Ideology in Historic Cemeteries: A Case Study from St. Paul,OR

Abstract

A cultural landscape and material culture analysis of the two historic cemeteries in St. Paul, Oregon has recently shed light on the various social and cultural forces that shaped the ‘deathscape’ of this small rural community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Boulware 2008). Using the findings put forth in this study, a reexamination of the mortuary material culture and cultural landscape is conducted through the theoretical lens of ideology. A review of this often baffling concept will lay the foundation for this continuing investigation into the lives of early St. Paul residents.