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History of the Dumbhundred
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An overview of how Dumbhundred developed as a working neighborhood and became part of Cumberland’s historic landscape. It introduces the people, buildings, streets, institutions, and traditions explored throughout this series.
St. Patrick Cemetery:
History on the Edge of Dumbhundred
Entrance to Saint Patrick Cemetery at Fairview and Furnace streets
in Cumberland. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
At the corner of Fairview and Furnace streets, Saint Patrick Cemetery occupies a quiet hillside overlooking North Cumberland. Its monuments preserve the names of immigrants, laborers, clergy members, public officials, children, and generations of Cumberland families.
The cemetery also forms part of the historic landscape of Dumbhundred. In its 2004 revision of the Dumbhundred Historic District survey, the Maryland Historical Trust extended the district boundary along the cemetery’s northern edge. The accompanying map places the cemetery inside the expanded historic district.
FROM AN EARLY CHURCHYARD TO FURNACE STREET
The history of Saint Patrick Cemetery begins with Cumberland’s earliest Catholic congregation. Established about 1790–1791 and originally known as Saint Mary’s, the congregation first worshiped in a log church and later in a brick church on the Centre Street property.
The present church at 201 North Centre Street was designed by Irish-born architect John Tehan and dedicated in November 1851. As Cumberland’s Irish Catholic population grew, it became known as the Church of Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick Church on Centre Street is not a former or abandoned church. It remains an active Catholic place of worship, although Saint Patrick is no longer an independent parish.
FROM AN EARLY CHURCHYARD TO FURNACE STREET
The history of Saint Patrick Cemetery begins with Cumberland’s earliest Catholic congregation. Established about 1790–1791 and originally known as Saint Mary’s, the congregation first worshiped in a log church and later in a brick church on the Centre Street property.
The present church at 201 North Centre Street was designed by Irish-born architect John Tehan and dedicated in November 1851. As Cumberland’s Irish Catholic population grew, it became known as the Church of Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick Church on Centre Street is not a former or abandoned church. It remains an active Catholic place of worship, although Saint Patrick is no longer an independent parish.
A PRESENT-DAY PARISH NOTE
In 2011, five formerly independent Catholic parishes were consolidated to form Our Lady of the Mountains Parish. They were Saint Patrick, Saint Mary, and Saints Peter and Paul in Cumberland; Saint Ambrose in Cresaptown; and Saint Patrick in Mount Savage.
Following additional changes in 2020, Saint Ambrose Church closed and Saint Patrick Church in Mount Savage ended its regular weekly Masses. The Mount Savage church has been maintained through the Friends of Saint Patrick Mount Savage for limited special Masses and religious observances.
Today, the regular parish Mass schedule is centered at Saint Patrick Church and Saint Mary Church in Cumberland, with weekday Masses also celebrated at the Shrine of Saints Peter and Paul. Some church listings continue to count Saint Patrick in Mount Savage as a fourth Mass location because occasional Masses may still be held there.
Before the Furnace Street cemetery opened, Catholics were buried in a churchyard on the Centre Street property, behind the earlier church buildings that preceded the present 1851 church. These were predecessor buildings on the same property; the current Saint Patrick Church remains active.
A history of Cumberland’s Saints Peter and Paul Church records that the early burial ground was used by both English- and German-speaking Catholics. As Cumberland’s Catholic population increased, separate parish institutions and burial grounds were established.
THE FURNACE STREET CEMETERY OPENS
The present Saint Patrick Cemetery was dedicated in 1862. A parish chronology records the dedication of the cemetery on Furnace Street that year. Thomas J. Stanton’s 1900 history, “A Century of Growth,” credits Father Edward Brennan with purchasing and dedicating the property.
The cemetery therefore opened during the Civil War, when Cumberland was becoming an important transportation and industrial center. Irish immigration had contributed substantially to the growth of Saint Patrick Parish. Many Irish immigrants came to Western Maryland to work on canal projects, while others found employment connected with the National Road, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, coal mining, manufacturing, and Cumberland’s expanding economy.
Saint Patrick Cemetery spreads across a hillside in North Cumberland, preserving more than a century and a half of local Catholic history. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE BURIED THERE?
No authoritative, publicly available source gives an exact total for the number of people buried at Saint Patrick Cemetery.
The volunteer-maintained Find a Grave cemetery index contains more than 4,600 memorial entries. However, that number should not be reported as a final burial count. Online databases may omit unmarked or unreadable graves, contain duplicate entries, or occasionally assign a burial to the wrong cemetery.
The complete number of burials may therefore be higher or lower than the online total. A careful statement is that more than 4,600 burials have been documented online, while the full number remains unverified.
Important original records survive. The Maryland State Archives’ Saint Patrick collection includes parish death records from 1853 to 1884, interment records from 1885 to 1939, cemetery records from 1926 to 1938, and later death registers.
Because the surviving death records begin before the Furnace Street cemetery was dedicated in 1862, an early parish death entry does not necessarily prove that the person was buried at the present cemetery.
THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY GRAVE MARKERS
Many of the cemetery’s most interesting surviving monuments date from the nineteenth century. These early markers provide evidence of families who lived in Cumberland during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the city’s great period of industrial and transportation growth.
The names and dates on the markers can help connect parish records, census listings, city directories, newspaper notices, and family histories. Even a simple stone bearing only a name and two dates can become the beginning of a much larger story.
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Nineteenth-century grave markers at Saint Patrick Cemetery preserve the names of some of Cumberland’s earlier Catholic families. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
STONES WEATHERED BY TIME
Many of the older grave markers are now heavily weather-worn. On some stones, individual letters can still be recognized, while on others the inscriptions have become faint or completely unreadable.
Some of these monuments appear to have been carved from softer or more porous stone than the durable granite commonly used for many later monuments. The exact material of an individual marker should not be identified without closer examination, but sandstone, limestone, and marble are generally more vulnerable to visible weathering than granite.
For more than a century, the stones have been exposed to rain, snow, wind, sunlight, pollution, biological growth, and repeated freezing and thawing. Water can enter the pores and cracks in a stone and expand when it freezes. Over many winters, this can cause surfaces to flake, lettering to soften, and layers of stone to separate.
An inscription that can no longer be read represents more than the loss of a name. It may also mean the disappearance of dates, family relationships, places of birth, religious symbols, and other information that was never recorded elsewhere.
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Time and exposure have erased much of the inscription on this early marker. Weathering makes photographic documentation of the cemetery increasingly important. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
Historic stones should never be scrubbed with wire brushes, cleaned with bleach or harsh chemicals, pressure-washed, chalked, or coated without professional guidance. Improper cleaning can remove original stone along with the dirt and may accelerate deterioration. Anyone concerned about a damaged marker should first contact the cemetery’s administrator and seek qualified preservation advice.
SEARCHING FOR THE OLDEST HEADSTONES
The oldest surviving and readable headstone has not been conclusively identified in the sources presently available online. Because the cemetery was dedicated in 1862, burials from the 1860s are possible. Some early stones may have become broken, illegible, displaced, or lost.
Among the earlier burials documented online are Sophia Ann Cecilia Elder Cahill, who died in 1872, and George McKenzie, who also died in 1872. Other surviving nineteenth-century markers may prove to be earlier when their inscriptions are compared with the original parish records.
The monuments of Father Edward Brennan, who died in 1884, and Congressman William Walsh, who died in 1892, are additional nineteenth-century sites of particular historical interest.
No photographed marker should be described as the cemetery’s oldest stone without first comparing its inscription with the original interment registers. A systematic photographic survey may eventually help establish which readable monument is the earliest surviving example.
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A surviving nineteenth-century marker at Saint Patrick Cemetery. Legible names and dates
can provide important clues for family and local-history research. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
FATHER EDWARD BRENNAN
One of the cemetery’s most important figures is Father Edward Brennan, who served as pastor of Saint Patrick from 1858 until his death in 1884.
During his pastorate, Father Brennan oversaw a period of major institutional growth. In addition to acquiring and dedicating the Furnace Street cemetery, he was associated with the construction of a parish residence and the church spire, the establishment of Saint Edward’s Academy, and the arrival of religious teaching orders in Cumberland.
In 2020, the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization placed an interpretive monument at Father Brennan’s grave. The organization’s account of the dedication describes Brennan’s influence on both Saint Patrick Parish and Cumberland’s larger Catholic community.
CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM WALSH
Another prominent burial is William Walsh, an Irish-born Cumberland attorney and public official.
Walsh was born near Tullamore, Ireland, in 1828 and immigrated to the United States in 1842. He began practicing law in Cumberland in 1852, participated in Maryland’s 1867 constitutional convention, and represented Western Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1875 through 1879.
He died in Cumberland in 1892 and was buried in Saint Patrick Cemetery.
Walsh’s life reflects the growing civic influence of Cumberland’s nineteenth-century Irish community. His grave connects the cemetery not only to parish history but also to Maryland and national political history.
OTHER STORIES IN THE CEMETERY
Saint Patrick Cemetery contains graves associated with many parts of Cumberland’s history. They include immigrants, railroad and industrial workers, business owners, religious leaders, veterans, public officials, parents, and children.
The cemetery also contains graves connected to the Civil War. The Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization erected a monument there in 2003 for John Van Horn, a Confederate soldier. Such burials reflect the divided loyalties found in Maryland, a border state whose residents served on both sides of the conflict.
The graves of ordinary working families are equally important. Together, they reveal the human history behind Cumberland’s churches, industries, neighborhoods, schools, and community organizations.
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WHO MAINTAINS SAINT PATRICK CEMETERY?
Our Lady of the Mountains Parish is responsible for the routine maintenance of Saint Patrick Cemetery. The parish maintains six Catholic cemeteries in Allegany County: Saint Patrick in Cumberland, Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Ambrose, Saint Patrick in Mount Savage, and Oldtown Catholic Cemetery.
According to the parish’s official cemetery information, Our Lady of the Mountains spends as much as $63,000 each summer for grass cutting across the six cemeteries. This is a parish-wide figure and not an amount assigned solely to Saint Patrick Cemetery.
The mowing expense is supported by special collections for cemetery perpetual care and by cemetery-maintenance fees collected when burials are made.
The Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization has also restored or installed selected monuments in Saint Patrick Cemetery. Its projects have included family monuments, the John Van Horn monument, and the interpretive monument at Father Edward Brennan’s grave. These preservation projects supplement the parish’s routine cemetery care, but the organization is not identified as the cemetery’s general administrator.
The parish’s public information does not state that it automatically repairs every privately placed family marker. Responsibility for a toppled, cracked, or damaged monument may depend upon the circumstances, the cemetery’s rules, the family, and the availability of preservation funds.
Anyone concerned about a damaged stone should contact the Our Lady of the Mountains Cemetery and Funeral Coordinator before moving, cleaning, resetting, or repairing it. Well-intentioned but improper work can permanently damage an old monument.
FINDING A FAMILY MEMBER OR ANCESTOR
People searching for a family member or ancestor who may be buried in Saint Patrick Cemetery should begin with the Our Lady of the Mountains Parish Office. The parish has a Cemetery and Funeral Coordinator and may be able to provide information from cemetery or interment records or explain how to locate a particular grave.
Our Lady of the Mountains Parish Office
300 East Oldtown Road, Suite 2
Cumberland, Maryland 21502
Telephone: 301-777-1750
Official cemetery information:
https://www.olmcumberland.org/ministries/our-lady-of-the-mountains-cemetery-information/
When requesting help, it is useful to provide the person’s complete name, alternate spellings, approximate date of death, and the names of a spouse, parents, or other relatives.
The Maryland State Archives is another important resource. Its Saint Patrick Church collection includes death, interment, and cemetery records covering portions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccolm/sc1900/sc1994/003465/html/index.html
The volunteer-created Find a Grave index can also be searched by name:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/81564/saint-patricks-cemetery
Find a Grave is helpful as a starting point, especially when an entry includes a photograph. However, it is not an official or complete cemetery register, and the information should be compared with parish, civil, newspaper, and archival records whenever possible.
PRESERVING A RECORD OF THE CEMETERY
Saint Patrick Cemetery remains an active Catholic burial ground under the care of Our Lady of the Mountains Parish. Its landscape combines historic monuments with more recent family graves and continues to serve as a place of mourning, remembrance, and religious observance.
The cemetery is more than a collection of old stones. It is a record of Cumberland’s Catholic heritage, Irish immigration, working families, religious leadership, political life, and community memory. Within Dumbhundred, it provides a direct connection between the neighborhood and the people who helped build and sustain Cumberland.
A complete photographic inventory—recording names, dates, inscriptions, monument materials, locations, and conditions—could help identify the cemetery’s earliest surviving stones and preserve information that weathering may otherwise erase.
Photographs of stones whose inscriptions are already faint may become increasingly valuable. Even when the inscription can no longer be read, the monument’s shape, carving, material, religious symbolism, and location remain part of the cemetery’s historical record.
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Saint Patrick Cemetery remains both an active Catholic burial ground and an important part of the historic landscape of Dumbhundred. 2026 Photograph by Daniel Mullin.
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Dumbhundred Historic District Survey, Maryland Historical Trust
https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/Medusa/PDF/Allegany/AL-IV-A-143.pdf
Saint Patrick Church History, Our Lady of the Mountains Parish
https://www.olmcumberland.org/churches/saint-patrick-church/
Our Lady of the Mountains Cemetery Information
https://www.olmcumberland.org/ministries/our-lady-of-the-mountains-cemetery-information/
Our Lady of the Mountains Parish Staff
https://www.olmcumberland.org/churches/parish-staff/
Our Lady of the Mountains, Archdiocese of Baltimore
https://www.archbalt.org/parishes/all-parishes/our-lady-of-the-mountains/
List of Consolidated Parishes, Archdiocese of Baltimore
https://www.archbalt.org/parishes/list-of-consolidated-parishes/
“Our Lady of the Mountains Formed,” Catholic Review and Archdiocese of Baltimore
https://www.archbalt.org/our-lady-of-the-mountains-formed-monsignor-hannon-to-take-catholic-center-post/
“Closing Masses Held in Cresaptown, Mount Savage,” Catholic Review
https://catholicreview.org/closing-masses-held-in-cresaptown-mount-savage/
Saint Patrick Parish Records, Maryland State Archives
https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccolm/sc1900/sc1994/003465/html/index.html
Guide to Maryland Catholic Church Records, Maryland State Archives
https://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/viewer.aspx?page=catholicchurchrecords
“A Century of Growth,” Thomas J. Stanton, 1900
https://archive.org/download/centuryofgrowth01stanuoft/centuryofgrowth01stanuoft.pdf
William Walsh, United States House of Representatives
https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/W/WALSH%2C-William-%28W000106%29/
Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization—Affiliated Cemeteries and Monument Projects
https://chco.info/adopted/
Father Edward Brennan Monument, Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization
https://chco.info/latest-news-2020/
Saint Patrick Cemetery Memorial Index, Find a Grave
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/81564/saint-patricks-cemetery
“Preserving Grave Markers in Historic Cemeteries,” National Park Service Preservation Brief No. 48
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/preserving-grave-markers-in-historic-cemeteries-preservation-brief-48.htm
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