Contacts:

Office Worker – (Melissa Olsen) Cell # 518-378-4094 or Office # 518-284-3010

Contact Person For:
• Funeral Directors/Crematories/Memorial Companies/Vault Companies
• Cemetery operations and coordinating with Cemetery Supervisor
• Client Inquiries
• Assisting the Public
• Lot Sales
• Collecting fees and issuing receipts
• Opening & Closing Graves & coordinating with Cemetery Supervisor
• Foundation Work & coordinating with Cemetery Supervisor
• Lettering on Cemetery Stones
• Cleaning Cemetery Stones

Cemetery Supervisor – (Ian Trombecky) Cell # 518-231-0983 or Tel. # 518-284-1519

Responsible for:
• Cemetery Maintenance
• Coordinating Cemetery operations with Office Worker
• Overseeing Cemetery Workers and submitting timesheets
• Equipment Maintenance
• Opening & Closing Graves

Town Clerk – (Melissa Olsen) Cell # 518-378-4094 Office # 518-284-3010 FAX # 518-284-2780
Ofc. @ 129 Main St. Sharon Springs, NY 13459

Responsible for:
• Collecting fees
• Preparing Deeds
• Filing and storing Cemetery Documents, including old records & maps
• Changes on maps & record deeds

Rates:

Lot Rate – $450 per single grave
Foundation – $150. minimum charge

Internment:

• Body – $700.
• Cremated remains – $350.

Vault Charges:

• Burial in Slate Hill – $100.00
• Burial in another cemetery – $200.00
• Foundation – $0.50 per square inch

Directions to Slate Hill Cemetery:
From the intersection of Route 10 and 20 in Sharon Springs, go south on Route 10 for 3.8 miles; turn left onto Slate Hill Road. Go east for 1.3 miles; cemetery is on the left side of the road.

Traveling West on US Route 20 at the intersection of Route 20 and NYS Route 145 in Sharon Hill, proceed through caution light and then turn left onto Slate Hill Rd., proceed for two (2) miles; cemetery is on the right, Main Entrance is at the top of the hill.

Brief History:
Slate Hill Cemetery, so named because it sits on a hill of slate formation on Slate Hill Road, was incorporated July 6, 1866. The vault was built at the same time. The oldest part of the cemetery dates back to the 1700s.

Stones from several small cemeteries have been moved to Slate Hill over the years. Some of the Beekman family stones are duplicates of those at the Beekman Cemetery, located by Beekman Mansion on Route 10. It is thought that Beekman family coffins may have been moved to Slate Hill Cemetery after William Beekman died, but no record has been found to confirm this.

There was a small cemetery on the Doyle farm (Empie/Karker Cemetery), located to the west of Slate Hill Cemetery, which were also moved to Slate Hill Cemetery. John and Sophia Empie’s gravestones were relocated, along with the stones for Eliza M. Karker and Isaac Karker. There isn’t any record of the coffins being moved, but it is believed they were probably moved when the cemetery was incorporated in 1866.

Eight stones and coffins were moved to Slate Hill from the Ball Cemetery which was located on the Duncan Brown farm near Sharon Center on Route 20. This occurred in 1947, probably when Route 20 was widened.

In 1975, the Van Heertum Cemetery, located directly across the road from Slate Hill Cemetery, was transferred there as well. It included one Van Heertum stone for Melissa 1972-1975 and Susan 1953-1975.

And most recently, the Henry Lehman Cemetery was excavated and moved to Slate Hill Cemetery in 1994 when Wal-Mart bought a portion of the Kenyon Parsons farm to be used as a Distribution Center warehouse area.

Mabel Karker, who died in 1982, was a benefactor of the Slate Hill Cemetery. Because of her generous contribution, many improvements and enhancements were made possible. This cemetery has its own vault, which is also used by other cemeteries in the area.

The names of many prominent families in the Sharon Hill and Sharon Springs area are evident on the gravestones.

Part of the old section of Slate Hill Cemetery, (located on top of the hill toward the center of the cemetery) has the distinction of being the subject of one of Fritz Vogt’s drawings. Mr. Vogt was a well-known itinerant artist who arrived in the area in the 1890s and traveled from place to place drawing mostly houses and farms.

The Cemetery was owned and operated by the Slate Hill Cemetery Association until 2018. Because of a lack of funds, they were forced to abandon the property which then reverted to the Town of Sharon municipality for upkeep and maintenance.