Pine Hill Cemetery

Pine Hill Cemetery. . , (Side 1) , Pine Hill was established in 1837 and is the oldest cemetery in Auburn. Judge John J. Harper, Auburn's founder, donated almost six acres to the new town to be used as a community burying ground for white settlers and their slaves. The original part of the cemetery lies to the north and contains the oldest marked grave - 1838. Early cemetery records are non-existent as the first survey was conducted in the 1950’s when over 1,100 marked graves were cataloged. Of this number, only one black grave is identified. A cross section of Auburn Citizens are buried here including University presidents and slaves. (Continued on other side). (Side 2) (Continued from other side). In the 1870's a separate cemetery, Baptist Hill, opened to the southeast. For decades Pine Hill served as the primary burying ground for whites in the area. The city’s Confederate marker rises at the rear of the cemetery over the common graves of 98 Texas soldiers who died in a temporary hospital housed in a college building known as "The Main." Pine Hill suffered from vandalism and neglect until 1995 when the Auburn Heritage Association launched a restoration of the cemetery. It was placed on the Alabama Register in 1978 and is owned and maintained by the City of Auburn.