Community Events

Elmwood Cemetery has been integrated since its founding in 1846, making it one of the oldest integrated cemeteries in the Midwest and a rich site of Detroit’s Black heritage. Join Jamon Jordan, Official Historian for the City of Detroit, for a tour of that heritage on July 19 at 11 a.m. From abolitionists William Lambert and George DeBaptiste to Mayor Coleman Young and Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg, we’ll visit notable Black leaders, luminaries, activists, entrepreneurs, artists and more who made Detroit the city it is today. This tour is free, but please sign up here.

See Elmwood in a new light! Join us for a twilight stroll of the cemetery in July. We'll talk about the cemetery's history and visit some of our notable residents before returning to the gatehouse as the sun sets and the moon rises. Sign up here for the twilight walk on Sunday, July 27, at 7 p.m.

Join the Detroit Bird Alliance and the Historic Elmwood Foundation for a birding walk at the cemetery! This is a great field trip for birders of all ages and experience levels. We'll walk the grounds to identify the species we see throughout the cemetery and discuss bird migration, habitats and a few Elmwood history highlights. Bring your own binoculars, or Detroit Bird Alliance will have some on-hand to borrow. We will gather in the chapel following the walk for refreshments and discussion. Saturday, August 9 at 8:30 a.m. Register with the Detroit Bird Alliance at their Eventbrite. 

Detroit, once known by the code name “Midnight,” was one of the last and most important stops on the Underground Railroad and home to a robust Black-led community of anti-slavery activists, many of whom are buried at Elmwood. Join Jamon Jordan, Official Historian of the City of Detroit, for a tour exploring the history and context of the Underground Railroad in Detroit and Michigan. Elmwood is proud to be a significant site on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. August 10 at 11 a.m. The tour is free, but registration is required; sign up here. 

For our history walking tour in August, we'll focus on notable women of Elmwood: activists, artists, politicians, philanthropists, journalists, suffragists and more. It's free, but please RSVP! Sunday, August 24 at 10 a.m. Learn more and register here.