The City of Troy is widely known for a few reasons. It was the birthplace of Uncle Sam, it was known as the “Collar City” for producing the most shirt collars in the nation, and its beautiful Victorian architecture to name a few. But not many people mention how just outside the city of Troy lies a place of extreme mystery, so mysterious it doesn’t even show up on a map…
Officially named the Forest Park cemetery, it is more commonly referred to as the “Pinewood Cemetery” due to its location off of Pinewood avenue. With statues of headless angels, stories of grave robbers, and a mysterious suicide, the main gates are often referred to as the “Gates of Hell”.
The story goes that in 1897 a group of Troy business owners founded the Forest Park Cemetery Corporation, but records as far back as 1856 show the land was already used for burials. Unfortunately the company went bankrupt in 1914, with the cemetery still incomplete. Garnet Baltimore, who was the lead designer, had his work unfinished.
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After the bankruptcy, the cemetery was sold to a corporation made up of New York City residents, but after they too went bankrupt, the cemetery was sold to a local country club. Then in 1918 a man by the name of William Christian volunteered to become the caretaker of the cemetery, which he did until his passing in 1961…