Reflecting Upon the Commemoration of Faculty Row’s Historic Residents

By Madelyn McKinney and Rylee LaLonde

Introduction
Cemeteries are some of the most beneficial archaeological data sources in existence. These landscapes of death and memorialization “mirror society by exaggerating its dominant social norms in microcosm” and essentially function as quiet reflections of the communities and time periods that they represent (Dawdy 2021, 148). Serving as a direct contradiction to the oft mentioned idea of “death as the great equalizer,” cemeteries reinforce and even reassert social inequalities, placing within the same fences wealthy city-founders and nameless infant paupers, or separating such persons into different burial grounds on the basis of their socially constructed or enforced races, classes, religions, or other identities. 

While cemeteries are often considered to be dreary or gloomy places, they are also fascinating locales filled to the brim with stories. Each individual marker—perhaps because of a name, a date, a rumor, a legend, or a mysterious symbol—functions as the starting point of one of these life histories. All it takes to uncover the reality behind one such story is a bit of research—or a willingness to piece together diverse fragments into a cohesive narrative (Sprackland 2021, 4). 

It was with this idea in mind that two Campus Archaeology Program fellows (Madelyn McKinney and Rylee LaLonde) began considering the idea of expanding what campus archaeology truly means. While CAP typically works directly on campus and sites related to its history (or sites that pre-date the institution yet now lie on its land), it rarely ventures off campus. After all, we aren’t the off-campus archaeology program. However, the archaeology of campus certainly extends beyond the university’s borders, and cemeteries are one of the most obvious places in which it does so. Thus, the two of us decided to move forward with a plan to examine the grave markers of figures who were influential in MSU’s history in some way: famous Faculty Row professors, prominent presidents of the university, indefatigable farmers without whose land the university would not exist in the way it does today, and many others. 

It is important to note here that cemetery archaeology never has to involve digging—aboveground archaeology, too, is important, and consists of observing, recording, and researching the material culture of these commemorative landscapes. Our aims, and the aims of many cemetery-focused archaeologists, are not to study skeletal remains or funerary hardware, but to locate graves associated with the population we are studying; ponder cemetery layouts and symbology; peruse burial records and other archival materials; document names, grave offerings, and preservation statuses; and so much more! I could go on and on—but let us continue now into the first installment of what we hope to be a series of cemetery-focused blog posts! This post will focus on some of MSU’s earliest and most notable figures, like Drs. Theophilus Abbot and Robert Sidey Shaw. While research into similarly iconic figures like Drs. William J. Beal, Thomas Gunson, and Walter Bradford Barrows has also taken place, it will be published in a future blog post. Stay tuned!

President Theophilus Capen Abbot

Dr. Theophilus Capen Abbot (1826-1892) was one of Michigan State University’s first faculty members as well as its third president. Born, raised, and having received a master’s degree in Maine, Abbot eventually moved to Vermont for his first major teaching position at a theological seminary. Over a decade later, he accepted a position as an English Literature professor at Michigan State University, known at the time as the State Agricultural College. While serving in the English department (and occasionally the Engineering department) and as the university’s third president, he worked toward and obtained his LL.D. (doctoral degree in legal studies) from the University of Michigan. With this degree in hand, Abbot began teaching as a professor of Mental Philosophy and Logic rather than English Literature or Civil Engineering, continuing his presidency until 1885 and teaching until 1889. He finally retired after working for the university for a total of 31 years (22 of which were spent doing double-time as both president and professor!). At the relatively young age of 66, Abbot passed away, having left an immense impact on the institution that he had long called home (Michigan State University Archives & Collections 2012; Forsyth n.d.).

Abbot’s name now adorns East Lansing’s Abbot Road, which runs through town and directly past MSU’s student union. This provides a constant (though unknown by many) connection between the university of today and the university of the nineteenth century. Abbot’s name, more than half a century ago now, also once graced Abbot Hall, a university-owned dormitory constructed in 1888 and torn down in 1947 (Forsyth n.d.). This dormitory, post-dating the iconic Saints’ Rest and built to ease the overpopulation of early dormitories Wells Hall and Williams Hall, originally housed male students, then transitioned to an all-female population for a brief period of time (1896-1900) before once again becoming a male dormitory, hitherto supporting a co-ed population post-1920. Briefly serving as a building for music practice after its use as a dormitory became unnecessary, Abbot Hall was permanently closed and lamentably demolished in 1947 (Forsyth n.d.). Have no fear, though! Abbot’s name remains present on campus through the aforementioned Abbot Road as well as Mason-Abbot Hall, a residential hall constructed in the 1930s that still remains operational (and well-populated!) today. 

President Robert Sidey Shaw

Shaw created multiple new divisions within the College, including implementing new courses in Hotel Administration, Public Administration, and Physical Education; as well as introducing new positions (Dean of Men and Dean of Women) in an attempt to expand academic and administrative infrastructure for both men and women (Badgley Malone, n.d.). 

Shaw’s physical imprint on the campus was equally lasting. Many of the buildings that have become institutionalized landmarks were erected or planned during his administration. Mary Mayo Hall, completed in 1932, was the first self-liquidating college dormitory in the United States (Badgley Malone, n.d.). Construction of MSU’s iconic Beaumont Tower also began in 1928. Even the Women’s Cooperative Houses (1936-1956) included President Shaw’s previous home on campus, later known as “Shaw House,” before its demolition (Forsyth, n.d.) One of Shaw’s most beneficial acts for the university was the purchase of over 1,000 acres of land surrounding the college, allowing for future growth of the campus (Badgley Malone, n.d.). At the time of his retirement in 1941, the college’s staff had tripled, and enrollment had more than doubled- from 2,813 students to 6,776 (Badgley Malone, n.d.).

Shaw remained in East Lansing after his retirement, continuing to be an active part of the community. He died here on February 7, 1953. His legacy is still visible on campus today- Shaw Hall, a dormitory on the south side of the Red Cedar River, bears his name; as well as Shaw Lane, the main thoroughfare running across the heart of campus.

Burial Markers
T. C. Abbot

This leads us to the main point of this blog post: how were Drs. Theophilus Abbot and Robert Sidey Shaw memorialized aside from their namesake buildings and roads at the university?

Let’s start with a discussion of President Abbot’s grave markers. Like many of East Lansing and Lansing’s most influential figures, Abbot was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery: the oldest of contemporary Lansing’s three gorgeous, city-owned cemeteries. His personal grave marker (see to the right) is a small one, embellished with only his first and middle initials, last name, and dates of birth and death. Nearby is the monumental Abbot family marker, which stands tall and seems to have remained perfectly intact since its erection. Though one marker remains steadfastly upright and the other is gently sinking into the cemetery’s grounds, neither of these markers tell much of Abbot’s story… which is perhaps why 75 of Abbot’s “devoted friends and students” placed a beautiful bronze memorial plaque on the larger marker in 1928, ensuring that Abbot’s legacy would stand out in Mount Hope as much as it does on the university’s campus (MSU Archives & Collections 2021).

Aside from functioning as a gesture of respect, this large memorial plaque (see to the left) also serves as one of love, as its words–now patinated bronze after a century of weathering–briefly but thoroughly describe the man whose remains lie beneath them. As a “token of [friends’ and pupils’] undying affection, gratitude and reverence,” the plaque functions to immortalize Abbot’s contributions to the university, calling him a “prophet in education” and gratefully describing his work as science used for the good of humanity. While the plaque acknowledges Abbot’s presidency and scholarship, it focuses most of all on his impact: one of love, sympathy, and a devotion to leaving the world a better place than he found it. 

Abbot’s name–Theophilus–is a difficult one to live up to, with Greek roots (“philo” [love] and “theo” [God]) ensuring that, aside from having an incredibly cool name, Abbot had one that might have placed some amount of pressure on him. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he certainly shaped Michigan State University into what it is today, and it seems apt that his grave markers–and the commemorative plaque added to them by his friends and students–are a mere 10-minute drive from Cowles’ House, his long-term and still beloved residence on MSU’s Faculty Row. 

R. S. Shaw

Similarly to Abbot- Shaw, one of many notable figures laid to rest at Mount Hope Cemetery, was interred following his passing in 1953. The weight of his loss rippled throughout the Michigan State College community. The Spartan Alumni Magazine, The Record, honored his memory with a prominent photograph of Shaw on its cover and a dedicated feature in the March 1, 1953 edition, sharing that “Michigan State College alumni, students and faculty lost a close friend last month” (5). Despite the considerable mark he left on MSC and the greater Lansing community, Shaw remained humble in death as he had appeared to be in life. His grave reflects his quiet character. Shaw’s individual marker (see to the right) bears only his first name and middle initial, accompanied by the years of his birth and death.

Beside it stands his family monument, a shared stone that is similarly simple in design. Most likely carved from granite, the name SHAW is displayed prominently at its center, flanked by softly engraved daffodils on either side (see below). Together, the two markers capture something of the President Emeritus Shaw himself: a figure of quiet significance, remembered not through grandeur but through a modest, enduring presence – fittingly situated at the front of the cemetery where visitors can easily take notice.

MSU and the Greater Lansing Community: Mount Hope Cemetery

Despite the imprints past faculty and staff have left on campus, the story of Michigan State’s guiding figures is not only present at the university itself, but also extends into the surrounding Lansing community. Nowhere is that extension more tangible than at Mount Hope Cemetery. Established in 1873 and named after a cemetery in New York where many of Michigan’s early pioneers had come from, Mount Hope became the final resting place for hundreds of Lansing’s most prominent people, including more than a few figures deeply connected to MSU (Unknown, n.d.). 

Among them, of course, is Theophilus Capen Abbot, the third president of Michigan Agricultural College. Abbot’s grave at Mount Hope was the site of a particularly meaningful gathering in June of 1928—which happens to have been the same year that Robert Sidey Shaw was officially appointed president—when many former students and colleagues assembled to unveil the aforementioned bronze memorial tablet in his honor (MAC, 2021).

Also at rest in Mount Hope are figures like William James Beal, Thomas Gunson, and Walter Bradford Barrows: individuals who were responsible for the physical and botanical presence of life on MSU’s campus. Beal, a professor of botany and horticulture, founded the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden in 1873, the oldest continuously operated university botanical garden in the United States (MAC, 2021). Gunson served, for over thirty years, as the superintendent of the campus grounds and taught horticultural classes for more than twenty years. From 1909 to 1914, he also served as the third mayor of the City of East Lansing (MAC, 2021). Beal and Gunson are buried side by side in a joint plot at Mount Hope, their burials marked by a rose quartz stone imported from the Connecticut River basin by Beal’s daughter and the Gunson family- demonstrating their friendship’s extension from life into death. Barrows, bringing a different perspective of life to campus from the sky, was a professor of zoology and physiology at Michigan Agricultural College in 1894. One of his many achievements was the creation of comprehensive documentation recording Michigan’s birds (MSU Library, n.d.). Together, these three men contributed to the campus’ living texture: its trees, its gardens, and its wildlife- cultivating a deep-rooted relationship with the natural world that remains in practice today.

Finally, Robert S. Shaw, too, is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. He guided MSU through some of its most transformative years as a university, and his final resting place is appropriately located within the same Lansing burial ground as Abbot, the famous president who preceded him by decades; Beal, the botanist whose garden still stands on campus; Gunson, the groundskeeper who tended it; and many others.

Mount Hope is more than just a cemetery; for those who know MSU’s history, it is an extension of the university itself: a space where the lives of those who built and cared for the institution and the city are permanently and quietly intertwined.

Bibliography

Badgley Malone, M. (n.d.). Exhibit – President Robert S. Shaw (1928–1941). On the banks of the red cedar. https://onthebanks.msu.edu/Exhibit/162-567-60/president-robert-s-shaw/ 

Dawdy, Shannon Lee. 2021. American Afterlives: Reinventing Death in the Twenty-First Century. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Forsyth, Kevin S. (n.d.). Faculty Row No. 7–Cowles House (1857, 1950). A Brief History of East  Lansing (blog). https://kevinforsyth.net/ELMAC/cowles-house/. Accessed April 20, 2026.

Forsyth, Kevin S. (n.d.). Abbot Hall (1888-1967). A Brief History of East Lansing (blog). https://kevinforsyth.net/ELMAC/abbot-hall/. Accessed April 20, 2026.

MSU Library. (n.d.). Collection: Walter Bradford Barrows papers | archives and manuscripts. https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/35 

Michigan State University Archives & Collections. 2012. New Acquisition: The Journals of T.C.  Abbot. Theophilus Abbot | Archives at MSU. https://msuarchives.wordpress.com/ tag/theophilus-abbot/. Accessed April 20, 2026.

Michigan State University Archives & Collections. 2021. A Stroll through Mt. Hope Cemetery |  Archives at MSU. https://msuarchives.wordpress.com/2021/10/27/a-stroll- through-mt-hope-cemetery/. Accessed April 20, 2026.

Sprackland, Jean. 2021. These Silent Mansions: A Life in Graveyards. Vintage Books, New York City.

Unknown. (n.d.). Mt. Hope Cemetery. Lansing, MI – Official Website. https://www.lansingmi.gov/449/Mt-Hope-Cemetery 

Unknown. (n.d.-b). Spartan Alumni Magazine, Michigan State College. The Record.
https://onthebanks.msu.edu/recordFiles/162 565-941/19530301sm.pdf