Winter 2022, was a long, Covid ridden season. Like many people I didn’t get out and about too much. So, I have not added any adventures to this blog, I’m ashamed to say, for a long time. Well, I’m here now to redeem myself. Yesterday, with a good friend we had what may seem like an unlikely adventure.
Our main goal was to walk around Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Avenue. I think I can safely say it must be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the United States. It’s filled with history, and is the final resting place of many prominent Minnesotan’s along with monuments to local hero’s such as the 18 people who were killed in the flour mill disaster of 1878. Or, the Minneapolis Fire Department monument built in 1892. As it was 88 degrees and humid we only made it halfway through. No problem though we will be back another day to complete our walk. It’s very easy to negotiate and find the monuments as the Lakewood website offers a self-guided brochure along with a map. https://www.lakewoodcemetery.org/visiting/visitors-guide/
Famous Memorials
Political Leaders
- Hubert H. Humphrey – Minneapolis mayor, U.S. Senator and Vice President of the United States
- Lena Olive Smith (1885-1966) – civil rights advocate and first Black woman licensed to practice law in Minnesota
- Abram M. Fridley (1817-1888) – Minnesota State Representative; Fridley, Minnesota, is named in his honor
- Emily O. Goodridge and Ralph Grey (1834-1916, 1830-1904) – early Black pioneers on the Minnesota frontier
- Dr. B. Robert Lewis (1931-1979) – Minnesota’s first black state senator
- John Lind (1854-1930) – Minnesota governor
- Charlotte Van Cleve (1819-1907) – early women’s suffrage leader and the first woman elected to the Minneapolis school board
- Floyd B. Olson (1891 – 1936)– Minnesota’s first Farmer-Labor governor
- Clara Ueland (1860-1927) – prominent women’s suffragist
- Rudy Perpich (1928-1995) – longest serving governor of Minnesota
- John S. Pillsbury (1827-1901) – Minnesota governor
- Orville L. Freeman (1918 – 2003) – popular Minnesota governor, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1961-1969)
- Paul Wellstone (1944-2002) – popular U.S. Senator from 1991 until his death in 2002
Business, Community Leaders and Influencers
- Dr. Robert S. Brown (1863 – 1927) – first Black physician licensed to practice in Minneapolis
- Curt Carlson (1914-1999) – founder of the Carlson Companies and Gold Bond Stamps
- William and Kate Dunwoody (1841-1914) – left millions of dollars to found the industrial trade school, Dunwoody Institute (William), philanthropist who built housing for single working women (Kate)
- Franklin C. Mars (1884-1934) – creator of the Milky Way candy bar
- Archie and Phebe Givens (1919-1974, 1922-2015) – prominent Minneapolis entrepreneurs and philanthropists
- T.B. and Harriet Walker (1840-1928) – founded the Walker Art Museum (T.B.), philanthropist who co-founded the Sisters of Bethany (Harriet)
- Cecil Newman (1903-1976) – civil rights leader and founder of an influential local Black newspaper
- Theodore Wirth (1863-1949) – an internationally recognized horticulturist and park developer
- A. B. Cassius (1907-1983) – interracial union organizer and owner of multiple influential Minneapolis restaurants and entertainment centers
- Dr. Reuben Youngdahl – minister who grew Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church to be the largest Lutheran church in the United States
Artists, Inventors, Entertainers, and Sports Heroes
- Beatrice Ohanessian (1927-2008) – Iraq’s first woman concert pianist and classical composer
- Cedric Adams (1902-1961) – Minnesota journalist and on-air radio personality
- Bill Goldsworthy (1944-1996) – original member of Minnesota North Stars, known for his “Goldy shuffle”
- Bobby Marshall (1880-1958) – multisport athlete from Minneapolis who was the first Black football player to play in the Western Conference (now Big Ten)
- Leslie C. Kouba – wildlife painter
- Johann Emil Oberhoffer (1867-1933) – violinist and composer, conducted local and national symphony orchestras
- Frances Cranmer Greenman (1890-1981) – painter, critic, and writer
- Tiny Tim (1932-1996) – famous and beloved entertainer
- Robert Menzie McAlmon – 1920s-30s publisher, writer, and poet in New York and Paris. He was a publisher and friend to Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce.
- Harry Wild Jones (1859-1935) – architect famous for many Minneapolis designs, including Lakewood’s chapel
- Richard G. Drew (1899-1980) – inventor of Scotch Tape
Special Sections
- Brotherhood of Paternal Order of Elks – bronze elk commissioned in 1900
- Showman’s Rest – Circus performers
- Chinese Community Memorial – marked by a pagoda sculpture
- Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Monument – donated by Lakewood in 1889 to honor Civil War veterans
- Soldiers Memorial – honors Minnesota’s veterans of the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I
- Minneapolis Fire Department Relief Association – a fireman in the square-billed cap and dress uniform of 1892 stands atop of this monument
- Washburn “A” Mill Explosion Memorial Obelisk – lists the names of the 18 men killed in the worst milling disaster in Minneapolis history in 1878
Cemetery gates are open every day, including holidays
Spring/Summer hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m