Frederick’s Mount Olivet Cemetery presents a spacious and leafy environment for visitors to reflect on the county’s fallen. Popular with photographers, family genealogists and lovers of history and art, Mount Olivet Cemetery has replaced the usual somber feeling of a graveyard with a reverent and inspirational atmosphere. Discover the tombstones of some of the county’s notable people or pay your respects at one of the many thought-provoking memorials scattered throughout the green park-like estate.
Enter the cemetery and begin your exploration of the paved paths throughout the grounds. There are 8 miles (13 kilometers) of paved trails crisscrossing the cemetery, making it a popular spot for walking, jogging and cycling. The cemetery dates back to 1852, when the Mount Olivet Cemetery Company was founded by a group of Maryland citizens after many of the local Frederick church graveyards became full. James Belden designed the grounds, ensuring that it had a good network of pathways.
Check out the cemetery’s Monument to the Confederate Soldiers, which honors over 300 known soldiers and over 400 unknown soldiers of the South buried in a mass grave. The memorial features a statue carved from Carrara marble atop a tall granite plinth. Nearby, a small stone marks the United States Civil War Children’s Memorial, paying tribute to the young soldiers, drummers, scouts and nurses who served and fell in the Civil War.
See one of the cemetery’s highlights, a memorial dedicated to Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star-Spangled Banner. Other notable monuments include memorials to local firefighters and workers who died conducting rescue services.
Read the wayside interpretive panels throughout the cemetery. Learn more about the notable people interred at the cemetery on a walking tour or during a lecture presentation. Check out special events, such as Memorial Day programs, commemorations and other ceremonies. Check the cemetery’s website to find out about special programming.
Walk south to the Mount Olivet Cemetery in about 15 minutes from Downtown Frederick. The cemetery is open from dawn to dusk daily, with slightly shorter opening hours for mausoleum buildings. The cemetery’s office is closed on Sundays.
