Est. 1867 · Rural Cemetery Movement · Victorian Gothic Revival Chapel · Louisa Howard Philanthropy · Vermont Civic Burial Ground
Lakeview Cemetery was laid out in the second wave of the American 'rural cemetery' movement, set on a bluff overlooking Lake Champlain at the northern edge of Burlington. The city purchased its initial 23 acres from H. B. Sawyer in 1867 for $3,500, then added 7 more acres from J. A. Arthur the following year for $2,000. After several years of layout work the cemetery was formally dedicated in 1871.
The property's most distinctive built feature is the Louisa Howard Chapel. Burlington philanthropist Louisa Howard funded its construction; the stone Victorian Gothic Revival chapel was completed in the 1880s and dedicated in 1882. It overlooks Lake Champlain and remains the cemetery's signature architectural landmark. Restoration work, funded beginning in the 1990s, was completed in 2006.
The cemetery is a non-denominational property owned by the city of Burlington. A volunteer 'Friends of Lakeview Cemetery' group has continued maintenance and restoration efforts since the early 1990s. The grounds contain burials of Vermont governors, U.S. senators, Medal of Honor recipients, military officers, and a wide cross-section of civic figures spanning from the Civil War era to the 20th century.
Lakeview is the subject of Thea Lewis's book Lakeview Cemetery of Burlington, Vermont (Arcadia/The History Press, 2019), which combines biographical history of notable burials with the ghost stories the cemetery has accumulated.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Cemetery_(Burlington,_Vermont)
- https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/qanda-exploring-lakeview-cemetery-at-night-with-queen-city-ghostwalk-39467402/
- https://www.amazon.com/Lakeview-Cemetery-Burlington-Vermont-Landmarks/dp/1467142808
- https://travelingforhistory.com/2021/10/31/a-haunting-experience-at-lakeview-cemetery/
Figures walking among monuments at duskApparitions near specific gravesSensed presence
The paranormal reputation at Lakeview is structured almost entirely around Queen City Ghostwalk's evening tour program, which has been running since founder Thea Lewis launched the company in 2002. Lewis brought on Holli Bushnell — a sexton for Burlington cemeteries with substantial direct knowledge of the grounds and burials — and musician/composer Rebecca Ryskalczyk as additional guides for the after-dark cemetery walks. The tours typically begin at 6 p.m. and run on full-moon evenings during the season.
The tour stops at notable gravestones, where Lewis combines documented biography with reported visitor encounters. The Lakeview chapter of Lewis's 2019 Arcadia/History Press book Lakeview Cemetery of Burlington, Vermont collects these accumulated stories in print form. Reported phenomena follow the standard rural-cemetery template: figures glimpsed walking among monuments at dusk, momentary apparitions near specific graves, and isolated sensed-presence reports.
The Seven Days Q&A coverage of the tour focuses on the experience and storytelling rather than documenting any individual investigation. Specific dramatic incidents — including widely repeated accounts of visitors capturing ghostly figures on camera — circulate within the tour's oral tradition but are not anchored to primary documentation in the sources reviewed here.
Lewis's book and Queen City Ghostwalk's tours together effectively constitute the dominant paranormal source for this site. The site's strength as ghost lore is the cumulative biographical density of the place — the layered Vermont history embedded in its monuments — rather than any single anchor event.
Notable Entities
Various — tour stops at multiple notable Vermont burials
Media Appearances
- Lakeview Cemetery of Burlington, Vermont — Thea Lewis (Arcadia / The History Press, 2019)
- Seven Days — Q&A: Exploring Lakeview Cemetery at Night With Queen City Ghostwalk
