| Westminster Hall And Burying Ground |
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Information AboutWestminster Hall And Burying Ground |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WESTMINSTER HALL AND BURYING GROUND | |
| burials at westminster hall and burying ground | |
| cemeteries in baltimore | |
| edgar allan poe | |
| registered historic places in maryland | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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In 1852 , the City Of Baltimore passed a city ordinance prohibiting cemeteries which were not adjacent to a religious structure. The graveyard had been known as the old Western Burying Grounds, but because there was no church building near the historic cemetery, the Westminster Presbyterian Church was built on piers directly over the graveyard. The early Gothic Revival church was constructed of brick with brownstone trim and very little ornament. Its greatest significance is the protection it provides for the burial vaults and tombs that are preserved underneath. The Presbyterian congregation continued until 1977, when care of the premises was assumed by the University Of Maryland, Baltimore School of Law and the building was renamed Westminster Hall. In addition to Poe, a number of famous Marylanders are interred here, including many Revolutionary patriots and veterans of the War Of 1812 . Within the cemetery are numerous examples of funerary art and the graves of such notables as Colonel James McHenry (signer of the U.S. Constitution and Secretary Of War under Washington and Adams ), David Stodder ( U.S.S. Constellation ), and Robert Smith ( Secretary Of The Navy and Attorney General in Jefferson's Cabinet). A monument in the cemetery to Edgar Allan Poe was donated by the school children of Baltimore. ''Some parts courtesy of the National Park Service '' PERSONS OF NOTE INTERRED
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