CORTLAND'S FIRST "RURAL" CEMETERY
In early winter of 1853, an association was formed to purchase land and
establish a cemetery on what was then the western edge of the village of
Cortland. (See official charter document.) Beginning with twelve acres, and initially accepting
re-burials of over 800 early settlers of Cortland County from nearby
smaller burial grounds and churchyard cemeteries, the Cortland Rural
Cemetery today memorializes the remains of 18,000 people (roughly the
present living population of the City of Cortland) in a centrally
located 50-acre park.
Over the last century and a half, the
cemetery's gentle hills and lush greenery have manifested and continued
the original concept of the "garden" cemetery ~ which became popular in
the mid-1800s. The concept valued openness and rusticity, welcoming
families to visit and remember those they had lost.
Cortland
Rural Cemetery is a historic cemetery where monuments honor humble and
great citizens alike. Visitors may see the graves of the last Upstate
Governor of New York, Nathan Miller; the graves of veterans of all
American wars, including that of Brigadier-General Joseph Reynolds, who
served in the War of 1812 and Colonel Andrew J. Grover, who died at
Gettysburg; and the grave of Dr. Julia Spalding, who arrived in Cortland
in 1883 as one of the nation's earliest women doctors.

Here are back issues of our newsletters, rich with historical perspectives on the Cortland Rural Cemetery ~ and information on the ongoing successes and challenges of operating this beautiful, complex entity in today's world.