Troy cemetery home to “Gates of Hell”

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.

The last known burial at the Pinewoods occurred in 2005, and since then the cemetery has become the foundation for a few urban legends.  Including an article in Life magazine calling the Pinewoods one of the top 10 most haunted places in the country.  That article has since disappeared, with Life magazine themselves denying those rumors.

There is also a beautiful mausoleum designed by Garnet Baltimore still standing, although the mausoleum is completely empty.  As well as a story that in 1916 a man from Buffalo named Harold Hubbard Horne was visiting with his girlfriend, and while details are scarce one thing that is certain is the man died in the cemetery from a gunshot wound to the head.  With some saying if you drive by the cemetery at night, you can see the troubled man roaming around.

I had an opportunity years ago to visit these “Gates of Hell” with some friends, and while we could not enter the cemetery, some pictures we took of the gates left us with chills…

These two photos captured on my own cell phone were taken at the same time with one key difference, one with flash and one without.  As you can see in the photo with flash, multiple white orbs can be seen floating around.  Many in the paranormal and spiritual communities believe these orbs are actually balls of spiritual energy, angels, or the spirits of deceased loved ones associated with protection.

The Pinewoods to this day remain a place filled with mystery surrounding the many tales visitors have told, and the cemetery is still there outside of the city of Troy waiting for more stories to be told.