Over the last century and a half, the cemetery's gentle hills and lush greenery have manifested and continued the original concept of the "garden" cemetery ~ which became popular in the mid-1800s. The concept valued openness and rusticity, welcoming families to visit and remember those they had lost.

   Cortland Rural Cemetery is a historic cemetery where monuments honor humble and great citizens alike. Visitors may see the graves of the last Upstate Governor of New York, Nathan Miller; the graves of veterans of all American wars, including that of Brigadier-General Joseph Reynolds, who served in the War of 1812 and Colonel Andrew J. Grover, who died at Gettysburg; and the grave of Dr. Julia Spalding, who arrived in Cortland in 1883 as one of the nation's earliest women doctors.