so many more to explore.

What if we also allowed ourselves to see grief as an expression of love? In a world that pressures us to “let go” and “move on,” healing through grief can be a time when we learn how to “hold on” to that love in new ways. Our love doesn’t die when the people in our lives leave their bodies for the spirit world. Why should our experience of grief be limited to what is no longer here?

I like to think of love as a powerful form of energy. In physics, energy cannot be created or destroyed; it simply changes forms. I believe love is the same. One path for healing through grief is opening ourselves up to the new forms this love takes. As we learn to live in a world without our departed, we discover new ways to remain connected to them. These “continuing bonds” are more than just wishful thinking. They are intimate expressions of love, rooted in the human capacity to keep our loved ones and ancestors close.

Sometimes, these connections take the form of common signs and symbols, like seeing a cardinal and thinking of someone special. Other times, they are deeply personal and show up in unexpected ways.

Some of my favorite moments as a Grief Counselor are when clients say, “This is going to sound crazy, but…” and then complete the sentence with a unique sign of their loved one. Like all the televisions in a house turning on to the same channel at the same time. Or a squirrel jumping onto the hood of a car exactly when the driver asked her father to show he was close by.

There are so many more examples I could share, but what’s more important is how your love endures. So give yourself permission to recognize those connections when they show up. When you feel your loved one next to you, hear a song at just the right moment, or see a cardinal land in front of you, don’t talk yourself out of it. Don’t call it a coincidence. Just stop for a second, take a breath, and allow yourself to hold on.

Daryl Kovalich, LMSW, lives in Delhi and is the Bereavement Coordinator for Helios Care, the nonprofit hospice serving Delaware, Otsego, and Schoharie Counties.

The Dutchess County Steal

In the fall of 1891, control of the NYS Senate hinged on four seats, including the 15th District in Dutchess County. The stakes were high as the state legislature was scheduled to take up reapportionment in 1892. While the Republican candidate won the 15th District, 31 votes were contested by the Democrats. The County Board of Canvassers threw the votes out, but the case went up through the court system. The Court of Appeals ordered the votes to be counted, and the corrected results mailed to Albany. However, Maynard had physically removed the ballots favorable to the Republican candidate from the State Comptroller’s Office, and the Democratic candidate was declared elected. This tipped the balance in the NYS Senate.

However, the details of this case came out within a few months, damaging Maynard’s reputation. For example, a March 24, 1892, editorial in the New York Times reported that up until the ballot scandal, Maynard was looked upon as a “lawyer beyond reproach.” However, after he stole the Republican ballots, while “acting as a tool” of then-Governor Hill, “Maynard the respectable became Maynard the disreputable.”

Judge Maynard

In January 1892, Democratic NYS Governor Roswell P. Flower appointed Maynard as an Associate Justice to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals. The New York Times characterized Maynard’s appointment as a quid pro quo for his involvement in the “Dutchess County Steal.” The New York City Bar Association launched an investigation and declared Maynard “unfit” for the judiciary.

Maynard stood for election in November 1893. In what was described as “one of the most remarkable judiciary races in (New York) State history,” Maynard’s opponent, Edward T. Bartlett, was elected by an unprecedented 100,000 vote majority. Bartlett made the “Dutchess County Steal” the focus of his campaign, and his defeat of Maynard was regarded as “a triumph for a pure judiciary.”

Final Years 

Isaac H. Maynard died suddenly from heart trouble at the age of 58 in his room at the Kenmore Hotel in Albany on June 13, 1896. His death occurred less than three years after he lost his last election. He was alone in his room at the time of his death.

Maynard’s funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church in Delhi with most members of the county’s bar in attendance. Judge Maynard was interred in Lot 308 of Woodland Cemetery in Delhi. He lies at rest next to his wife Margaret, who passed in 1926, and his daughter Frances, who died in 1943. Margaret’s parents, Charles A. and Frances F. Marvine, and several other family members are also interred in Lot 308.

Author’s note: I wish to thank David Fairbanks Ford, the great-great-grandson of Judge Isaac H. Maynard, for his insights and kind assistance with this article.