Walking Historical Homewood Cemetery

Special Event | FULL (Membership Required)

10/15/2025 (one day)
9:30 AM-11:30 AM EDT on Wed

Walking Historical Homewood Cemetery

Special Event | FULL (Membership Required)

Homewood Cemetery is 205 acres of rolling hills that sits on parts of the land formally by Judge Wilkens who called his mansion "Homewood." Jay Steele, the tour guide with 25 years’ experience, will highlight the best of the cemetery including the main entrance buildings. See the various tombs and mausoleums of Judge Wilkens, George and Pearl Mesta (machine works), Errol Garner (jazz musician), Pie Traynor (Pirate hall of famer), David Clark (candy bar). Included in the tour is section 14-the most noteworthy section of the cemetery: Harry Brown (pyramid), H. J. Heinz (57 varieties), Senator John Heinz (politics), Henry Frick and family (coke and steel), Colonel Schoonmaker (civil war), James Mellon (businessman), Robert Pitcairn (railroads), Ed Bigelow (father of the Pittsburgh Parks), and Michael Benedum (oil wildcatter).

Jay Steele

Jay Steele is a retired professor of Health and Physical Education at CCAC. He is a Pittsburgh native born and raised in the Observatory Hill section of the North Side. He currently lives in Ross Township with his wife Carol and pug Charlie. He has also taught since 1998 community education walking courses/tours for CCAC, Pitt and CMU Osher, and Doors Open Pittsburgh. He has developed these walking tours/classes throughout the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County which combines his love of exercise, and Western Pennsylvania history and architecture.