Learn about influential locals during this Ann Arbor cemetery stroll

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – “Meet” historically influential Ann Arborites at Fairview Cemetary this fall while strolling among gravesites.

Locals can visit seven different spots to learn about notable community members and sites in the cemetery. Stops on the self-guided stroll include former Ann Arbor Fire Department Fire Chief Benjamin Zahn Sr., longtime resident Rosemarion Blake, and poet Robert Hayden and his wife, composer Erma Hayden.

Visitors can also learn about the Jane and John Does buried in the cemetery after donating their bodies to the University of Michigan Medical School anatomical donations program between 1915 and 1942.

One of the sites, the grave of John “Felix” White, is part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom project. White, a former enslaved man in Kentucky, escaped and headed north to eventually settle in Ann Arbor.

There is also a Civil War Monument listing the names of soldiers who died in battle and commemorating those who served in Ann Arbor’s 5th Ward.

Find information about the cemetery stroll here.

Know of someone buried at Fairview that you think deserves some spotlight? Send an email to the city clerk at CityClerk@a2gov.org.

Fairview Cemetary is at 1401 Wright St.