Cypress Water is the old name for the ornamental pond at the heart of the Rural Cemetery's South Ridge. When the Cemetery was founded in the 1840s, this area was nothing more than a bog fed by natural springs and was described in old books as being quite "disagreeable." As the Cemetery expanded rapidly in its first two decades, this soggy ground was reclaimed to create some of the most expensive burial plots and the springs diverted to form this teardrop-shaped pond.
A stone slab at the north end of the pond dates the project to 1869. The view at the top of this post was published in the 1870s. A canoe is seen beside a little island near the center of the pond and relatively few monuments can be seen in the distance.
The little island has since been replaced by the fountain shown above (placed there in 1950 by Captain J. Fred Werzinger in honor of his parents and brother) and the pond is surrounded on all sides by some of the Cemetery's loveliest monuments. The bronze angel seen above marks the grave of department store founder John G. Myers.
See also: Consecration Lake.
A Bench For Souls
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