Just blocks outside of downtown Charlottesville lies the city’s first official burial site: Maplewood Cemetery. While the grounds continue to serve as a place for people to mourn, visit deceased loved ones, and learn more about the city’s fascinating history, there’s a darker, otherworldly side of this cemetery that can only be experienced after the sun goes down.
Join Charlottesville Ghosts and walk the harrowed grounds of this famous burial site, and hear the chilling reasons why some people believe it’s actually haunted by some of its ghostly residents.
QUICK FACTS:
- Maplewood Cemetery is Charlottesville’s first official resting place and was established in 1827
- However, the oldest known grave marker at Maplewood Cemetery dates back to 1777
- The site contains hundreds of burials, including those of enslaved Africans and Civil War soldiers, among other Charlottesville residents.
LONG-DEAD SPIRITS FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE’S PAST ARISE AT MAPLEWOOD CEMETERY
Death is practically synonymous with Charlottesville, thanks to the city’s role as a key location in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. These conflicts were bloody and, therefore, devastating to the US population, with an estimated 25 to 70 thousand American Patriots having died during the war for independence and roughly 620 thousand during the Civil War.
After the fighting, the time came for Charlottesville to establish an official burial ground of its own, leading to the birth of Maplewood Cemetery in 1827 and, later, Oakwood Cemetery in 1873. The majority of graves are from the Civil War, and there are over 100 unmarked graves of Confederate soldiers. Woven between these unmarked gravemarkers are ornate obelisks that display different eras of religious imagery, from palm branches that represent eternal peace to arches to represent entry into heaven. Many of these belonged to famous Charlottesville residents.
Maplewood Cemetery also holds several African American gravesites. Some slaves are even buried adjacent to their owner’s family plots, including that of a “Linie Winston,” whose tombstone inscription reads “a faithful servant” in the plot of Anna and Thomas Williams—her potential owners. This cemetery is a treasure trove of notable faces and fascinating stories, all while being a tragic representation of those who died fighting for their country, children who died far too young, or those who died within the institution of slavery.
NOTABLE PEOPLE BURIED AT MAPLEWOOD CEMETERY
Maplewood Cemetery is perhaps the only place where the remains of Civil War soldiers, enslaved Africans, and Freemasons can be found lying side-by-side on the earth. With such an eclectic assortment of people, it’s no surprise that all walks of life can be found in the city’s many burial grounds. In Maplewood Cemetery, locals have shared stories about famous departed residents for decades, like the tale of three sisters who are all buried in a row; one married and died in her 40s, while the other two were never wed and lived well into their 100s. A cautionary tale?
Other famous names include Maud Coleman Woods, the first Miss America, who was laid to rest here after tragically succumbing to Typhoid Fever at the age of just 24. Letitia Shelby, the mother of the first mayor of Kentucky, and Paul McIntire, a prominent benefactor of the City of Charlottesville, are also buried here. The grave of Charlie Ferguson, who played for the Philadelphia Quakers of the National League before dying of disease two weeks after his 25th birthday, can also be found at Maplewood Cemetery.