Hillcrest Cemetery is locally significant as the final resting place of men and women who made contributions to Cary’s social, economic, political, and religious growth, and development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Interred at the cemetery are fifteen former mayors, many leading local educators, and businessmen, including members of the Jones, Page, Templeton, and Guess families, and Cary High School principal Marcus Baxter Dry, Esther Ivey, Russell O. Heater, Alfred “Buck” Jones, and R. S. “Dad” Dunham.

The municipal cemetery is located south of downtown on 4.87 acres and is surrounded on all sides by wooded residential neighborhoods. The Town acquired most of the cemetery in several transactions during the 1960s and 1970s, making it the Town’s only municipal cemetery with over 2400 burial sites and 4.9 acres. It was designated as a Cary historic landmark in 2014.

Location

608 Page Street
Cary, NC  27511

Hours

Daily 8 am to 8 pm (April-August)
Daily 8 am to 6 pm (September-March)

Process for Selling Plot(s)

• The Town does not get involved in the sale of cemetery easements between private parties but will provide the requester with a waiting list of people who have contacted the Town and expressed interest in buying plot(s) at Hillcrest.
• The clerk’s office is happy to answer any questions regarding the regulations of the cemetery or location of the plot(s)
• The deed should include the following language:
  THIS CONVEYANCE IS SUBJECT TO THE CONDITION SUBSEQUENT THAT THE TOWN OF CARY, ITS SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, SHALL HA VE THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE ALL RIGHTS, INTEREST AND TITLE OF THE GRANTEE AND ALL THEIR SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS IN THIS EASEMENT, IF (1) ALL SUBSEQUENT INSTRUMENTS OF CONVEYANCE ARE NOT REGISTERED WITH THE WAKE COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS WITHIN FIFTEEN (15) DAYS AFTER THE EXECUTION OF THE SAID INSTRUMENT, AND (2) THE TOWN CLERK, TOWN OF CARY, IS NOT PROVIDED A COPY OF THE REGISTERED INSTRUMENT WITHIN FIFTEEN (15) DAYS AFTER REGISTRATION.
• The deed should be recorded with the Wake County Register of Deeds, and a copy should be returned to the Town Clerk, Virginia Johnson, Town Clerk, P.O. Box 8005, Cary, NC 27513 or virginia.johnson@townofcary.org

Other Resources 

Hillcrest Cemetery is governed by Chapter 10 of the Town's Code of Ordinance. This link will provide guidance on burial and monument regulations.

Printable Hillcrest Map

Authorization for Burial

Historic Landmark Report

A walking tour map is available online and when you first enter the cemetery. The map was produced by the Friends of the Page-Walker.