Cornelliana A Visit to Sage Chapel’s Crypt, Resting Place of Eminent Cornellians Stories You May Like Which Big Red Ghost Are You? Why Early Cornell Students Took a Sepulchral Shortcut Sage Chapel’s Windows Illuminate and Inspire More than a dozen people—including the Founder—are interred below an ornate chamber known as the memorial antechapel By Joe Wilensky The likeness of founder Ezra Cornell, elegantly sculpted in marble, lies in repose atop a sarcophagus, which stands against a wall that glimmers with the colorful light of stained-glass windows. This is the memorial antechapel within Sage Chapel, and Ezra is not alone: there are several other tomb effigies, sarcophagi, and memorial plaques representing distinguished figures. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityA memorial plaque is embedded in one of the antechapel's outer walls. In fact, this chamber marks the final resting place for more than a dozen Cornellians and their relatives. “Directly beneath the north window,” observes the 1905 book Cornell University: A History, “is a recumbent figure of Ezra Cornell in white marble, of heroic size.” The space is silent—and although it may seem a bit spooky amid the blank gazes of sculpted faces, the actual remains of these Cornellians are not on this level. They reside one floor beneath, in vaults within a crypt that’s sealed by a three-by-five-foot stone slab weighing more than 700 pounds. The actual remains reside one floor beneath the antechapel, in vaults within a crypt that’s sealed by a three-by-five-foot stone slab weighing more than 700 pounds. The antechapel was added to the building’s north face in 1883–84, nearly a decade after Sage opened. Funded both by the University and the estate of Jennie McGraw Fiske, it was dedicated in memory of Ezra, Jennie, and her father, trustee and benefactor John McGraw. A tablet bearing their names, embedded into an exterior wall, was unveiled by a future U.S. president: Grover Cleveland, then governor of New York. Memorials in Stone Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityEzra's famed pledge. wikimedia commons Jennie McGraw Fiske, the Cornell Chimes' benefactress. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityOne of the antechapel's many detailed carvings. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityMary Outwater White, first wife of A.D. White. "He spoke of the course of higher education," the Daily Sun reported of his remarks, "and testified to the ennobling influence of those whose memory the chapel will commemorate, and of lives similar to theirs." Numerous stained-glass windows adorn the antechapel's walls—depicting notable Cornellians, the founders of other universities, and a variety of 19th-century scholars and educators. Directly beneath the north window is a recumbent figure of Ezra Cornell in white marble, of heroic size. Cornell University: A History Stories You May Like Which Big Red Ghost Are You? Why Early Cornell Students Took a Sepulchral Shortcut “The ridge of the slate room is surmounted by an iron cresting,” Cornell University: A History notes. "The chapel measures inside 20 feet in width by 32 feet in length. The inside walls up to the window sills are of Ohio stone. The remainder of the interior walls is of yellow brick. The ceiling is a ribbed vault … supported by columns of red marble.” The Founder's effigy was crafted by William Wetmore Story, a noted American sculptor whose work now resides in such institutions as the Smithsonian and NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jason Koski / Cornell UniversityEzra is depicted holding a scroll in his right hand. Ezra, who died in 1874, had originally been buried at Ithaca City Cemetery, located on the hillside below what's now West Campus. His remains were moved to the completed antechapel, where his wife, Mary Ann Wood Cornell, is also interred. In addition to John McGraw and Jennie McGraw Fiske, the crypt’s occupants include Jennie’s husband (Willard Fiske, the University’s librarian) and Ezra’s eldest son, Alonzo Cornell, a former governor of New York. Ezra had originally been buried at Ithaca City Cemetery; his remains were moved to the completed antechapel. Three presidents reside there—the first, Andrew Dickson White, and the fifth and sixth, Edmund Ezra Day and Deane Waldo Malott—as do some of their family members. The antechapel above is also home to one of the University’s most beloved ghostly legends. Walt VavraThe crypt under the antechapel houses numerous vaults ... Walt Vavra... including that of Ezra's wife, Mary Ann ... Walt Vavra... and the final resting place of the Founder himself. When couples marry in Sage, brides and their attendants often use it to get ready before the ceremony. The myth holds that if the founder approves of the match, he may materialize there—and if the bride gets any last-minute jitters, he’ll give her a gentle nudge to send her down the aisle. (Top: Photo by Jason Koski / Cornell University.) Published October 22, 2025 Comments James Morey, Class of 1990 28 Oct, 2025 A sacred space and fitting memorial for the lives and visions of the Cornell great ones. Kudos to the photographer for the lighting on the initials “E. C.” Reply Suzanne (Tougas) Snedeker, Class of 1978 28 Oct, 2025 I live I Ithaca, and the Campus Ministries of St. Luke Lutheran (on Oak Ave.) and the Episcopal Church at Cornell (ECC) have hosted “Poe by Candlelight” readings of the poems of Edgar Allen Poe and other spooky stories for the past two years. The poems are read, indeed, by candlelight in the crypt of Sage Chapel. This event (open to all) has taken place on the first Mondays in October (except on Fall Break) at 6:30 pm in 2024 and 2025. We wrapped up this year’s Poe by Candlelight on Oct. 27th, 2025 with poems read by the Rev. Taylor Daynes of ECC (Poe’s The Raven, and Annabel Lee), and poems and short stories (including one by a new author, Will Sheets) were read by the Rev. Jason Churchill of St. Luke. What fun! Thanks so much for this article! Is there a list of everyone who is buried in the crypt? Reply John Hupcey, Class of 1974 6 Nov, 2025 During the chapel’s 100th anniversary (1975) I repainted the inscription on the outside wall of the antechapel (pictured in this article with student walking by) and over Jennie McGraw’s sarcophagus (shown in the “Memorials in Stone” slideshow). I really wanted to redo the letters in gold (see John McGraw’s inscription to the left in the picture) but it was beyond my budget (and ability). So I settled for “ecclesiastical red”. The stained glass window above depicts Jennie with her nine bells of the original Cornell Chimes. Besides singing the Sage Chapel Choir, I helped maintain (and occasionally play) the Cornell Chimes and built the master clock which automatically played the quarter-hour chimes and kept the McGraw tower clock-faces correct. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni Remembering Peter Yarrow ’59, Whose Love of Folk Grew on the Hill Cornelliana April Fool! ‘Daily Sun’ Parodies Poke Fun at Life on the Hill Glorious to View A Look at Reunions of Yesteryear, Saturated in Big Red Spirit