Greenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.HistoryThe cemetery officially opened on October 26, 1869, after being converted from a farm. It covers 43acre. The cemetery was established by the benevolent order of the Knights of Pythias, for the interment of their members and others. The company was chartered on December 9, 1869 and bought the property, which had been "Mount Airy", the residence of Commodore Stephen Decatur, Sr. Originally chartered as "The Greenwood Cemetery Company of Philadelphia", the charter was changed to the "Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery Company of Philadelphia" on March 18, 1870.Greenwood Cemetery was modeled after the rural cemetery movement of the mid 19th century. Designed by architect Thomas S. Levy, the plans for the cemetery were very grand with rolling hills, naturalistic plantings, pathways arranged in a spoke-and-circle pattern, an artificial lake and a large gatehouse. The gatehouse and lake were never realized.Portions of the historic house at the entrance date back to 1750-1775. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, lived on the farm in the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, a major addition to the house gave it the appearance of a vernacular federal structure. Recent evidence, however, dates the construction of the house to the 1830s or later. Behind the house is a receiving vault emblazoned with Knights of Pythias insignia and inscribed with a date of 1870.
