Woodmere Cemetery

Woodmere Cemetery. Finding Early Automotive Pioneers. , Many fascinating stories are buried here, , of people who built Detroit on their fortunes in lumber, real estate, cigar-making, seed, and department stores. Established in 1867 on 250 acres of rural land, Woodmere Cemetery also became the resting place for significant names in the early automotive industry, including Henry Leland and David Buick. Amidst the spectacular monuments of their "neighbors,” the understated markers for these two men quietly honor their important roles in the early automotive industry. , , You Auto Know , Landscape architect Fred Higgins planted over 140 species of trees within the original cemetery design. , , Photo captions: , Top left: Entrance to Woodmere Cemetery, about 1900. Photo courtesy of the Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library , Bottom left: Fort Street looking east from Woodmere Cemetery, about 1900. Postcard courtesy of the Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library. , Bottom middle: Henry Leland was buried here in 1932. He was an early automotive innovator, and he founded the Cadillac Motor Car Company and the Lincoln Motor Company. His importance to American automotive history is not suggested by his small grave marker in Woodmere Cemetery. , Bottom right: David Buick was born in Scotland and founded the Buick Manufacturing Company in 1902 to build engines and cars. Within two years his company was bought and moved to Flint as the first part of what become General Motors. He was largely forgotten in his later years, working at a Detroit trade school. After his death in 1929 he was buried here.