Fort Hill Cemetery was incorporated on May 15, 1851 under its
official name: "Trustees of the Fort Hill Cemetery Association of Auburn". The original Cemetery consisted of 22 acres and was dedicated on July 7, 1852. Today the cemetery has 83 acres of land. In 1951, the Jewish section of the cemetery was created and in 1998, the Oak View section opened with space for new burials.
Fort Hill is rich in history. In the middle of the 16th century, the local Indians used the are as a fortified hill. Some historians believe the Cayuga Indians built the Fort for defense during the many wars that raged between the Indian tribes. After the Iroquois Confederacy was formed, the wars ended and the Cayugas left to seek new homes. Today there are faint traces left to indicate the outline of the original Fort. Still, it is regarded as one of the best preserved fortified villages of the ancient Cayuga Indians.
In the early 1800's, a visitor to the Fort Hill area would have found the wooded hills and valleys still in their natural beauty. Hall's History of Auburn (1860) describes Fort Hill as "a bold eminence located in the western part of Auburn, which, by the beauty of its groves and its prominence as a point of observation, should, in the opinion of many citizens, be converted into a park". Indeed, a map published in 1836 by the village trustees designates the Fort Hill area as "Eagle Park".
In 2001, Fort Hill Cemetery celebrated 150 years of service. We continue today as a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of this historic ground. It is our duty to care for this hallowed ground and to maintain this land of peace and dignity. We welcome your comments about this web page, about our organization, and we welcome visitors to this historic site.
