The Cortland Rural Cemetery is located in

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western ...

, United States. A non-profit, non-denominational

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

established in 1853, the still operational cemetery has a physical footprint of approximately and features the attributes typical of the mid-19th century

garden cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

, including rolling hills, copious trees, curving roads, and an overall asymmetrical design. The cemetery is regulated by the New York State Department of State NYS Division of Cemeteries and as such has the special designation of 501(c)(13) reserved by independent, non-profit cemeteries in New York. It is managed by a volunteer Board of Trustees and funds its operations with a combination of revenues from operations such as burial fees, plot sales income, and marker foundation installation fees, ongoing donations from Cortland Rural Cemetery Foundation, and donations received from individual donors, other foundations, and in-kind assistance from the City of Cortland. Adjacent to the

State University of New York at Cortland State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, located at 110 Tompkins Street, and an included in the Tompkins Street–Main Street Historic District on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, the cemetery has over 19,000 individual graves on its grounds, including those of many notable figures in Cortland's history. The cemetery's grounds also include noteworthy historical architectural structures, including the Gibson Memorial Chapel designed (circa 1922) by noted architect George W. Conable and an office/garage and superintendent's mansion designed by Carl Wesley Clark (circa 1928). The cemetery has dedicated Veterans sections and is also home to a decades-old Jewish Cemetery associated with Cortland's Temple Brith Sholom.

Notable burials

Sorted by surname. * Bertha Blodgett, author of Stories of Cortland County for Boys and Girls, 1932. *

William L. Chaplin William Lawrence Chaplin (October 27, 1796 – April 28, 1871) was a prominent abolitionist in the years before the American Civil War. Known by the title of "General," he was an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society and a general agent fo ...

, general agent of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

* Major General Levi R. Chase, highly decorated US Air Force officer and veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam * Rowland Lucius Davis, NYS Supreme Court Justice. * Charles Holland Duell, Member of New York State Assembly, U.S. Commissioner of Patents. * Rodolphus Holland Duell, Cortland County Judge and U.S. Representative. * Major Andrew J. Grover, commander of the 76th Regiment of the New York Volunteers, killed at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. *

Nathan Lewis Miller Nathan Lewis Miller (October 10, 1868 – June 26, 1953) was an American lawyer and politician who was Governor of New York from 1921 to 1922. Early life and education Nathan Miller was born on October 10, 1868, the son of Samuel Miller, a te ...

, former governor of New York. * Rufus T. Peck, publisher and New York assemblyman. * Henry S. Randall, New York Secretary of State and biographer of Thomas Jefferson. * Joseph Reynolds, US Congressman. * Charles Walton Sanders, author of a popular, mid-1800s school reader series. * Chester and Theodore Wickwire, late 19th century Cortland industrialists.

Gallery

File:Cortland_Rural_Cemetery_-_1.JPG , Hill-top view looking South toward Tompkins Street File:Cortland_Rural_Cemetery_-_3.jpg , One of numerous large markers in the cemetery, this one marks the grave of Chauncey Keator

References

*{{cite news, last=Wilde, first=Catherine, title=Cemetery seeking funding, support Cortland Rural Cemetery presents county with plan that includes art walks and concerts, url=http://cortlandstandard.net/articles/10182013n.html, newspaper=Cortland Standard, date=October 18, 2013

External links

Cortland Rural Cemetery official siteCortland Rural Cemetery official Facebook page

Not-for-Profit Cemeteries by Alphabetical Order
New York Department of State (pdf)

(Cortland Rural Cemetery Association booklet, 1911)

(2013) Cemeteries in Cortland County, New York Protected areas of Cortland County, New York Historic district contributing properties in New York (state)