The lavishly illustrated book, “A History of the Vale – Schenectady’s Historic Cemetery” by Don Rittner is still available. For many years, Don was the Schenectady City and County historian.
In the book, he discusses the Rural Cemetery Movement of the mid 1800’s and the development of special areas in Vale Cemetery (Potter’s Field, African American Ancestral Burial Ground, Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery, Millionaires’ Row, the Urban Farm and the Ahmadiya Muslim Cemetery). Each is described and their history explained.
There are 100 pages of biographies of notables interred in Vale including war heroes, inventors, industrialists, notable women and African Americans.
A description of the Union College Faculty Cemetery and a list of those interred there is included. Vale Cemetery sells the book at cost ($21) plus postage.