Prospect Hill Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, PA
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
This soldiers' lot is closed to interments.
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
From Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, take Interstate 81 to Interstate 83 South. Follow Interstate 83 South to the George Street exit. Take George Street to cemetery. The cemetery will be on the right.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
The private and community cemeteries that contain NCA soldiers' and government lots, and Confederate cemeteries, do not always have staffed offices on site. When administrative information for the larger cemetery is available, it is provided below.
Prospect Hill Cemetery
Phone: (717) 843-8006
Website: http://prospecthill.org
NOTE: Link will take you outside the VA website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.
This soldiers' lot is overseen by Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Decorations limited to two per grave. Arbors, basket hooks, tripods, rustic or iron work, architectural items, wires, stakes and furniture are prohibited. Vases made of wood, iron, brick, cement, terra cotta, glass, ceramic, and/or any other easily broken materials are not permitted. No pots or containers are to be buried or embedded in the ground or lawn. Fencing, coping, curbing, walls, or any other item that obstructs the movement of mowers or other cemetery equipment is prohibited.
All floral remembrances must be in an easy to trim vase container.
Decorations shall not be hung from, nor attached to Mausoleum Crypt and/or Columbarium Niches.
The cemetery will not be responsible nor liable for any decoration, container, or other lost, stolen, broken, or misplaced item.
Planting of any flowers, shrubs, trees, or any living item in the cemetery is strictly forbidden.
The removal of any flowers, shrubs, trees, or any other living item from the cemetery, or any picking flowers, trimming or breaking of shrubs, plants or trees is prohibited.
Wilted, faded or unsightly flowers or decorations will be removed from lost throughout the year.
Spring Cleanup: March 1-14. All decorations will be removed from all lots.
Summer Cleanup: July 5 - 15. Flags, holiday decorations and wilted flowers will
be removed from all lots.
Fall Cleanup: November 1 - 14. All decorations will be removed from all lots.
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
The local Reformed Church of York, Pennsylvania, chartered Prospect Hill Cemetery in 1849. The first burial in the cemetery took place two years later. Soon after, burials in other local cemeteries began to be re-interred in Prospect Hill, including the remains of Phillip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Many prominent local citizens have come to rest in Prospect Hill, and today there are more than 90,000 interments in the 327-acre cemetery.
Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot is located in section A, lot 689, of the parent cemetery. The exact date of the establishment of the soldiers' lot is unknown, but records indicate that the first burials occurred as early as 1862, and were most likely soldiers who died at the local hospital. Originally located on the west slope of Prospect Hill, the soldiers' lot was later moved to a more favorable location on the eastern slope. There are 161 known and two unknown graves in the soldiers' lot, all without headstones. Alternatively, the names are inscribed on two continuous circular curbs enclosing a central soldiers' monument, with breaks only for the path.
Monuments and Memorials
In the years following the Civil War, the citizens of York commissioned sculptor Martin Milmore to create a monument for the soldiers' lot. A local firm, Brashears & Son, provided the stone base. Erected in 1874, the 15-foot bronze figure of a soldier honors Union troops who died in the York area. The sculpture stands atop a square granite base surrounded by four cannons.
Under Development.
More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Prospect Hill Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, PA.
Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
