Save Our Cemeteries Announces “Mourning In Louisiana” Tour

NEW ORLEANS - Sept. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- Save Our Cemeteries announced today that it has partnered with the Pitot House museum and Louisiana Landmarks Society to present a special tour on 19th century mourning and interment customs entitled “Mourning In Louisiana.” The tour will showcase both the historic Pitot House museum and St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, including a tour of burial customs and historic figures in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, along with a display of 19th century mourning attire and other period necro-artifacts and textiles from a private collection on loan to the Pitot House. Tours will be conducted 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm every Friday afternoon from October 16th through November 20th, 2015.

“We are excited to once again work with the Louisiana Landmarks Society on this special dual tour of the Pitot House and St. Louis Cemetery No. 3” states Amanda Walker, Executive Director at Save Our Cemeteries. Ms. Walker continues, “It will provide the public with an intriguing look at life during the 19^th century with respect to death and funeral practices.”

Located on historic Bayou St. John, the Pitot House is the only Creole colonial country house that is open to the public in New Orleans. It tells the story of life along the bayou since the earliest days of settlement. The Pitot House has had a variety of owners from prominent lawyers to austere nuns. One of the most prominent was James Pitot, the first mayor of New Orleans after the city’s incorporation who lived here from 1810-1819. The Pitot House is a National Trust for Historic Preservation Partner Place.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 is located near the end of Esplanade Avenue, near Bayou St. John. The cemetery had its beginnings in 1848 when an Act was passed by Legislature in March of that year under which the City Council privileged the Cathedral wardens to establish a new cemetery. It opened in 1854. The crypts on average are more elaborate than at the other St. Louis cemeteries, including a number of fine 19th century marble tombs. Those entombed include ragtime composer Paul Sarebresole, photographer E. J. Bellocq, and painter Ralston Crawford.

About Save Our Cemeteries

Save Our Cemeteries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in New Orleans, LA. Its mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the historic cemeteries of New Orleans through restoration, education, and advocacy.