Five University presidents, two U.S. generals and the man responsible for bringing football to Auburn.
These individuals are among the many Auburn men and women buried in Pine Hill, a 6-acre cemetery on Armstrong Street.
"It's the oldest and most historic cemetery in Auburn," said Ann Pearson, member and past president of the Auburn Heritage Association.
Pearson said the land for Pine Hill was given to Auburn in 1837 by Judge John Harper, founder of the city.
"There are 1,500 people or more buried here, that we know of," Pearson said. "Not all the graves are marked."
In 1978, the Auburn Heritage Association placed Pine Hill on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, according to the association's brochure.
Pearson said the association began renovating Pine Hill in 1994.
"It was in pretty bad shape," Pearson said. "It's a continuing project."
Pearson said her grandfather, Luther Duncan, is buried in Pine Hill, along with four other past presidents of Auburn University: James Dowdell, William Broun, Charles Thach and Ralph Draughon.
Pearson said James Henry Lane, a confederate general in the Civil War, and Lewis Andrew Pick, a U.S. general in World War II, are also buried in Pine Hill.
George Petrie, former head of the history department and dean of the graduate school at the University is another Auburn legend buried in the cemetery.
"He got football started at Auburn in 1892," Pearson said. "The football people come over occasionally to put stuff on his grave."
The Auburn Heritage Association puts on a lantern tour through the cemetery biannually in October.
"We modeled it after one in Savannah that they still have over there," Pearson said. "The first one we had in May of '96. We had no idea what we were doing. We were mobbed by 400 people and ran out of tickets. Now we do it two nights. They started doing one at Moore's Mill in Opelika so we alternate years now. This is our year."
Cathy Jones, member of the Auburn Heritage Association, said the lantern tour will be held Oct. 8 and 9 this year.
"If it rains, the rain dates are the following Thursday and Friday," Jones said. "The tour is from 6-8 p.m. It takes about 45 minutes and the ticket price is $10."
Pearson said the tour features true stories about the lives and deaths of those buried in the cemetery.
One of these stories involves a man named William who worked at the antebellum newspaper, "The Auburn Gazette."
Pearson said William lived in a boarding house on West Magnolia Avenue, close to where McDonald's is now located, and fell in love with 16-year-old Virginia, whose mother owned the boarding house.
"Her mother objected, but he pursued and they got married and moved into a house next door," Pearson said. "Within a few months, Virginia got sick and died. William was so devastated he had her buried in the front yard of their house so he could grieve daily. But, men's hearts are fickle, and before long William was dating Virginia's sister who said she would marry him on the condition that he move Virginia's grave out of the front yard."
Pearson said the grave and headstone proclaiming, "William to Virginia, aged 16 years" were relocated to Pine Hill.
"We have actors stationed near the graves and the guides carry lanterns," Pearson said. "We change around characters every year so people won't see the same ones each year."
Pearson said the money made from the tour goes back into doing things for the city.
Gail Langley, member of the Auburn Heritage Association, helps to organize the lantern tour.
"I've taken a lot of ghost tours, like in Savannah and New Orleans and ours is far and away wonderful," Langley said. "People shouldn't miss it."
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