Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky is one of America’s most beautiful cemeteries. From the moment you cross through the majestic Victorian entrance gates at Cave Hill Cemetery, you leave the world behind. No more honking horns, traffic jams, or flashy lights. It’s all peace and tranquility with leaves waving on the breeze and a chorus of chirping birds.[1]
Cave Hill Cemetery spans 296 acres with five lakes that dot the peaceful rolling hills, all fed by underground springs. Beargrass Creek runs through the cemetery dividing the east (new) and west (old) sections.
Beargrass Creek flows from a spring that bubbles up near the cave for which the cemetery is named. The cave is an open cavern for about 30 feet (9.1 m) and then it narrows to a crawl space. The cave itself is off-limits to visitors.
HistoryHistory
In 1848, Cave Hill Cemetery was established on what was previously William Johnston’s Cave Hill Farm, a rural property east of Louisville, Kentucky.
Johnston had built the first brick house in Louisville on the grounds about 1788. Ten years later, Johnston passed away.
In the 1830s, Louisville city officials purchased part of the land with hopes of mining the high-quality limestone out of the cave. The Louisville and Frankfort Railroad was expected to run through the grounds which would have made the limestone quarry very profitable. But then the railroad was built elsewhere, disrupting their plans.
SanitariumSanitarium
Louisville city fathers then decided to convert the old brick farmhouse into a sanitarium for patients with contagious diseases, calling it the “City Pest House”.[2] This is not an uncommon practice for its time. Hospitals in the early 1800s were not equipped to care for patients with smallpox, cholera, typhoid fever, or similar diseases. They were not curable.
Along with the sanitarium, came a large number of deaths so the next logical step was to turn the land into a cemetery.
Lewis and Clark National Historic TrailLewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Today, Cave Hill Cemetery is located on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail traverses nearly 4,900 miles, passing through 60 tribal nations homelands. It follows the historic route taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-1806, beginning at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and crossing the country to the Pacific Ocean.
Landscape designLandscape design
The landscape design at Cave Hill Cemetery was the creation of civil engineer Edmund Francis Lee. He chose to have the best burial sites on top of hills and accessible by winding roads, and reserved the low-lying land for trees, creeks, and ponds.
In the mid-1800s, death was seen as a natural transition to heaven. It was not something to be dreaded or feared. So Cave Hill Cemetery, with the sentiment in mind, was designed as a place for loved ones to rest in nature until their resurrection.
Cave Hill Cemetery is well known as an arboretum with more than 500 species of trees.
National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
In 1979 Cave Hill Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of America's historic places worthy of preservation.
The National Cemetery section of Cave Hill Cemetery, for military graves, was also added to the National Register, in 1998. The military sections of Cave Hill Cemetery are the final resting place for nearly 250 Confederate soldiers, including three generals. In 1880 – 1881, their original wooden markers were replaced with stone markers.
Notable BurialsNotable Burials
Cave Hill Cemetery is a sought-after burial site for many reasons, including the beautiful landscape, the historical significance, the extensive collection of trees, and for some just because Louisville is home. Here are some of the notable people buried at Cave Hill Cemetery:
- Colonel Harland David Sanders (1890 – 1980); American entrepreneur and founder of the restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC); Click here to view his grave
- Muhammad Ali (1942 - 2016); considered the best heavyweight boxer of all time; Click here to view his grave.
- Patty Smith Hill (1868 - 1946); educational reformer; first president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children; professor at Columbia University; co-writer (along with her sister, Mildred) of the song "Happy Birthday"[3]
Explore more about famous cemeteriesExplore more about famous cemeteries
- London's Magnificent Seven Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- Documenting Cemeteries with BillionGraves, Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Cemetery Records Worldwide, BillionGraves, MyHeritage Catalog Collection
- The Seven Largest Cemeteries in the World, BillionGraves Blog
- 3 Amazing Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 of the World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- Stories in Stone – Cemetery Research, Legacy Family Tree Webinars
