Holy Rood Cemetery

European immigrants who built the C&O Canal and the City of Washington are also buried at Holy Rood, along with Civil War veterans and others.

At the western edge of the cemetery is the grave of Joseph Nevitt, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.

)[1] The cemetery walls were torn down in 1901 and new ones erected, and many trees were removed to prevent roots from disturbing gravesites and fallen limbs from damaging monuments during storms.

In the 1980s, the university explored the possibility of disinterring the bodies buried there so the land could be put to other uses, but was blocked by a legal action brought by the remaining holders of burial rights.

A portion of the proceeds from columbarium niche sales helps fund a Perpetual Care Endowment that has been established to maintain and improve Holy Rood Cemetery.