Troy in Rensselaer County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, April 20, 2016

1. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium Marker

Inscription.
Gardner Earl Memorial
Chapel And Crematorium
Has Been Designated A
National Historic Landmark
This Site Possesses National Significance in Commemorating The History of The United States of America

Built Between 1888 and 1889, This Memorial to Cremation Advocate Gardner Earl Is The Most Architecturally and Technologically Sophisticated of the Nation's Early Public Crematoria. Its Elegant Ceremonial Chapel Affirmed Cremation as an Alternative to Traditional Burials

National Park Service

United States Department of the Interior

Designated 2012

Erected 2012 by National Park Service Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 42° 45.319′ N, 73° 40.283′ W. Marker is in Troy, New York, in Rensselaer County. Marker can be reached from Oakwood Road. The marker is on the south side of the building beside the base of the bell tower in Oakwood Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Troy NY 12182, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. William Henry Freeman (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Third Street Burial Grounds, 1824 (about 600 feet away); Historic Oakwood Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); George Henry Thomas (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. Peter's Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); Warren Family Mortuary Chapel: 1861 (approx. 0.3 miles away); John Paine (approx. 0.4 miles away); Oakwood Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Troy.

Regarding Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium. Oakwood Cemetery is a non-sectarian not-for-profit cemetery located in Troy, NY and widely known as the final resting place of "Uncle Sam" Wilson. Founded in 1848, the still active cemetery is designed and maintained as a rural park-like setting with hundreds of acres of both wooded and open space, 10-12 miles of winding roads and several beautiful ponds and waterfalls. The Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium is the crown jewel of Oakwood Cemetery.

William S. Earl, married Hannah M. Gardner, the boss's daughter, and with their national collar and cuffs manufacturing firm, Earl & Wilson, the prominent business owners became very wealthy. Their only child, son Gardner Earl, born in 1849, was apparently sickly from an early age. He was well

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, April 20, 2016

2. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium Marker

enough to do the Grand Tour in Europe in the early 1880’s. He was impressed with the cremation methods used in Italy, and when he came home wrote out a legal document stating his wish to be cremated (which was not common at that time.) When he died in March, 1887, his parents took his body to Buffalo by train to be cremated, since there was no crematory in eastern New York. On their return, they made the decision to fund the building of the Earl Chapel and Crematory as a memorial to their son. In 1887 Albert Fuller, a well-known architect in Albany, of the Fuller & Wheeler firm, designed the chapel, which was constructed in 1888-89, and opened to the public in 1889.

The Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 2004, and more recently designated a National Historic Landmark on March 2, 2012

Also see . . . The History of Oakwood Cemetery. Cemetery website homepage (Submitted on November 24, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Additional keywords. Oakwood Cemetery

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, April 20, 2016

3. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium Marker

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, April 20, 2016

4. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium & Marker

Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Storer Cobb, circa 1901

5. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, May 11, 2016

6. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium

This•Chapel•and•Crematorium
Erected•In•Memory•of
Gardner•Earl
By•His•Parents
William Spencer Earl 1823 - 1905
His•Wife Hannah•M. Earl 1825-1910
Their•Son Gardner Earl 1849 - 1887

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, May 11, 2016

7. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium

These are the construction dates, at the base of the bell tower;
Erection Begun 1888 - Building Completed 1890

Photographed By Howard C. Ohlhous, April 16, 2008

8. Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel & Crematorium

Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 7, 2016, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. This page has been viewed 1,159 times since then and 90 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 7, 2016, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. 6, 7. submitted on May 12, 2016, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. 8. submitted on May 7, 2016, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.