IVY HILL CEMETERY

                            Overview
Ivy Hill Cemetery was created in 1887 as a private cemetery to serve the residents of Smithfield and Isle of Wight County. The land was originally part of the T.B. Wright farm until it was laid out as a cemetery along the slopes of land overlooking the Pagan River. It has been the burial ground for many of the area’s prominent citizens.
 
The cemetery is an example of the rural cemetery movement which is characterized by a landscape design that follows the natural contours of the land and includes wooded areas and rolling hills. It is also sited well away from urban development.
​

Guided Walking Tour with Guide Kathy Mountjoy

Location
451 N. Church Street
Smithfield, VA 23430

Hours
Dawn until dusk

​Phone Number
(757) 353-1699 or (757) 408-1935

Designations
Virginia Landmarks Register
National Register of Historic Places
 
Tours
Guided tours, led by local historian Kathy Mountjoy, is a discussion of the signs, symbols and notable burials in this historic rural cemetery which was established in 1887. Tours available by reservation: $5 per person, children under 12 free. Cash or check only. Minimum of 4 paying guests

Share Your Stories
Do you have photographs, memories, documents or ephemera to share which will help tell a more complete story of Ivy Hill Cemetery and its residents? Let us document your information. Call us to make an appointment.
​

Mapping Project in Conjunction with the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia

UMW is working to map data points at Ivy Hill Cemetery to show each gravestone, provide transcriptions of those gravestones and perform search functions within the site. View their progress on this monumental project here.

Notable Burials

​Joel Holleman
1799-1844
Virginia House of Delegates Speaker
Virginia House of Delegates
U.S. House of Representatives
​Virginia Senate

Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney Sr.
1836–1915
Civil War veteran
Businessman, entrepreneur, gunsmith
Peanut industry pioneer

John W. Lawson
1837-1905
Physician
Farmer
​U.S. House of Representatives
Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia Senate

​Richard Randolph Turner
1838-1901
Second in command during the Civil War of Libby Prison, Richmond, Va.

Hardy Cross
1885 – 1959
American structural engineer

​


​
​


Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney Jr.
1861-1936
Businessman, entrepreneur, marketer
Pork industry pioneer

---

Segar Cofer Dashiell
1901-2001
Local historian
Author, writer, researcher, speaker
Smithfield: A Pictorial History, 1977

P​arke Shepherd Rouse Jr.
1915-1997
Newspaperman, author, historian
​Virginia Laureate, 1988