Hillside Memorial Park
A storied hillside of towering cypress, pioneer heritage, and enduring peace in the heart of Redlands
Redlands' Oldest Institution on a Hillside of Living History
Hillside Memorial Park rests on 53 acres of scenic rolling hills in the southwestern quarter of Redlands, California — making it the largest city-owned cemetery in the state. With more than 32,000 souls at rest beneath its canopy of towering trees, the park is both a working cemetery and a living chronicle of the community that grew up around it.
Founded in 1886 by Frank E. Brown and Edward G. Judson — the same visionaries who platted and named the City of Redlands — Hillside is actually two years older than the city itself, making it the oldest continuously operated business in Redlands. The park was privately held until 1918, when the City of Redlands acquired it and has owned and maintained it ever since.
Today Hillside is home to thousands of trees, including what is believed to be the largest collection of Italian Cypress trees outside of Italy. The park shelters 151 Civil War veterans, 36 Spanish-American War veterans, 69 World War I burials, and generation after generation of the families who built one of Southern California's most beloved small cities. With space remaining for roughly another century of service, Hillside continues to grow as quietly and gracefully as the cypress sentinels that define its skyline.
Milestones Through the Years
- 1886
Incorporated by Frank E. Brown and Edward G. Judson — co-founders of Redlands — two years before the city itself is chartered.
- 1887
The first burial takes place: Reverend Charles H. Gothier, the first settler of what would become Smiley Heights, is laid to rest on June 12.
- 1910
Philanthropist Olivia Phelps Stokes donates the ornate Bedford limestone gateway on Alessandro Road in memory of her sister Caroline, who passed in 1909.
- 1918
The City of Redlands acquires Hillside Memorial Park and assumes ownership and maintenance — a stewardship that continues to this day.
- 1927
Olivia Phelps Stokes passes and bequeaths funds for the matching Sunset Drive gateway. Both sisters are interred at Hillside.
- 1928
The Egyptian-style mausoleum is dedicated — a striking 31-by-86-foot structure built with Alaskan marble, designed to hold 250 crypts, and inspired by the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. Finished cost: $70,000.
- 2019
The City of Redlands designates Hillside Memorial Park as a historic resource of significant value to the community.
A City-Owned Cemetery Serving Every Family
Traditional In-Ground Burial
Single and companion lawn spaces are available throughout the park's beautifully landscaped sections, nestled among the rolling hills and mature trees that give Hillside its character.
Mausoleum Entombment
Two mausoleum structures on the grounds — including the landmark 1928 Egyptian-style mausoleum — provide dignified above-ground crypt spaces for casket entombment.
Cremation Interment
Cremation ashes may be interred in dedicated niche spaces within the mausoleums or in designated ground plots, providing families with flexible memorialization options.
Pre-Need Planning
Hillside offers pre-need burial arrangements so families can plan ahead with peace of mind, selecting plots and options at today's pricing before the time of need.
Veterans Sections
Home to 151 Civil War veterans, 36 Spanish-American War veterans, and 69 World War I burials, Hillside has a deep tradition of honoring those who served their country.
City-Managed Grounds
As a municipally owned and operated park, Hillside is maintained by the City of Redlands with care and consistency — ensuring the grounds remain beautiful for generations to come.
Honoring Every Life in Stone and Bronze
As a city-owned cemetery, Hillside Memorial Park has specific guidelines for memorial markers. Below is a general guide to what is available across the grounds.
Monument style availability varies by section and is subject to City of Redlands cemetery regulations. We recommend confirming permitted marker types with the cemetery office at the time of purchase.
Icons That Define the Park
Egyptian-Style Mausoleum
The crown jewel of Hillside is its striking 1928 mausoleum, built in the Egyptian Revival style inspired by the worldwide fascination following the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. The 31-by-86-foot structure was constructed with marble brought from Alaska and was dedicated in August 1928 at a finished cost of $70,000. Designed to hold 250 crypts, it remains one of the most architecturally distinctive cemetery structures in the Inland Empire.
The Phelps Stokes Gateways
Two ornamental limestone gateways mark the entrances to Hillside and tell a story of sisterly devotion and philanthropy. The Alessandro Road gate was donated in 1910 by Olivia Phelps Stokes in memory of her sister Caroline, who died in 1909. Crafted from Bedford, Indiana limestone dressed in New York and built by the Bly Brothers Stone Company of Los Angeles, the gateway was designed by Olivia's nephew in Philadelphia. When Olivia herself passed in 1927, she bequeathed funds for the matching Sunset Drive entrance.
The Italian Cypress Collection
Hillside is home to thousands of mature trees, but its most celebrated natural feature is what is believed to be the largest collection of Italian Cypress trees outside of Italy. These tall, slender evergreens rise like green columns across the hillside, lending the park an unmistakable Mediterranean silhouette and a timeless sense of dignity that visitors remember long after they leave.
Civil War Veterans Section
Among the oldest headstones in the park are those of 151 Civil War veterans — Union soldiers who settled in Southern California after the war and helped build the communities of the San Bernardino Valley. Their graves, along with 36 Spanish-American War veterans and 69 World War I burials, form a quiet corridor of American service stretching back to the 1860s.
Lives That Shaped a City and a Nation, Remembered Here
Hillside Memorial Park holds the founders, builders, authors, and educators who gave Redlands its identity. A brief tribute to some of those remembered here.
The co-founders of both the City of Redlands and Hillside Cemetery itself. Brown, a civil engineer, designed the revolutionary Bear Valley Dam. Judson, a New York stockbroker turned pioneer, served as Redlands' first mayor. Together they platted the town, introduced the Washington navel orange, and built the water system that made the citrus boom possible. Fittingly, both rest in the cemetery they created.
The celebrated novelist best known for co-authoring Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Men Against the Sea (1934), and Pitcairn's Island (1934) with James Norman Hall. A World War I aviator and gifted storyteller, Nordhoff brought the saga of the HMS Bounty to millions of readers worldwide. His father Walter and brother Franklin — both authors in their own right — also rest at Hillside.
A first-grade teacher at Kingsbury Elementary School from 1888 to 1921, Miss Fackler is credited with starting the tradition of schoolchildren reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each morning. After the 1892 Columbus anniversary celebration, she continued the daily pledge in her classroom. A visiting general's wife spread the story to Washington, D.C., and by 1924, Congress had formally adopted the practice.
A Yale-educated engineer and founding figure of the Southern California Edison Company, Morrison arrived in Redlands in 1882 and became one of its most consequential citizens. He served as the first president of the Bank of the East San Bernardino Valley and as city treasurer from the very first municipal election in 1888. He lived to the remarkable age of 97.
Wealthy New York philanthropists who wintered in Redlands beginning in 1899, the Stokes sisters donated the iconic limestone gateways at Hillside's entrances. Caroline's estate established the Phelps-Stokes Fund, dedicated to improving housing and educational opportunities for African Americans and Native Americans. Both sisters are interred in the cemetery they helped beautify.
Among the oldest graves in the park are those of more than 150 Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War and later settled in Southern California. Alongside them rest 36 veterans of the Spanish-American War and 69 from World War I — a quiet testament to generations of service stretching from the battlefields of Antietam to the trenches of the Western Front.
What Families & Visitors Say About Hillside
Visitors who walk the grounds of Hillside Memorial Park speak of a timeless tranquility — the kind of place where the wind in the cypress and the birdsong are the loudest things you'll hear.
“Peaceful, tranquil, still. The sounds of squirrels barking and playing, of the birds discussing among each other, and a slight breeze rustling the boughs of the sentinel pines. A truly beautiful resting place.”
“The grounds are sprawling, lush, and lovingly maintained. Mature trees everywhere provide a solemn tranquility you don't find in many places. It's more than a cemetery — it's a park in the truest sense.”
“A quiet walking area with historical markers dating back to the 1800s. The cypress trees are stunning and give the whole place a feeling of timelessness. I come here just to walk and think.”
“The history here is incredible — Civil War veterans, city founders, famous authors. You can spend hours reading the headstones and learning the story of Redlands. A hidden gem of the Inland Empire.”
“Beautiful scenery with trees and wind chimes. Everything is well kept and the rolling hills give you views of the mountains. It feels like a peaceful escape from the world right in the middle of town.”
“This cemetery has so much character. The Egyptian mausoleum, the old stone gateways, the rows of Italian cypress — it feels more like a European garden than a typical American cemetery. A remarkable place.”