Virgil Rural Cemetery, Virgil, Cortland County, NY
Along NY Route Route 392 (accessible via exit 9, Interstate 81) a few miles short of the town of Cortland in Cortland County,
below the Finger Lakes in rural New York State, lies the small town of Virgil. The town is noteworthy for
having been settled just after the American Revolution as part of the land of the
"Central New York Military Tract". This land was set aside to
compensate New York's Revolutionary War soldiers for their service.
Along Route 392 is a cemetery bearing the name "Virgil Rural Cemetery" which seems to have been the replacement for the
1st Public Cemetery on nearby Church Street. The area is lightly populated
and has some magnificent views.
The rural cemetery is medium sized, hoolding several thousand burials. We could only be there for a short while at twilight and were only
able to photograph a couple hundred tombstones. We had intended to return to shoot the oldest graves in better light but
unrelated scheduling changes cut short our stay in the region. We photographed markers more or less at random depending upon the
available, limited sunlight. We hope to one day return and perform a more thorough job but, at this point, have no idea when that might be.
If you would like to read more about the town of Virgil, please see the History
of Virgil which contains some very interesting stories about early settlement of these lands.
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