It is home to five former University presidents, three Revolutionary War soldiers and the first chief justice of the state of Michigan. These men permanently reside along with nearly 20,000 other residents at the 65-acre Forest Hill Cemetery.
A group of local business executives founded the cemetery, which is located on South Observatory, in 1857 based on "feeling the want of a public cemetery apart from the noise of the city," according to records of the cemetery association.
Naval surgeon Dr. Benajiah Ticknor was the first to be buried, in 1859.
Many of the older graves hold people who were moved from the city's old burying ground on Fletcher Street where the Power Center now exists.
"The old burying ground was suffering from neglect in the 1850s," said Wystan Stevens, an Ann Arbor historian. Many of the bodies were moved to Forest Hill by family members in the 1880s.
In 1891, the burial ground was turned into Felch Park. The decision caused citizens to hang Mayor Charles Manly in effigy.
"It was a lively town even in the 1890s," Stevens said.
Judge William Fletcher, the first chief justice of the state of Michigan, was buried in the old cemetary in 1852. His unusual metallic casket resembled an Egyptian tomb, tapering toward the feet with a bulb for the head.
However, Fletcher was buried in an unmarked grave and was not uncovered until 1916 while workers were burying a water main. The mother of the superintendent of the water company identified his casket and he was buried at Forest Hill.
But in 1966, workers building the Fletcher Street parking structure uncovered another casket. This one bore a nameplate engraved with Judge Fletcher's name.
Today, two caskets rest side by side at Fletcher's gravesite, and to this day, no one knows who is in the other casket.
"And Judge Fletcher rests for the rest of eternity uneasily beside himself," Stevens said, jokingly.
But everyone from the old burying ground still may not have been recovered.
"There still may be others buried in Felch Park in unmarked graves," Stevens said.
Stevens offers this anecdote along with several others during his annual fall cemetery tours. About 30 local residents gathered Sunday for the three-hour walking tour.
Stevens recounted the story of University Medical student Samuel Feinberg, who died in 1918. A statue depicting the Greek symbol of unconsolable grief sits atop his headstone. The mourning woman is knelt with her head bent forward.
"The story there is the statue actually weeps," Stevens said. He said high school students used to come to the cemetery at night and shine their car headlights on the statue to watch it "cry."
However, this phenomenon, Wystan explained, is the result of the soft, porous stone of which the statue is made.
"It acts like a sponge," he said. The stone absorbs moisture during the day and condenses at night as the air cools, thereby creating the illusion of tears running down the cheeks of the mourning woman.
Another "ghost story" lies in the 1906 tale of two Ann Arbor women who were sitting on headstones and talking with each other after attending a funeral. They heard rustling behind them, and turned to see a ghost moaning and flailing. The frightened women ran screaming from the cemetery and later told family members about the "ghost."
However, they weren't lying. A local paper published a story the next day about an inmate who had escaped from the psychopathic hospital that used to be located on Catherine Street where the Taubman Medical Library now stands.
"He apparently ran off with his bedsheet," Stevens said.
Forest Hill is also home to numerous prominent Ann Arbor and University individuals.
"Just about every street in Ann Arbor is named after someone who is buried here," said Roscoe Flack, manager of Forest Hill for 20 years.
Former Ann Arbor Mayor William Maynard, who committed suicide with poison while serving his mayoral term, was buried in 1866. His suicide note discussed his "struggles with the evil one," referring to the devil.
"Nobody knows what set him off," Stevens said, noting that he was said to be the richest man in Ann Arbor when he died.
Several prominent University individuals are also buried at Forest Hill.
"You have many University people here," Flack said.
Five former University presidents are buried at Forest Hill, including former President Henry Frieze who, during his presidency, was the first to admit women to the University in 1870.
Football announcer Bob Ufer, who has a block 'M' engraved on his headstone, permanently rests across from former Athletic Director Fielding Yost.
And Michigan football player George Jewett, who died in 1908, was the University's first black athlete.
Forest Hill is also home to several unusual memorials, including the headstone of Johann Geovg Muller, who died in 1858. His form of death is depicted on his headstone as he is shown writhing beneath the horse-drawn cart that ran him over.
"It's sort of like an epithet in the picture alone," said Flack, who added that the accident occurred at the corner of Hill Street and Packard Road.
Ann Arbor resident Carole Marie said she enjoyed the tour because of the cemetery's historical significance.
"I'm always fascinated by history and I like cemeteries," Marie said. "I liked (the tour) because you learn a lot about the history of Ann Arbor."
Stevens will be offering two more tours this season at 2 p.m. on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10. The tour, which meets at the cemetery's front gates, costs $8.
JULLY PARK/Daily
A cherub statue sits atop a headstone at Forest Hill Cemetery.