First Hill Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky

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Get directions Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Coordinates: 38.05052, -84.50149
Cemetery ID:

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First Hill, occupied now by the First Baptist church, was the earliest designated cemetery of Lexington. It was established in the summer of 1780 for settlers killed by Indians. It was located near a fort, where ground was cleared of cane, and set aside by trustees of the town for religious purposes.

It was abandoned years ago, due to a plague of cholera in 1833, when bodies were buried in tiers. No care was taken of it after that time and it ceased to be used. But in 1938, a few stones remained.

After the Lexington Cemetery opened in 1849, the remains of some persons buried on the "first hill" and in the other graveyards were reinterred in Lexington Cemetery. In February 1859, the City Council titled the land to the First Baptist Church, which wanted to erect a new building there. Remains that were not claimed by relatives and removed were "to be decently buried under the Church."

As of 2010, there are no markers present, and the area that was the cemetery is now replaced by a church and parking lot.