Life on the Other Side 

Plattsburgh's oldest cemetery still holds relevance today

Story and photos by Mike O'Keefe

Imagine yourself walking through hundreds of people. They can't speak to you, but each person has a symbol, message, or object in their hands that they feel defines them. 

Some of the signs have pictures of loved ones, pets, and hobbies. Some hold weapons, such as swords and rifles.  Others hold city maps, deeds, and money, while others hold a cross, or a Star of David.  As you wander through the crowd, you begin to have a feeling of deja-vous, and some of the names, places, and images on the signs seem to have some strange connection to you. Yet many of the signs go unnoticed, not only by you, but by all the others in the room.  Some of the signs overlap and obscure the message that defines that specific individual.  Some of the signs are falling apart, and some of them you simply cannot read. 

And still, you feel that connection, even to those messages that are forever lost. 

Placed in the heart of Plattsburgh,  a quiet cemetery borders the Saranac River.  This cemetery contains all walks of life; from soldiers and politicians, to children and traitors, all sorts of people have come to rest in this relatively small location.  But however small the Riverside Cemetery may be, the amount of history it contains is vastly greater.  Not only are there recognizable dates and names etched on many of the headstones in Riverside, but many of the graves themselves beg to be investigated.   

And the history of Plattsburgh is definitely something that could be better understood after a walk through this unique resting place.  

"Riverside is one of the oldest, if not the oldest cemetery in the city,"

"Riverside is one of the oldest, if not the oldest cemetery in the city," says Kieth Herkalo, the Plattsburgh city clerk.    

The War of 1812, was quite an important time in the history of Riverside Cemetery, and for the city Plattsburgh.  Near the Northern end of the cemetery, quite a few warriors from this era have been buried, specifically officers from the Battle of Plattsburgh.  At this location lies the pilot of the U.S.S. Saratoga, a ship which heavily involved in the battle that took place on Sept, 11, 1814.  Alongside him lay not only American Army Officers, but British Marines and officers as well.  However, the resting place for the people which the aforementioned commanded is entirely, physically and morally, different.  "The troops were thrown in an unmarked grave on Crab Island," according to James Bailey, the city historian.  These are not the only soldiers to be laid to rest here, nor are they the only buried here who have died in combat.

A fallen soldier from almost every major American war has come to rest in this historic site.  According to Bailey, a grave on the Eastern border of the cemetery holds the body of a Plattsburgh resident who was killed in action in Holland during World War II.  Also according to a recent Press Republican story, a soldier from Benedict Arnold's Green Mountain Boys had been laid to rest somewhere in the Northeastern section of the graveyard.  However, soldiers are not the only notable mention in the entire graveyard. 
Numerous U.S. congressmen, as well as mayors and philanthropists, have all found thier final resting place here. 

According to Herkalo, the generous fellow who donated the funds for CVPH, city hall, and the YMCA was buried in riverside.   Loyle Smith, was one of Plattsburgh's earliest and weathiest residents, made his fortune off smart investments in barb wire, which was in its infancy at the time.  Smith spent the 1.6 million that he made off of barb wire on donations to the city, as well as building an enormous mansion on the road that borders his resting place 

The founder of Plattsburgh, Zephaniah Platt, as well as many of the graveyard's past caretakers have also come to rest here.   

But the design and architechture of many of the monuments and mausoleums are another truly stunning experience.  As you walk though the trails of Riverside, certian stones seem to jump out, for more reasons than one. 

"Heal the Sick, Raise the Dead, Cleanse the Lepers, Cast Out Demons,"

One stone inscription reads, "Heal the Sick, Raise the Dead, Cleanse the Lepers, Cast Out Demons," a mysterious phrase that paints a vivid picture of the family the stone represents.   Not too far away, a lone cross, without any sort of inscription is completely blanketed in an orange moss that makes the stone seem rusted with age.  And under some crooked and ancient pine trees, an omen of evil greets you as you come to a roundabout in the path.  Three out of four crosses in a series of tombstones have been flipped upside down by intuders to this sacred patch of land.  The entire cemetery, although eerily silent, seems to be screaming with stories of the past.  These stories can be heard while simply walking through the old Riverside Cemetery. 

"[The cemetery] is a non-denominational cemetery, says the cemetery's caretaker, Pat Berry.  "We take anybody and everyone."  And however, unique and diverse the cemetery is, it will not stand forever.  "A lot of stones are deteriorating because of age," says Berry. 

"We take anybody and everyone,"

The stones here have been here for centuries, and they will continue to stand, with or without human interference.  These timeless testimonies to the days of Plattsburgh's past have told us about where we came from, and the lessons are infinite.  But no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you do for a living, everybody will end up some place like the Riverside Cemetery, and maybe that is the common bond we can all relate to.

Have you ever walked through Riverside Cemetery?