The Boulder From Mount Hope

 

The book, Traveler's Tales - Rumors and Legends of the Albany-Saratoga Region by Mark MacGregor Steese and Sam McPheeters contains scores of anecdotes about ghosts, odd happenings, and local legends drawn mostly from newspaper clippings and old books. Among the stories is this one about Mount Hope Drive in the Kenwood area at Albany's southern edge.

The old Prentice Mansion on Mount Hope Drive, in Kenwood, was long the subject of ghostly tales.  Most of these concerned the Prentice burial vault, which was somewhere on the estate -- no one knew where.  The most popular tale was that there were particular times during the month, when the moon could only be discerned faintly behind thick shrouds of cloud, passersby might see in the vicinity of the vault, used as a temporary resting place for some members of the Prentice family, the specters of those people, clad in their cerements, discussing matters of days long past.

In the forties, the vault was rediscovered by some Albany boys.  When the earth was cleared away and the rusting padlock removed, the massive hinged slab covering the entrance was lifted, and the chamber was entered.  It was found to be empty.  Whether or not this dispelled the ghost stories in not known.

The DuMary Vault

This large free-standing vault is located on the South Ridge, just around the corner from the Parson's monument where the road turns from Cypress and leads out to the Cemetery's South Gate.

The vault's construction actually gives a hint about one of its occupants, Charles DuMary (or Dumary).  Born in 1822 in Albany to Irish parents., he appears in the 1850 census records as a stone cutter living in Troy.  He enlisted during the Civil War and was eventually promoted to 1st Lieutenant of Companies C&G of the 169th Infantry.  Returning to Troy, he resumed his trade and later census records list him firs as a marble cutter, then as a master stone cutter.  It is very possible that this vault was his own work.  He died of Bright's Disease in 1879.

Despite its fortress-like appearance, this vault was the site of one of the Rural Cemetery's worst incidents of vandalism.  In June, 1972, someone forced open the doors and pried open several crypts inside.  Charles Dumary's crypt was broken open and part of his remains removed from his coffin.  

While the design of this vault is very simple to the point of austerity, it's worth walking around to the side to see this beautiful window.

Consecration Lake

One of my favorite areas to explore in the Albany Rural Cemetery is the ravine between the South and Middle Ridges. While there are very few monuments here, it is a fascinating and scenic place...as well as an important part of the Cemetery's early history.

The picture above shows Consecration Lake in the mid-1800s and is a pleasant reminder that rural cemeteries were often designed for use as parks as well as burial places.

On the left, a horse-drawn carriage appears to be following the popular "Tour" laid out in several early guidebooks (notice the sign on the tree by the rustic bridge). On the right, a man pauses on the bridge and ladies sit beneath a tree in the background. The path beyond the bridge curves up towards the MacIntosh vault as seen in the recent photo below.

Consecration Lake was formed by damning part of Moordanaers Kill where the ravine widens into a sort of natural amphitheater. It was here, in a spot described by an old Albany newspaper as "beautiful and secluded," that the Cemetery was consecrated on October 7, 1844...hence the lake's name.

Paths on both sides of Moordanaers Kill led into the ravine from the Cemetery's main entrance road and several small bridges crossed the stream. These bridges are, for the most part, gone. One rusted and uncrossable bridge can still be found near the opening of the ravine.

Like most of the Cemetery's lakes (except for Cypress Waters on the South Ridge), Consecration Lake was drained in the mid-20th century.

The photo above shows the present waterfall were the damn was removed. The photo above shows the present waterfall were the damn was removed. The antique image below shows the same view around 1906.

Prior to the establishment of the Cemetery, this was the location of a mill (with a large waterwheel powered bythe stream) and a small schoolhouse.

Due to the terrain, there are very few graves and monuments around the old lake site, though there are a number of interesting monuments in a small glade just west of the bridge and, from there, a grassy path runs along the shoulder of the Middle Ridge. There are, however, two noteworthy mausoleums here. The first is the MacIntosh vault mentioned above. The other is the Yates crypt.

The Yates family crypt is one of the Cemetery's most secluded graves. Set deep into the hillside near the spot where the consecration ceremonies were held and almost invisible from the road above, it is almost eerie in its isolation now. However, when it was first built, this vault overlooked Consecration Lake and one of the Cemetery's prettiest strolling paths. In fact, it was described in one guidebook as one of the one of the "most admirably located" in the entire Cemetery.

Catharine Hamilton's Vault

This stone plaque is all that remains of the very first private burial vault erected at the Albany Rural Cemetery in 1847. Very little is known about Catherine Hamilton, not even her exact date of death as she was moved to the Rural Cemetery in 1847 from a burial ground in downtown Albany. But, while Catharine's history is forgotten, her vault (which was torn down to due to poor construction and damage) has a fascinating story of its own...however, that's a tale for another day.