Today, the Town of Caledonia owns and maintains the 185-year-old burial ground on Church Street and they are spending considerable time and effort to repair and restore the 1.5-acre cemetery. The town has contracted with a local company to repair markers that have been damaged over time by the elements. The town highway department is working to improve the property and to restore parts of the original fence and gate that surround the cemetery. Councilperson Pam Rychlicki is working with Town Historian Eileen LaFave to identify the maintenance needs of the cemetery.

   A church called the Associated Reformed Congregation created the cemetery behind their house of worship and formed the Caledonia Rural Cemetery Association to oversee it. The original records are missing but it’s believed the first burial took place in the cemetery around 1823. In 1893, the United Presbyterian Stone Church purchased the church from the Associated Reformed Congregation and sold the adjacent cemetery to a new cemetery board for five dollars. The cemetery contains 150 graves plus a potter’s field, located on a small piece of additional land purchased in 1894 from William Hamilton. There are no records of whom or how many remains are buried in the potter’s field. Since then, the cemetery and church have been independent of one another. The last known burial took place in the cemetery in 1981, though it had been many years prior to that since an interment had taken place

   The remains of 45 military soldiers are also buried at Caledonia Rural Cemetery. These include four veterans from the Revolutionary War, six from the War of 1812, 21 Civil War veterans, one Spanish American War veteran, three WWI and 10 WWII veterans. There is also a monument erected in the cemetery in memory of two brothers killed in the Civil War and buried at the actual battle site. The Matthew Cleary Post 255 American Legion remembers these veterans each year at Memorial Day by placing an American flag at each gravesite.

   One African-American Civil War veteran is buried in the Caledonia Rural Cemetery. Charles E. Bundy’s owner took his slave with him into battle to serve as his cook. During reconstruction, history indicates that Bundy came north to this area and served as a constable in Caledonia before his death in 1885 at the young age of 37.

   LaFave says the cemetery is a critical piece of local history because many of Caledonia’s founding families have ancestors buried there. She is thankful to the neighbors who for many years, cared for the cemetery and kept in good condition. She recently thanked the Town Board for the work they have done to preserve the historic cemetery and said it looks the best that it ever has.

   Several gravestones have been repaired. The names on them are familiar and repeat along the rows of grave markers: McVean, McNaughton, Campbell and Place are among them. LaFave says people who are conducting a family genealogy, often come to Caledonia to visit the cemetery because they can gather important information for their research. The grave markers of 100 or more years ago often told a little history of the person interred there, LaFave said, which can be a valuable timesaver to the person piecing together their family history. For example, information such as "only daughter of," "musician," or "husband of," help to determine the details of the deceased’s heritage, LaFave pointed out.

   Many of the names etched in stone markers are the names of present day roads in the Town of Caledonia and the surrounding areas. Names such as Cameron, Malloch and Maxwell line the Caledonia Rural Cemetery and are well-traveled rural roads in the area.

   Fourth grade teachers at Cal-Mum Elementary School have made an annual visit to the Caledonia Rural Cemetery a part of their New York State history curriculum. The students are given a sheet of questions that they must find the answers to from reading the gravestones. Their favorite question and clue has to do with finding the grave stone bearing the name of the father of our nation. The school visit is coming up soon so LaFave says we can’t spoil it by giving away the answer. She’ll accompany the classes on the cemetery tour, pointing out all of the unique names and information available there, including the names of two good friends who are buried in the Caledonia Rural Cemetery – Orange Dean and John Blue!