East Hampton: Part 2 - South End Cemetery
One of the first places that Jim and I visited while we were exploring East Hampton was the South End Cemetery. I guess I sort of lied when I said that we didn't have any plans for the day, because I did know that there was a cemetery in between the train station and the beach, so of course it was always part of the non-plan plan. It was also Memorial Day, making it an appropriate (but really, when is it ever not appropriate?) and even more necessary stop along the way.
South End is the oldest cemetery in East Hampton, with tombstones dating back to the 17th century. The entire town of East Hampton was peaceful, beautiful and picturesque, and the cemetery was no exception. At one point, Jim said "this is one of the nicest cemeteries I've ever been to," and I totally agree. It was well-manicured, but still had a decaying, crumbling quality that is essential to a good, old cemetery.
The stones were mostly in great condition, but a lot of them had a few different types of lichen (moss? algae? mold?) growing all over that I'd never really seen in a cemetery before — maybe it's their proximity to the ocean and the moist, salty air? This, of course, only makes them creepier and more amazing to look at, and I could have spent hours staring at and photographing each and every one.
Even the stones that had broken or crumbled looked like they had been replaced at some point, with the newer stone sitting directly in front of the older stone. It took me a while to realize that the two stones weren't meant to mark to separate graves, and I appreciate the fact that they at least tried to keep the old stones, instead of just swapping them out for the newer models.
The cemetery is sandwiched in between Town Pond and the historical center of town, and is located across the street from the old Hook Mill, Home Sweet Home and the Mulford Farm museum. As if the historical homes, windmills, picket fences and peaceful waters weren't enough, I looked up from my camera at one point to see actual white swans floating in the pond. There were even children nearby catching frogs in nets and squealing with delight — the whole scene felt straight out of central casting.
There is also a North End cemetery about a mile up the road, but we didn't make it there on this trip — I guess I'll just have to go back so as far as East Hampton cemeteries are concerned, I can say I "collected them all."