Owned by the Charlotte Cemetery Company, which was organized in 1867, Maple Hill Cemetery provides a beautiful final resting place for nearly 18,000 people amidst a serene setting of natural beauty on the banks of Butternut Creek. Two Medal of Honor recipients are buried there along with many local veterans and pioneers of Eaton County.

The first burial ground in the area was located in Charlotte, at the corner of Clinton and Seminary Streets and was purchased in 1845 by the Eaton and Carmel Township Boards to be available for residents of those two townships including the city of Charlotte. When Maple Hill was opened, as is reported in several accounts, most of the bodies buried there were moved to Maple Hill but a few remained because their physical condition made it impossible to move. That first burying ground is now Oak Park, a public park.

In 1863, a stock company was organized to purchase and lay out grounds for a new cemetery at a location known as the “Reilly farm.” It wasn’t until 1869, however, that the current location, containing 66 ½ acres, and then known as Starkweather Hill, was purchased for $3,000. The Reilly farm location was never used as a cemetery.

The beautiful stone entrance to Maple Hill Cemetery originally faced Lansing Street. The entrance was moved, stone by stone, and rebuilt in its current location when the US-27/1-69 interchange was built in 1970.

This information is from a variety of sources including a booklet published by the Charlotte Cemetery Company in 1947.