Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)
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Maple Hill Cemetery
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The cemetery in 2006
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| Location | 203 Maple Hill Dr., Huntsville, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 34°43′59″N 86°34′24″W / 34.73306°N 86.57333°WCoordinates: 34°43′59″N 86°34′24″W / 34.73306°N 86.57333°W |
| Area | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| Built | 1822 |
| NRHP Reference # | 12000523 |
| Added to NRHP | August 22, 2012 |
Maple Hill Cemetery is the oldest and largest cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded on two acres (8,000 m²) in about the year 1822, it now encompasses nearly 100 acres (400,000 m²) and contains over 80,000 burials. It was added to the Alabama Historical Commission's Historic Cemetery Register in 2008, and to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Its occupants include five governors of Alabama, five United States senators, and numerous other figures of local, state, and national note. It is located east of the Twickenham Historic District.
The original two acres (8,000 m²) of the cemetery were sold to the city of Huntsville on September 14, 1822 by planter LeRoy Pope. Though early burials are difficult to document, there is substantial evidence that the land had been in use as a cemetery for some time prior to its official establishment. The oldest grave with marker intact is that of Mary Frances Atwood, infant daughter of William and Martha Caroline Atwood, who died September 17, 1820. Headstones are sparse in the oldest section, many having decayed over time and been discarded, and it is likely that many unmarked graves share a similarly early date.
The cemetery was expanded at some point after 1849 to include the two acres (8,000 m²) on which LeRoy Pope and his family were buried. There are some indications that this land, which had until then remained a part of the Pope estate, may already have been in use as a burial ground. Pope's son-in-law John Williams Walker had died in 1823, Pope's wife Judith in 1827, and Pope himself in 1844. It is known that the Popes maintained a private cemetery on their plantation, but it is unclear whether the Pope graves were moved to their present location following the sale of the Pope estate in 1849, or whether this property in fact contained the existing Pope cemetery. Several other monuments in this section suggest its use at least as early as 1844.
During the Civil War, Maple Hill Cemetery became the burial site of 187 unknown Confederate soldiers and an uncertain number of Union soldiers. Most of the Confederate soldiers, buried in the Confederate section on the north side of the cemetery, died early in the war of disease or accidents while training in camps close to Huntsville. Numerous Union troops who died during the federal occupation of Huntsville are believed to have been buried in unmarked graves throughout the oldest section of the cemetery. Most of these graves were apparently moved to Chattanooga National Cemetery in 1867.
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