St. Louis Cemetery #3

After breakfast, we boarded the bus for a City Tour with Milton who traces his New Orleans lineage back to the mid-1800's. Milton's lively commentary provided insight into many of the buildings/areas of the city.

We got off the bus to visit the St. Louis Cemetery #3:

 

 

Above-ground tombs are used rather than traditional in-ground graves because the city's high water table can cause underground caskets to float to the surface during heavy rains and floods.

 By law and tradition, a body must remain sealed inside an above-ground tomb for at least a year and a day. The intense subtropical heat of the summer turns the brick and stone vaults into natural ovens—often reaching temperatures well over 200°F—which rapidly breaks down the soft tissue of the body.

Because space is limited, family and community tombs are designed to be multi-generational. After the required time passes, the remaining skeletal remains are gathered and placed into a lower chamber (called a cavo) or pushed to the side to make room for the next family member who passes away.  

Structures range from ornate, house-like family vaults to communal wall vaults (often called "ovens") built into cemetery perimeters for benevolent societies or lower-income residents.

 

Milton explains the process of breaking the seal around that large rectangle to open the tomb. The small plaque in the front reads, "Perpetual Care." This means the family has paid for care of the plot.

 

 

Some multi-generational tombs:

 

The Young Men's Benevolent Association tomb was one along the periphery:

The older tomb below must have been covered with stucco, as you can see the brick beneath it on the left.