Photograph of the oldest part of the University Cemetery
Photograph of the oldest part of the University Cemetery, 2009 Courtesy of Garth Anderson, photographer

Made necessary by the deaths of University community members who were far from home, the Cemetery was founded at the base of Observatory Hill in 1828. With no set plan or paths, the picturesque burial grounds have been expanded numerous times in response to epidemics, the University’s service as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, and the desire of students, alumni, faculty, and their families to be buried on University grounds. Following a campaign led by the wives of University professors and other prominent local women, a monument by sculptor Caspar Buberl to the 1,097 Confederate soldiers buried there was dedicated in 1893.

Photograph of the Confederate Monument in the University Cemetery
Photograph of the Confederate Monument in the University Cemetery, 2009 Courtesy of Garth Anderson, photographer
Headstone of Mary Stuart Smith
Photograph of the headstone of Mary Stuart Smith who was born on the Lawn in 1864 and died there fifty-three years later, 2009 Courtesy of Garth Anderson, photographer
Headstone of Laban J. Hoyle
Photograph of the headstone of University student Laban J. Hoyle who died of typhus in 1829 at the age of seventeen, 2009 Courtesy of Garth Anderson, photographer