HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville’s Maple Hill Cemetery, known for its historical ties to the military, now offers a digital way to locate veterans’ graves thanks to a new app created by the City’s GIS Department.
The app allows users to find graves of veterans dating back to the Revolutionary War, enhancing the experience for visitors and organizations that honor these veterans during major holidays.
Tara Sloan, City Director of Cemeteries, said the new app will help groups place flags and wreaths on veterans' graves during holidays. “We appreciate the hard work of the City’s GIS Department in creating this app to honor our veterans,” Sloan said. “Of the estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, the app identifies 2,220 veterans.”
In the summer of 2024, University of Alabama in Huntsville intern Will Ford worked with the GIS team to gather the data needed for the app. “To gather the data needed to create this application, Ford walked every acre of Maple Hill Cemetery with a GPS device, logging names, birth and death dates, military branches and the wars in which they fought,” said Amy Kenum, City GIS Manager. “We really enjoyed capturing this information for the history of Huntsville and to honor the City’s veterans.”
The app is part of a pilot project aimed at creating a comprehensive digital database for all of the City's cemeteries. The goal is to expand this initiative to other City cemeteries in the future.
Families of veterans whose graves are not listed in the app are encouraged to reach out and share the information. Families of veterans whose graves are not found on the app are encouraged to email MapleHill@HuntsvilleAL.gov.
The app can be accessed here, where users can filter results to find the graves of veterans by military branch or conflict.
