Sometimes you stumble on a particular cemetery and it opens up a new world for you. We know how it feels when you document and tend to graves in a cemetery and feel a sense of responsibility and care for the people buried there. You want to learn more about their lives, more about the history of the community and cemetery and share the information with others.
Cemeteries are fascinating places to roam with much to discover. Thanks to the Find a Grave community, 26,907 cemeteries were added in 2025 – which adds to the total of 611,225 cemeteries added to Find a Grave worldwide. We thought we could explore a few that are off the beaten path and lead to a world of discoveries all their own.
Walhalla Cemetery, located on a steep hillside in the remote mining town of Walhalla, Australia, is terraced with pathways and gravesites formed and supported by stone walls, making room for 1300 burials. The cemetery includes burials of many accidental and early deaths due to the hardship and illnesses that the community endured. Local legend speaks to the grave of James Mitchell, who died in a mine collapse in 1880. The inscription reads,
“Oh let my sudden doom, A warning be to all. Ere whilst thou bendest o’er my tomb, Thou may as quickly fall”
To enter Heath Cemetery in Indiana, you’ll walk through a natural tunnel created by mature trees and shrubs. Your own secret garden cemetery, transporting you to another time.
The first known burial in the cemetery was in 1833. The cemetery was established by Ralph and Mary Heath, who are buried here along with their family and others. A cemetery restoration was completed in 2011 by the Pioneer Cemetery Preservation committee of the Delaware County Historical Society.
This is the view of the Bantay Municipal Cemetery from the historic Bantay Bell Tower in Bantay, Philippines. With the mountains and valley as the backdrop, we were able to match up a current photo with a historical one from the early 1900s. Scroll through the photos and you’ll see the Cemetery Chapel of Bantay, which was originally located on the hill in the cemetery. Some people remember it being there as late as the 1970s. Now, one can only see the remnants of its walls and the site is marked by a tall concrete cross. But, we thought it would be interesting to add the chapel in digitally and get a sense of what it would look like if it were still there today.
It’s easy to get lost in cemeteries, their history and the lives of people buried there.
Speaking of cemeteries, we’ve been working on a new feature and are so excited that we couldn’t wait to tell you about it. Soon you’ll be able to easily suggest updates to cemetery pages with a Cemetery Edits feature. From adding an aka to the cemetery name, updating the GPS location, adding a description and more, the Cemetery Edits feature will make it easy for you to share what you know about a cemetery with the Find a Grave community. You’ll be able to update any cemetery field, add translations and even report a duplicate cemetery for us to review. Wahoo! When it’s ready, you’ll see the ‘Suggest Edits’ button on any cemetery page and we’ll publish an announcement here on the blog.
Let’s wrap up 2025 with some other celebrations!
Here are the 20 countries where the community has done the most work in 2025.
We don’t know how many family mysteries were solved, how many unknown graves were found or how many grateful thank you’s were sent. However, we do have some numbers to share that give a snapshot overview of the Find a Grave community volunteering their time and efforts in 2025.
Here at Find a Grave, we’re honored to host such an incredible and invaluable community on the world’s largest platform for online grave and burial information. Thanks for another fantastic year! Thank you for your commitment to our mission, to the work and to each other. What you’ve created here at Find a Grave is valuable to everyone. Truly, a legacy for generations to enjoy and continue and all because of you.