The Methodist Cemetery Washington, D. C.

In 1855 twelve Tenleytown men purchased land along Murdock Mill Road and established The Methodist Cemetery.

The twelve represented many of the founding families of Tenleytown and it is believed that their purchase of the land formalized a use already in practice.

Though most of the founders were also members of the adjacent Mount Zion Methodist Church, later Eldbrooke United Methodist, and now The City Church, the cemetery has always been independently owned and maintained, a fact that distinguishes it from contemporary cemeteries.

In the mid-nineteenth century, burials customarily were on private land or in church-affiliated cemeteries.

The cemetery’s proximity to Fort Reno made it an attractive campsite for soldiers during the Civil War, an unanticipated use that resulted in significant damage, including the loss of grave markers.

The unfortunate result is that the Association’s list of burials may be incomplete.

The cemetery is the final resting place of many of Tenleytown’s early residents.

It is owned and maintained by The Methodist Cemetery Association whose members are descendants/relatives of those buried in the cemetery.

Received DC Preservation Award for Excellence in Stewardship in 2010.

(Listed in DC Inventory of  Historic Sites, 2008)