Grove Cemetery

Who's buried there and what's its history?Dear reader,The Chinese Tomb is one of the most memorable landmarks of Cypress Grove Cemetery, which was established in 1840 at Canal Street and City Park Avenue. The Chinese Tomb was dedicated in 1904 by the Soon On Tong Association about the same time as New Orleans' Chinatown developed near Tulane Avenue, Elk Place and South Rampart Street.According to Winston Ho, who has researched local Chinese history, the four Chinese characters inscribed on the plaque near the top of the tomb translate to "the Chinese Tomb." Beneath that is inscribed "July 19, 1904," the date the tomb was dedicated. A November 1919 Times-Picayune article says Blue Wing, a Chinese restaurateur on Burgundy Street, first proposed the idea of constructing the tomb. A small fireplace within the walk-in tomb allowed visitors to burn prayer notes, paper money and other offerings for their deceased relatives. The hospital for women and children operated from 1905 to 1979, when it went bankrupt. Ho says most Chinese immigrants to New Orleans were Cantonese speakers from the Seiyap region of central Guangdong province in South China. Since most of them would return home to China every few years and hoped to have their remains moved there after their death, the tomb at Cypress Grove initially was intended for temporary inter...