Old Chapel Hill Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
History
The land was a land grant to the University of North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
by the State of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The land encompassed 125 acres (506,000 m²), and was sold for five shillings on October 21, 1776. The cemetery currently covers 6.98 acres (28,000 m²). The first recorded burial was George Clarke, a Burke County student at the university, who died September 28, 1798. His headstone was not placed until several years later. By January 28, 1994, 1,621 burials had been performed. The cemetery is now almost full, and all of the plots have already been bought. In 1922, the town took over responsibility for maintaining the cemetery, and in 1988, the ownership changed over to the University.
A low rock wall was built around the cemetery in 1835 at the cost of $64.41. The school officially named the cemetery "College Graveyard," as opposed to "Village Cemetery," like the Chapel Hill residents called it. Five sidewalks divide the cemetery into six sections. Two of the sections were reserved for African-American burials because there were no black church cemeteries in town. A low rock wall divides the two segregated sections (Sections A and B) from the rest. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies were the first to establish plots. In the other sections, there are administrators and professors, as well as prominent public officials, business leaders, and artists from the area. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Confederate soldiers were buried there.
There are many different styles of grave markers represented in the cemetery. Many of the early family plots are marked by monuments and obelisks with smaller tablets marking individual graves. There are also uninscribed fieldstones, headstones, ledgers, boxtombs, and tomb-tables in the newer sections. Marble and granite were used most frequently, but stone and concrete can also be found.
The Old Chapel Hill Cemetery is not just a resting place for the deceased. It remains an integral part of campus life. For many students, the quiet, secluded setting is an ideal place to relax or study. Diverse species of trees, such as oaks, hickories, gums, cedars, maples, and pines, create a cover of shade in the cemetery. There are also shrubs, like boxwoods, azaleas, nandinas, and crape myrtles, around many of the plots. During the spring, dogwood trees, azaleas and wisteria make the cemetery one of the most beautiful spots on campus. Some of the individual gravestones are covered by English ivy and vinca. A gazebo has been built between Section B and Section 1 and provides a convenient place to sit.
Vandalism has been a major problem in the cemetery. Whether the culprits are just careless or actually meaning to cause damage, the cemetery has had many tombstones ruined throughout the years. Five 19th century headstones were tipped over and smashed the day before Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt was an American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.Kuralt's "On the Road"...
was buried in the cemetery. On November 27, 1974, 40 to 50 monuments were broken and pushed off their bases. In 1985, football fans eager to get to a seat damaged stones.
Distinguished persons buried in the cemetery include band leader Kay Kyser
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
, playwright Paul Green, university president Frank Porter Graham
Frank Porter Graham
Frank Porter Graham was a president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and, for a brief period, United States Senator.-Early life:...
, university president Robert Burton House, and CBS newsman Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt was an American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.Kuralt's "On the Road"...
. There is also a plot set aside for the Friday family, and it is assumed that former president William Friday will be buried there. His daughter was buried there around 2003.
In 2005, the Memorial Grove portion was established to allow space for the spreading of ashes of cremated persons. Names of those whose ashes have been spread in the grove are inscribed upon the Wall of Remembrance. To date, the names of fifteen persons are inscribed on the wall. Some of these persons had been cremated before the opening of the grove. It is assumed that their ashes were originally retained in the care of loved ones.
External links
- Silent Sentinels of Stone - information on people buried there and photographs