Holt Cemetery is an outlier in New Orleans by being one of the only below-ground. While nearby cemeteries have grandiose sculptures, vaults, and elaborate stones and foliage, these grounds feel immediate and human. Dr. Holt, well known for his work in Storyville, established the cemetery in 1879 as a potter’s field. A potter’s field, or paupers grave, is for unclaimed people and those who cannot afford a burial.
The cemetery is now city-owned and in disrepair. Scandals have plagued the space, from a “witch” stealing bones to sell online to misallocated funds.
That aside, it is a beautiful remembrance of loved ones. The majority of headstones and memorials are handmade. People leave jerseys, teddy bears, and painted portraits. It is a living space and ever-changing. As long as a plot is maintained, it will be saved for that person. If it is not being maintained, the city will bury additional people in that spot.
Notably for jazz fans, the cemetery houses Charles “Buddy” Bolden and Jessie Hill Jewell “Babe” Stovall. Bolden’s exact burial spot from 1931 is unknown. Now, he has two headstones, one erected in 1998 that declares, “The blowingist man since Gabriel,” a quote from Jelly Roll Mortan, and one from the Ken Coyler Trust in England.
