Congressional Cemetery

Join Us for G**s & Graves: A Big Gay Festival — Celebrate Pride Where LGBTQ+ History Lives!

Sunday, June 14th at Historic Congressional Cemetery 11-4.

This June, step into Pride like never before, at the intersection of celebration, history, and community. G**s & Graves: A Big Gay Festival will bring color, creativity, and connection to one of DC’s most iconic resting places.

What to Expect:

A Vibrant LGBTQIA+ Maker Market featuring artists, makers, and small businesses offering handmade goods, art, tasty treats, and more.

Live Programming in Our Historic Chapel.

Pride History & Reflection: Learn about the lives and legacies of LGBTQ+ pioneers buried here at Gay Corner and explore how our stories continue to shape the future.

Whether you're coming to shop, listen, create, or reflect, this is a one-of-a-kind Pride experience you won’t want to miss. Everyone is welcome. Bring your friends, your family, and yes—your dogs (on leash, of course!)

Earlier this week HCC staff photographed some lovely Black Hollyhocks. Planted by an Adopt-a-Plot volunteer, these flowers beckon the onlooker to pause a admire! Next time you visit, be sure to take time and enjoy the beautiful adopt-a-plot gardens.

Tickets for Cinematery: National Treasure are on sale! 🔍

Are you ready for adventure at Congressional Cemetery? While we may not have any hidden masonic treasure in the cemetery (or so you think), we hope you'll still join us for a Cinematery screening of National Treasure, happening Friday, July 17th! Bring your family, friends, and partners in crime for this history filled adventure!

Be sure to look out for Cinematery: Jurassic Park, happening September 11th. Tickets are on sale. 🦕

Find tickets for National Treasure: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/congressionalcemetery/cinematery-national-treasure

Find tickets for Jurassic Park: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/congressionalcemetery/cinematery-jurassic-park

Last week, the Congressional Cemetery Docent Corps visited a hidden gem in downtown DC, the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. Site manager Madeleine Thompson led an inspiring and insightful tour of the building on 7th Street NW where Barton and others worked to identify 22,000 men who were missing at the close of the Civil War. Thank you to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office staff for welcoming our docents and sharing this important history.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday dedicated to mourning members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in service to their nation. Interred residents of Historic Congressional Cemetery who gave the ultimate sacrifice include Col. Trueman Cross (1846), Master’s Mate Stephen M. Carey (1864), and Lt. Calvin B. Meyers (1944).

What we know as Memorial Day today evolved from Decoration Day. The earliest Decoration Day celebration was held on May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. In these waning days of the Civil War, approximately 10,000 people, mostly comprised of the freed Black community, engaged in a series of activities to honor fallen members of the Union Army. 3,000 Black schoolchildren from the newly-established Freedman’s Bureau schools paraded and sang “John Brown’s Body.” Black and white men and women followed, and demonstrations were conducted by soldiers that included the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. Black ministers read from the Bible. These festivities occurred at a former racetrack that had been used as a prison camp and, in turn, the mass grave of imprisoned Union troops. Days prior, 28 Black men worked to re-bury the unidentified troops in proper graves. They surrounded the burial site with a fence, and erected an entryway arch that read, “Martyrs of the Racecourse.” The May 1st activities included laying flowers on the soldiers’ graves.

In the ensuing years, Black communities throughout the US engaged in similar activities at their respective cemeteries. On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans organization issued General Order No. 11, which designated May 30th of that year “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion[.]” It later became a codified tradition, now held on the last Monday of May.

Though Memorial Day is intended to specifically honor members of the US Armed Forces who died in the line of duty, often cemeteries decorate the graves of all veterans for the holiday. Memorial Day has morphed over a century and a half, but it remains an occasion of respect and reflection.

Due to inclement weather Heist Night with is postponed to May 30th. Ticket purchasers should look out for an email from Congressional Cemetery containing more information.

July's Tombs and Tomes pick is The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne by Kate Winkler Dawson . Join us either in person, or virtual!

Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, crime historian, and returning Tombs and Tomes author Kate Winkler Dawson tells the chilling true story of a young woman whose scandalous life was rumored to be Nathaniel Hawthorne’s inspiration for The Scarlet Letter—and whose shocking death inspired the first true-crime book published in America. Using modern investigative advancements—such as “forensic knot analysis” to determine the cause of death, the prosecutor’s notes from 1833, and criminal profiling, which was invented 55 years later with Jack the Ripper—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’ research to find the truth.

Along the way, she also examines how society decides who is the “right kind” of crime victim and how America’s long history of religious evangelism may have clouded the facts both in the 1830s and today. Ultimately, The Sinners All Bow brings justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.

See you all at Congressional Cemetery on July 14th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm inside our historic chapel for an engaging discussion on this fascinating book.

Can't make it? Join on Zoom on July 15th, for our Virtual Tombs & Tomes!

As always, our Tombs and Tomes book club is free to join and mostly free to attend. For each in-person meeting, we simply ask that you bring either a $5 donation or a bit of food or drink to share with the group.

We look forward to exploring this journey with you. Bring your thoughts, questions, and curiosity!

This World Bee Day, join us in planting pollinator-friendly blooms, choosing natural pest controls, and together, we can ensure that these tiny marvels continue to thrive.

Nestled along the banks of the Anacostia River, Historic Congressional Cemetery has been home to a thriving apiary since Spring 2018. Our hives, lovingly tended by the DC Beekeepers Alliance and Second Story Honey, have transformed headstones and ancient trees into a living garden where each foraging flight sustains native wildflowers and preserves biodiversity in the heart of the city.

Our worker bees collectively travel thousands of miles to craft DC’s finest local honey, our Rest In Bees wildflower honey.
Our next harvest is coming in early Fall, so stay tuned!

Our death doula in residence, Laura Lyster-Mensh, has begun a journey to visit all the cemeteries in Washington DC in 2026!

She writes in her Substack, " ... [I am] unable to settle for just visiting more, or doing it when I 'have time,' I am making time in my busy life to sit vigil at all of them in 2026..."

You're invited to join her, share and suggest locations, and follow along as she documents this journey. Learn more about why she's starting this journey and how you can get involved by subscribing for free to her Substack: https://lauralalaboom.substack.com/

There's still time to register for ' Pride 5k! The race celebrates everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community and is a welcoming space for all members and allies to join in a fun morning of sport.

🏳️‍🌈Click this link to learn more and register https://runsignup.com/Race/DC/Washington/DCFRPrideRun