My six year old self would have shuttered to know I was going to a graveyard just to explore and read the historic names on the tombstones. But my much older self enjoyed wandering through the lovely setting known as Congressional Cemetery.
Established in 1807, it’s officially the Washington Parish Burial Ground and is owned by Christ Church. In 1807, Senator Tracy (Federalist from Connecticut) was interned and until the mid-1830s, almost every Congressman who died in Washington was buried in the cemetery. Since it was associated with US Congress members it became the first National Cemetery (50 years prior to Arlington Cemetery). The cemetery occupies 35 acres and is the only place in Washington DC where a person can be buried within L’Enfants’s original city-plan.
Congressional Cemetery is a feel-good story, other than the fact that it’s filled with dead people. It went through a period of neglect in the 20th century and, by 1997, it was added to the list of most endangered Historic sites. Thankfully, a group of dedicated Capitol Hill Washingtonians started taxing themselves for walking their dogs on the grounds. The taxes paid for mowing.
Currently, the K9 Corps of the Historic Congressional Cemetery numbers in the hundreds. They pay an annual fee to walk their dogs off-leash. Other volunteers including service organizations, members of the armed forces and school groups have put in thousands of hours bringing the cemetery back to it’s original state. It’s designated as a National Historic Landmark and the association has regularly scheduled tours, fundraisers and 5k runs. The US Marine Band plays often at the grave of John Philip Sousa. Sousa enlisted into the Marines at age 13 by his father, after Sousa attempted to join the traveling circus. He excelled in the Marines, becoming the conductor for the Marine Corps Band. After the Marines, he started his own band and wrote “Stars and Stripes Forever”
Cenotaphs are monuments erected in honor of someone whose remains are buried elsewhere. There are 165 Cenotaphs for many famous people such as Henry Clay, John C.Calhoun, Tip O’Neill, etc.
Beautiful statues can be found throughout
Interesting quotes can be found around every corner.
And then there are the visiting goats.The Browsing Green Goats have been brought into the cemetery (paid for by an anonymous donor) for two weeks to control invasive species including poison ivy. Rather than use herbicides or expensive landscaping crews, the goats offer a wonderful alternative to battling the invasive plants. Plus they leave a good bit of helpful fertilizer.
- Congressional Cemetery is located at 1801 E Street, SE, Washington, DC
- Cemetery hours are 9 am-5 pm
- Goats can be seen from Dawn until Dusk
- Goats will be at the cemetery until August 20, 2015
- For more information about events (including the goats), click here
[…] visited Congressional Cemetery last August when they had visiting goats, I prefer the grounds at Oak Hill. The hilly, twenty four […]
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[…] visited Congressional Cemetery last August when they had visiting goats, I prefer the grounds at Oak Hill. The hilly, twenty four […]
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Goats in DC? Interesting. I was there in May, but didn’t know about the cemetery. Save it up for next time.
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The Congressional graveyard has some interesting events throughout the year…
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Like burying alive insufferable politicians? Take your pick. I’m an equal opportunity joker. 😎
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Now there’s an event that might draw a crowd.
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Please save me a seat. 😉😎
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I learned so much from this post! We used to joke that our neighbor needed a pair of goats to deal with the unkempt, knee-high weeds that grew unabated. It really is a happy way to deal with the issue, especially the invasive plants.
Great photo-story telling. I’m sorry I missed this place on our recent trip to DC. Yet another reason to go back.
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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the post. Hope you make it back to DC soon. Would love to have a meet-up again.
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That would be great fun! In three years, both of my sons will be in college and travel will get easier again. Would love to meet up then.
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Well that looks fun . . .
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I never knew this place existed! That’s really interesting about the goats, and a good solution!
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I agree ~ great solution for their overgrowth problem. And those goats were eating everything they could, sometimes preferring to reach high to the low lying branches.
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And another place I knew nothing about! It’s a great story with a happy ending (even for those interred or memorialized there). John Philip Sousa? Who knew! Goats? Brilliant! An accordion statue? Inspired. But what I loved the most was the image of the quote “A lifetime together wasn’t enough.” Heartbreakingly perfect.
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I learned a lot while researching the cemetery. I had no idea John Philip Sousa enlisted into the Marine Corps at such a young age ~ and by his father’s insistence. I love that the Marine Band continues to play at his gravesite. And the goats…too cute.
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Wow, thanks for the article. I had heard about the goats. Hope you weren’t nibbled while you were there.
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No nibbles from the goats ~ although I wouldn’t have minded one 😉
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Shame we didn’t have time to visit when we were in the city in June, it looks really interesting. Maybe next time we visit the States 🙂
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Hope you’re back in the States soon ~ so much to see and do.
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Yep, we have really only visited a tiny bit of the huge map 🙂
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The goats are such a sensible and clever way to solve the problem. Kudos to the people in charge!
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I agree! They used the goats in 2013 and it was a resounding success so they brought them back for more.
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I love wandering around old cemeteries and this one looks like a good one!! Love the goats too..
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There are some really interesting names on the tombstones.
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