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From: "Thomas W. Johnston, Jr." <>
Subject: [PAPHILA] Mechanics Cemetery
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 08:38:35 -0400


On Fri, 9 Jun 2000 on you asked:

>How far is that area from West Philly? I'm still having trouble placing my
family that
>was buried there.

Didn't see anyone answering your question, so I'll try. The answer is a
fair piece, as the saying goes. Or, quite a 19th century trolley ride. The
best route would have been over Girard Avenue across the Schuykill River,
probably a distance of 3-6 miles depending where in West Philadelphia the
folks lived. There was a bridge at Strawberry Mansion, with a Fairmount
Park trolley running on it, but I'm not at all sure funeral processions
were permitted. I can clearly remember, in a later era, when funerals in my
extended family had to take a long detour around Fairmount Park to arrive
at their destination.

Incidentally, one of the reasons for the aggregation of cemeteries in the
area we speak of, besides their somewhat suburban (at the time) location,
was accessability by trolley. The trolley lines also had funeral cars
available - the entire party of mourners as well as the deceased could be
transported in one or more cars to the cemetery entrance.
Tom Johnston


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