On this day in history

As of April 14, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Steps: 2,367,295
Miles: 992.94


On the night of April 14th, the Titanic struck an iceberg, and sank two hours and forty minutes later on April 15, 1912.

The sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, ranking it as one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history and by far the most famous.

Oh, they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue,
And they thought they had a ship that the
water would never leak through,
But the Lord's almighty hand said this ship would never land
Oh it was sad when the great ship went down!

Oh, it was sad, Oh, it was sad; Oh, it was sad, Oh, it was sad;
It was sad when the great ship went down, to the bottom of the ...
Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives,
It was sad when that great ship went down.

What isn't so well known is this:

According to the statistics from the existing records of the White Star Line, managing company of the R.M.S. Titanic, there were 98 passengers destined for Pennsylvania on that fateful voyage in April of 1912. Of that number, forty-five were from the Philadelphia area. Twelve are entombed in Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries.


Founded in 1836, Laurel Hill claims it is more than just a cemetery. It is an outdoor sculptural garden, a horticultural gem and a truly unique historical resource. In addition to the Titanic dead, forty Civil War-era generals including George G. Meade (he of both the lighthouse building and Gettysburg fame)

Source


The cemetery is adjacent to Fairmount Park and accessible from the Schuylkill River Trail.


Laurel Hill is on the far left

History hangs heavy on the hillsides. I will walk through the cemetery again, some dark and stormy night. It is on my list of places to walk again, after all, much to the delight of Nascar fans everywhere, the entrance to Laurel Hill from the Schuylkill River Trail, is a left turn.

Posted by the Custodian for the Real World Walker