Today Maple Hill is the oldest and largest cemetery in the state of Alabama, and there are 5 Governors buried there. It is also the final resting place for heroes from all wars, from the War of 1812, and the Revolutionary War to the most recent War on Terrorism.
It is the burial ground for about 200 Confederate soldiers. Near the corner of Wells Avenue and California Street is an area where more than 180 Union soldiers who died during the occupation of Huntsville were originally buried. Most of their remains were moved to the Chattanooga National Cemetery in 1867.
There is a special section of Maple Hill known as Potters Field. In the 1800s, hundreds of people that could not afford markers or monuments were placed there in unmarked graves. Recently a monument was erected that bears all known names of those who lie there.
The stone wall was built in 1918 for $5000, through the efforts of The Womens Club of Huntsville replacing an old cedar rail fence.
There is also a legend about a tiny playground, hidden away directly behind Maple Hill Cemetery. Even on wind-less days, swings move and sand kicks up as if unseen children are still busy playing. They say if you listen closely enough, you can hear the laughter of children at play very nearby. But when you turn to look, there is no one there.
There is also a marker where surveyor Thomas Freeman established the Meridian Marker for the newly purchased Indian lands in 1807, for a triangular area of 345,000 acres, south of the Tennessee state line, known as "old Madison County." It is the line from which all land in northern Alabama was surveyed.
One of the most beautiful sights in town is Maple Hill Cemetery in the spring with hundreds of dogwoods in bloom. During this time more than fifty costumed characters will "come alive" to represent notables from the past during the annual Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll.