The first recorded burial was George Clarke, a Burke County student at the university, who died September 28, 1798.

In the other sections, there are administrators and professors, as well as prominent public officials, business leaders, and artists from the area.

There are also uninscribed fieldstones, headstones, ledgers, boxtombs, and tomb-tables in the newer sections.

Diverse species of trees, such as oaks, hickories, gums, cedars, maples, and pines, create a cover of shade in the cemetery.

During the spring, dogwood trees, azaleas and wisteria make the cemetery one of the most beautiful spots on campus.

Five 19th century headstones were tipped over and smashed the day before Charles Kuralt was buried in the cemetery.

Distinguished persons buried in the cemetery include legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith;[5] band leader Kay Kyser and his wife, singer Georgia Carroll; playwright Paul Green; novelists Alice Adams and Max Steele; university presidents Frank Porter Graham, Robert Burton House, and William Friday; and CBS newsman Charles Kuralt.

In 2005, the Memorial Grove portion was established to allow space for the spreading of ashes of cremated persons.