page_title: Prospect Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
section_title: Founding the cemetery
hierarchical_section_title: Prospect Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) / Founding of the cemetery and management issues / Founding the cemetery
caption_attribution_description: Concordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory, a building in Washington, D.C. that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is now known as the United Church.
context_page_description: Prospect Hill Cemetery, also known as the German Cemetery, is a historic German-American cemetery founded in 1858 and located at 2201 North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C. From 1886 to 1895, the Prospect Hill Cemetery board of directors battled a rival organization which illegally attempted to take title to the grounds and sell a portion of them as building lots. From 1886 to 1898, the cemetery also engaged in a struggle against the District of Columbia and the United States Congress, which wanted construct a major thoroughfare through the center of the cemetery. This led to the passage of an Act of Congress, the declaration of a federal law to be unconstitutional, the passage of a second Act of Congress, a second major court battle, and the declaration by the courts that the city's eminent domain procedures were unconstitutional. North Capitol Street was built, and the cemetery compensated fairly for its property.
  In the 20th century, Prospect Hill Cemetery sold unneeded land, demolished its chapel, and reoriented the cemetery's main entrance toward North Capitol Street and away from Lincoln Road NE.
context_section_description: The German Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized by German immigrants to Washington, D.C., on January 27, 1833. The small Lutheran and Reformed congregation first worshipped at City Hall along with Catholics and Jews. In 1853, the Reformed and Lutheran elements of the congregation erected a church building at 20th and G Streets NW and changed the name of the congregation to Concordia Church. The growth in the church was due to the burgeoning German community in the city as well as the influence of Reverend Samuel D. Finkle (or Finckel), who assumed the pulpit on December 27, 1846. The church had a small burying ground adjacent to it. The congregants soon built a parsonage and parochial school, and established a German Evangelical Church Society in 1847 to assist with administration, fundraising, and other church affairs.
  In 1858, the German Evangelical Church Society decided to purchase a cemetery for Concordia Church. The society bought a site, but then discovered that the title to it was not clear. A second site was then sought. Seventeen acres of Moore's Farm, located in the Glenwood neighborhood (now known as Edgewood), were purchased for $7,000 ($206,850 in 2019 dollars) on September 23, 1858. Title in the land was invested in two members of the German Evangelical Church Society, although the deed of transfer specified that the title should be transferred to an appropriate corporate organization once a charter was obtained from Congress (which, at that time, chartered corporations in the District of Columbia). The whites-only cemetery was dedicated on September 26, 1858, with a parade featuring a band and three German membership associations. Reverend Finkle, who led the ceremonies and blessed the grounds, declared the cemetery open to all classes and members of any religious sect.
caption: The German Evangelical Church Society of Concordia Church (pictured) bought and founded Prospect Hill Cemetery.
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