The words of Coxsackie Union Editor Franklin were prophetic, for the Riverside Cemetery has become “an ornament to the town unsurpassed in attractiveness by other cemeteries.” The design and layout of the grounds is very pleasing. The roads and sections are orderly, but not strictly rectangular, with sufficient variety to lend interest. Often overlooked, but important for the spacious feeling of the cemetery, is the “park”, the first hundred feet along Riverside Avenue, which contains no graves. The wrought iron fence, the cobblestone pillars, and the towering sugar maple and tulip trees mark the transition from street to solemn ground, as visitors put aside everyday thoughts and enter the realm of the eternal. On the gently rising slope just past the park stand some of the tallest and most impressive granite monuments.

To the left is the stone-fronted turf-roofed receiving vault, and then the toolshed and pump. To the right are magnificent specimens of copper beech, weeping beech, ginkgo, white spruce, and sugar maple.

The far-sighted founders set out trees which, a century and a quarter later, have reached maturity. As much as the views, the park, the vault, and the monuments, the trees give Riverside Cemetery its unique character. In the past decade the Trustees have planted many more trees, in furtherance and extension of the original design, especially as avenues along the roadways. The west road is flanked by white oaks, and the north by scarlet oaks. The full effect will be witnessed only by our great great grandchildren, but the essential thing is to make a beginning.

The Association is still governed by nine trustees, who today are Margaret Chaloner, Doctoer Robert Chaloner, Jeremy Copleston, Howard Eldred, Jr., Grant Lazette, Christel Schnare, William Tremmel, Frank Vermilyea, and James Warren. The Association is very fortunate in having its Caretaker Ernest Foster, Jr., whose unremitting efforts keep the cemetery in excellent condition. In addition to Riverside Cemetery, the Association also maintains the Reed Cemetery on Route 385, the Adams Cemetery in west Coxsackie, and the Hallenbeck Cemetery on Green Lake Road. The Association is funded by a small endowment, receiving no public tax money. The income is derived from interest on the trust fund, grave openings, and lot sales. From this all the annual expenses must be met. Finances are always precarious. Lately the income has just matched the expenses. However, a decade ago the Association faced financial oblivion, averted by a fund drive in 1989 which produced a generous response.

The public is welcome to visit and enjoy the Riverside Cemetery during daylight hours. Please bear in mind, however, that the cemetery is just that, a burial ground attended chiefly by those remembering and mourning their departed; the atmosphere of tranquility and repose should not be disturbed.