Prospect Hill Cemetery was chartered
in 1854. There used to be a beautiful Victorian Gateway over the entrance
that is no longer there. In the late 19th and early 20th century,
the cemetery was a gathering place for both the living and the dead.
People went to have picnics and honor the dead. The cemetery also
contained a Victorian caretaker's cottage in which Grand Army of the
Republic Civil War veterans gathered before dedication ceremonies
in their honor each year on Memorial Day. The cottage was torn down
in 1998. Located on the highest point of Western Turnpike, Prospect
Hill Cemetery overlooks Guilderland and is a fitting place for the
burial of heroes and heroines of the town's past.
Adorning some graves are GAR iron markers,
denoting the Grand Army of the Republic, the Army of the Civil War.
In addition to serving in the military, residents buried in the cemetery
contributed to Guilderland history in many other important ways. Among
those listed with familiar family names are: John Veeder, John H.
Voorhees, John McChesney, whose family owned the Appel Inn, and Charles
and William Crounse, along with many others.
This
Victorian Gateway adorns the entrance to the cemetery in this photograph
from the 1920s. Note that the 2002 photograph is taken from almost
the same angle as this older picture. Picture courtesy of Guilderland
Historical Society.
