Valence Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana - September 2019

Описание: An unplanned visit to Valance Cemetery on a rainy day in September. I found myself in the Freret neighborhood, and recalled how close I was to Valence; a cemetery that I had visited only once before. My first visit and this visit bookend the newscast that saw Save Our Cemeteries doing some necessary repairs. Open tombs, homeless individuals seeking shelter, and impassable areas of landscape are what I encountered my first time visiting Valence. This time, I found no open crypts (outside of collapse), landscaped grounds, and numerous patches to crumbling masonry.

This area of New Orleans was known as Jefferson City until 1870 when it was returned to Orleans Parish. Many of the streets in this neighborhood were named after Napoleon's victories: Austerlitz, Jena, Valence, Cadiz, and Marengo.

Valence Cemetery features several large society tombs:
Societa Di M.B.S. Antonio Di Padova - is a Catholic sect that has a presence throughout the world. Antonio Di Padova was canonized in 1232, dubbed "The Hammer of the Heretics" when he began converting the heretical Cathars and Albigensians in Southern France. Unfortunately, I could not determine what role this society played in New Orleans.

Odd Fellows Rest of Helvetia Lodge No 44 - as I stated in the video, it's always bewildering when I see an Odd Fellows burial outside of Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery. I know that Odd Fellows had a large presence in New Orleans throughout the 1800s, having a prominent lodge downtown. Like Masons, I assume there were several lodges all over the city, and there is a Masonic Cemetery in New Orleans, but certainly numerous Mason burials in nearly every cemetery in the city. I could not locate any specific information on this lodge.

Ladies Providence Benevolent Mutual Aid Association - I could not locate any data on this specific charity, but many of the Benevolent and Mutual Aid Associations in New Orleans were started by free blacks as early as 1783.

Ladies & Gentlemen Perseverance B.A. - Sadly, I could not find any information on this group.

In 2015, local news and then national news began to blow-up when reports from concerned citizens created enough furor over cemetery vandalizing and grave-robbing that the City Of New Orleans was forced to respond, and Save Our Cemeteries arrived to address the city's more neglected cemeteries. In an ironic twist, one of Valence's notable residents is John David Fink, relocated from Girod Cemetery. Girod was in such disrepair that open crypts and destroyed coffins littered it's pathways. City officials turned a blind eye to it's blight, instead focusing on the value of the land it occupied, until the cemetery was closed and it's thousands of residents were relocated.

More Information on Save Our Cemeteries: https://www.saveourcemeteries.org/
I highly recommend supporting them and booking your St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 Tour through their organization.

Archival News Footage from WDSU, NBC, Channel 6, New Orleans. All rights reserved.

Music: Green Building - "Mirrors" from the e.p., 'Green Building'.
Unreleased. Courtesy of Shawn Terry.

Size: Medium
Access: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Visitors: Low
Safety Risk: Medium
Uniqueness: High
Oldest Burial: 1867
Veteran Burials: Yes
Notable Burials:
:Billy Smith, a Pitcher and Leftfielder for the Detroit Wolverines in 1886. Stats and photo at Baseball Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...

:Walt Preston, a Centerfielder and Third Baseman for the Louisville Colonels in 1895, Stats and photo at Baseball Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...

Thanks for watching!