Madison County’s largest traditional cemetery is not only a historical blend of nationalities, but also a collection of numerous life stories. Every tombstone tells its own story. In the early 1900’s a small group of visionary men saw the need for an organized cemetery to meet the challenge of a growing Anderson. In 1902, Charles Henry, Anderson’s interurban entrepreneur, purchased 216 acres of farmland on the edge of Anderson from Harvey J. Blacklidge only to turn around and sell the land to the not-for-profit Maplewood Cemetery Association as the grounds for the original Maplewood Cemetery.

Robert Ulrich, a renowned landscape architect designed and platted the farmland in the new tradition of a garden park-like cemetery. The grounds were immediately planted with over 800 trees, both deciduous and evergreen. The drives were laid out through the gently rolling hills in a manor to allow easy access to each burial section. Maplewood Cemetery provides a window to the past with monuments of all shapes and sizes with fascinating inscriptions that help your imagination travel in years past. In this park-like setting, families are able to trace their heritage and secure their own burial arrangements.

In 1907, a number of persons owning lots in the Anderson Cemetery on Alexandria Pike petitioned the Maplewood Cemetery Association to direct and care for the burial grounds in the Anderson Cemetery to insure these grounds would not be neglected or abandoned. Upon agreeing to this proposal the 30 acre Anderson Cemetery became West Maplewood Cemetery. Today East and West Maplewood is incorporated as Maplewood Cemetery, owned by the property owners and managed by a volunteer not-for–profit Board of Trustees.

It can be said the well known, the unknown and infamous all meet at a cemetery. With over 100 years of burials, visitors are able to drive through the well-manicured park to see the gravesites of former Mayors, influential business leaders, and entrepreneurs who helped make Anderson the successful city of today. This special place is rich in history. A few of our guests are a Titanic survivor, an early feminist and the Remy Brothers. On Memorial Day each year we place signs on our grounds honoring our history. These signs increase as we learn more about our past and present guests.

Maplewood Cemetery is ready for the future, with 96 acres of developed land and 40 acres of farmland yet to be developed. This stately Cemetery will have gravesites for decades. One can be assured the Cemetery will be well maintained. The organization allots monies from each sale to a state mandated perpetual care trust. The trust will provide funds long into the future to assist in maintaining the grounds, structures and buildings. This quiet serene place is a peaceful place to lay your loved one to rest knowing that management’s intention is to maintain the cemetery in the park-like manner it was originally designed, so that future generations may have the opportunity to memorialize their loved one in an atmosphere of beauty and dignity.