The building has two rooms, a non-denominational chapel in the front and a barrel vault of brick covered with an earthen mound in the rear. A heavy steel safe door guards the entrance to the vault. Built before refrigeration, the naturally cool vault was constructed to store bodies until a suitable burying date could be arranged.

The chapel was used up until 1954 for funeral services for the sum of $10. After that, it was used for the storage of cemetery equipment and its upkeep was neglected until 1992 when KCLF took on the project of its restoration. Over the next 17 years drainage, stonework, ironwork, woodwork, plastering, painting, climate control, lighting, security, and windows have been redone with the financial aid of the City of Mount Vernon. Work remains to be done on the interior with the preservation of the floor being the most difficult and probably most costly single item to date.

Mound View Cemetery Chapel

The Mound View Cemetery Chapel was built between the years of 1884 and 1886 by the Superintendent of the Grounds, Orville Washington Hubbell in the Victorian Gothic style.

The primary architectural distinction of this building aside from its beautiful Gothic form as applied to a mortuary chapel is the tile work. Encaustic tile flooring and dadoes were installed, evidence that it was to conform to the highest standards of style. Overall, the chapel’s tiles constitute a superb example of 19th-century ceramic art.