I first visited Maple Hill Cemetery on the sad occasion of a burial for a relative. I have been back a number of times since then—sometimes for a visit to a grave, burials of friends and relatives, or just to see the trees blooming in the Spring.

This is a very large cemetery of approximately 100 acres and reportedly about 100,000 graves.

Visitors familiar with Huntsville's history will see many familiar names. The cemetery has been in use since at least 1822. Some of the land was likely used by one or more families prior to this date.

During the American War Between the States, Maple Hill Cemetery was the burial ground of about 200 unknown Confederate soldiers and an unknown number of Union soldiers.

Most of the Confederate soldiers are buried in the Confederate section marked by a large Confederate War statue. Union troops who died during the federal occupation of Huntsville are believed to have been buried in unmarked graves throughout the oldest section of the cemetery. Most of these graves were moved to Chattanooga National Cemetery in 1867.

Maple Hill is the burial site for numerous Congressmen and senators, military leaders, Confederate leaders, governors, and many early Huntsville leaders.