Rose Hill Cemetery (Boone County)

Rose Hill Cemetery was the first public cemetery in Harrison (Boone County) and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 13, 2025, in large part through the efforts of the Harrison Colony, Daughters of the American Revolution. It holds approximately 1,096 graves, 960 of which are more than fifty years old. Many of Harrison’s early prominent citizens rest in Rose Hill. Ninety-four veterans are buried there, including three women, and their service spans the Civil War, the Sioux Wars, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

The cemetery was formally established on July 1, 1878, when Captain Henry W. Fick, a former Union soldier, deeded the land to the town of Harrison, specifically to establish a cemetery. Some sources claim he did so to exact revenge on his enemy, former Confederate captain William Fletcher Pace, as the land was located across the street from Pace’s property. The cemetery was initially known by two names, the City Cemetery and the Harrison Cemetery, although residents knew that both referred to the same location. In 1924, it was renamed Rose Hill Cemetery.

Rose Hill Cemetery lies near the center of Harrison at 601 West Prospect Avenue on eight acres of mostly flat ground. An ornate metal arch spans the entrance. The grounds are surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. Redbud trees line the driveway, and oak trees provide shade.

Between July 1878 and early 1879, twenty-seven graves were moved to this cemetery from another, including the oldest grave, which is that of a child who died in 1870. Thus, the period of significance for this cemetery begins in 1870, even though it was not formally established until 1878. Due to lack of space, burials in Rose Hill sharply declined after 1939, which marked the end of the cemetery’s period of significance.

Numerous types and shapes of stones are used as markers, with symbols reflecting iconography popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Some markers are hand inscribed. Fraternal organization markers include the Woodmen of the World, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Freemasons, and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, better known as the Shriners.

Notable graves include Captain Henry W. Fick and James Ozwell Nicholson, who founded Harrison and were its first merchants. Leonidas Kirby was Harrison’s first physician and surgeon. Two of his sons, also doctors, are interred at Rose Hill. Franklin Clark Maxey was likely Harrison’s first dentist. Thomas Newman published the first newspaper in Harrison and Boone County and was Harrison’s first mayor. His son, John Robert Newman, was also a prominent editor and journalist in Harrison, as were three of his sons who are buried at Rose Hill. Other journalists include Robert Shelly Armitage, Felix Sanders Baker, Arzo Buck Cory, Henry Rhodes Fielding, William Eppa Fielding, and Alexander C. Hull. Among the more than twenty lawyers, judges, legislators, senators, and other politicians in Rose Hill are George James Crump Sr., Elbridge Gerry Mitchell Jr., Roy Wamon Milum, and John Samuel (J. Sam) Rowland. Also interred are wagon maker George Franklin Bower, founder of the Bower Brothers’ Manufacturing Company; James Barcus Frew, who established Frew Saddlery; George Hammerschmidt, who established Hammerschmidt Lumber Company and was the grandfather of John Paul Hammerschmidt; and William Joseph Moore, who managed the Boone County Telephone Company, retired at age 100, and was recognized by the Veterans Administration on his 108th birthday as being the oldest living veteran in America, having served in the Spanish-American War.

In the twenty-first century, all lots are appropriated, but some are unoccupied. Burials occur infrequently. Rose Hill Cemetery is owned by the City of Harrison and is managed by its Perpetual Care Committee.

For additional information:
“Rose Hill Cemetery.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/ahpp-documents/bo0240-nr.pdf?sfvrsn=c4f96194_0 (accessed November 21, 2025).

Nita Gould
Tulsa, Oklahoma