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Cortland Rural Cemetery

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Cortland Rural Cemetery

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Founded in 1853, the Cortland Rural Cemetery is a 50-acre, non-profit, non-denominational "rural" ce

10/22/2026

Our Fall 2026 newsletter is now available online and arriving at the mailboxes of our truest friends in the coming days!

In this issue, we asked an AI platform what it might surmise from reviewing our cemetery's burial records (the results are pretty interesting!); we express thanks to Economy Paving for the donation of yet another pick-up truck; and we welcome new board member Joe Governali.

Before you click to the article, here are some interesting insights from Joe -- who jumped right in as a new CRC Trustee by co-authoring this season's newsletter:

"We are here in 2026 and it seems that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has just burst onto the scene, but it has apparently been around for more than fifty years. Some sources maintain that the term “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) was first used in 1955 by a John McCarthy who initiated the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in the summer of 1956. An earlier date sometimes cited is 1950 when a mathematician named Alan Turing devised a test to measure machine intelligence (you may remember him from the movie The Imitation Game and his role in breaking the Enigma Code during World War II). Although that may seem like a long time ago, our own Cortland Rural Cemetery has been around for a much longer time, having been established in April 1855 when the first eleven acres of the present property were acquired from the Hubbard family. At that time, the property was known as Hubbard Hill. Interestingly, the cemetery initially was the home for re-burials of Cortland’s earliest settlers who had been buried in older, smaller graveyards.

Although it may appear that AI and the Cortland Rural Cemetery are completely unrelated, we thought it might be interesting to bring them together. Specifically, we wanted to see if we could apply the 'powers' of present-day AI to some questions about the cemetery and those who have been interred there over these 161 years."

----- With that preface, we hope you'll read the whole issue! ----

https://www.cortland-rural-cemetery.com/_files/ugd/c2e58b_31f93b6bee4d402caa44214d57e59e0d.pdf

08/18/2026

The Cortland Rural Cemetery announced today the election of Joseph Governali to its Board of Trustees.

Governail has been a member of the Cortland community since 1974, when he located to the city to join SUNY Cortland’s Health Department, where he served as a long-term chair and from which he retired in 2010. Originally from the Bronx and New Rochelle, Governali attended Manhattan College, taught in elementary schools on Long Island, completed his graduate work at the University of Illinois, and worked with the American Medical Association in Chicago before coming to Cortland.

Read the complete release here:
https://www.cortland-rural-cemetery.com/_files/ugd/c2e58b_ce640043a9f3478b9d1a8e7ae20049ce.pdf

07/20/2026

Here's the second post in our new "Here lies..." series!

Gravesite #2 (shown here) is a small mausoleum of E. DePuy Mallery -- 1831.

If you recognize the person or family associated with this grave, please use the comments below to share your knowledge, insights, anecdotes, or other background! (Please keep your comments respectful and substantive.) Once comments are "in," we'll review them and do our best to fact-check/vet them and then potentially share the information we receive on the "Buried Treasures" section of our website.

Do you know about this person or family? Let us know!

05/06/2026

We recently happened upon this awesome blog-style page from local water color artist extraordinaire, Emily Gibbons — and just had to share it. Folks in Cortland will doubtless know and have seen Emily's work, which is gorgeous!

Here, you can see her process "in process" using our beautiful and picturesque cemetery grounds as setting for one of her plein air outings.

Take a look, marvel, and give Emily a thumbs up — as we did!

(Note: Emily has a great little shop located within the Cortland Corset Building where you see (by request) an purchase some of her one-of-a-kind paintings, many of them depicting sites in Cortland and beyond. Check out her website at artbyemilygibbons.com!)

https://pleinaircortland.com/2020/06/30/cortland-rural-cemetery/

05/01/2026

Here's the first in our new "Here lies..." series of posts on Facebook.

If you recognize the person or family associated with this gravesite, please use the comments below to share your knowledge, insights, anecdotes, or other background! (Please keep your comments respectful and substantive.)

Once comments are "in," we'll review them and do our best to fact-check/vet them and then potentially share the information we receive on the "Buried Treasures" section of our website.

Let's see how this goes. Thank you!

Gravesite #1 (shown below) is the family mausoleum near the front entrance of the CRC, marked "Daniel J. Shaw" 1871. What do you know about Mr. Shaw or his family?

04/30/2026

Our Spring 2026 newsletter is now available online and arriving at the mailboxes of our truest friends in the coming days!

In this issue, we remind folks that we're (in a way) an outdoor museum for the whole community; we spotlight recent recognition earned by our Board Chair, Kathy Cincotta; and we give a nod to an upcoming Facebook series called "Here lies..." where we ask for YOUR help in telling some of the stories of notable people interred in our cemetery.

If you love and are proud of Cortland, please take a look and share with your family and friends. The more awareness and support we get, the better we look and the more we're able to fulfill our sacred mission!

https://www.cortland-rural-cemetery.com/_files/ugd/c2e58b_8468baa11df9415a9654310adc6c2c3d.pdf

Kathy Warfield Cincotta

03/28/2026

We are so proud of our Board Chair, Kathy Warfield Cincotta, for her well-deserved recognition from NYS Assemblywoman Anna Kelles as a Woman of Distinction!

Given all she does for us (and through our cemetery, for the community!), we couldn't agree more!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HiNSG3oT2/

01/22/2026

Many thanks to City of Cortland Mayor Steve and the Department of Public Works for picking up our massive pile of dirt, branches, stumps, etc. (several years worth) from our Sands Street property. This will make a huge difference to our operation over the next couple years and is a big financial help!

11/11/2025

Taking this day to remember and honor our veterans.

10/20/2025

The CRC is proud to announce the publication of our Fall 2025 newsletter, arriving in mailboxes soon -- but also available here on our website:https://www.cortland-rural-cemetery.com/_files/ugd/c2e58b_b6f1b5a9ecdd4c639f2d8e13a4fd21a1.pdf

In this issue, we feature and interview our three youngest Trustees (Sarah Walter, Ben Wells, and Sara Keeney) to learn why they believe serving as board members for the CRC is important. Plus, we honor our recently deceased colleague, Warren Eddy and share the good news of Saluting Branches 4th consecutive visit to our cemetery to care for our trees!

Enjoy and please do share with folks who might be interested! We can use all the friends and followers we can get to help keep our institution strong.

Address

110 Tompkins Street
Cortland, NY
13045

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+16077566022

Website

http://www.cortland-rural-cemetery.com/

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