Monument to Charlotte Canda (1828-1845), ca. 1865-1890. Once the finest monument in Green-Wood, and the most-visited cemetery monument in America, the monument to Charlotte Canda (1828-1845) memorializes a young girl who died a tragic death in a carriage accident on the night of her seventeenth birthday. The basic design of Charlotte’s monument was sketched by her as a memorial to her recently deceased aunt. After Charlotte’s death, her father adapted to sketch to memorialize his daughter, including elements such as the books, musical and drawing instruments that she was so fond of, and the parrots that were her constant companions. Charlotte’s effigy appears in the niche, with a star above it, symbolizing immortal life. A butterfly with wings extended is emblematic of her liberated spirit. To commemorate Charlotte’s age at death, 17 rose buds, symbolic of a female life cut short, make up the wreath around her head; the monument is 17 feet high and 17 feet deep. The monument, with the exception of the angels (which were carved in Italy), was executed by John Frazee (1790-1852) and Robert Launitz (1806-1870). Long lost from exposure to the elements, Canda’s epitaph once read: “So sinks from sight Eve’s golden star / Lost in the watery depths afar/ Yet still does the fair planet burn / Not hopeless is our Charlotte’s urn / In God’s own morn her orb will rise / Once more – a star of Paradise.” (Lot 1380, Sec. 92/106)

Monument to Charlotte Canda, ca. 1874.

Detailed view of monument to Charlotte Canda, ca. 1875.

Monument to Charlotte Canda, ca. 1890.

Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. By the early 1860s, it had earned an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became the prestigious place to be buried, attracting 500,000 visitors a year, second only to Niagara Falls as the nation’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked there to enjoy family outings, carriage rides, and sculpture viewing in the finest of first generation American landscapes. Green-Wood’s popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks. This tour takes you through some of the monuments of Green-Wood and its famous denizens.

Monument to Charlotte Canda, ca. 1865.