Redlands' 1886 city cemetery — oldest continually operating business in the city — where visitors report car horns honking on their own, lights blinking, and balls thrown back over the wall.
1540 Alessandro Rd, Redlands, CA 92373
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public cemetery; no admission charge
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved roads through 53-acre grounds; some sloped sections
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1886 · Oldest continually operating business in Redlands (est. 1886, two years before city incorporation) · City-owned and operated since 1918; 53 acres, ~32,000 interments · Burial site of Frank Pierce Morrison (SCE founder) and Charles Bernard Nordhoff (Mutiny on the Bounty co-author)
Frank Brown and Edward Judson, two of the founders of what would become the city of Redlands, established Hillside Memorial Park in 1886, predating the city's incorporation in 1888. Their motivation was practical: the young colony needed a burial ground. The cemetery's founding two years before the city itself makes it the oldest continually operating business in Redlands — a distinction the city notes in its own documentation.
The City of Redlands acquired ownership from private hands in 1918 and has managed it since. The cemetery spans 53 acres in Redlands' southwestern section, with 13 acres still undeveloped. Approximately 32,000 individuals are interred across the grounds, including 151 Civil War veterans, 36 Spanish-American War veterans, and 69 World War I burials.
Notable burials include Frank Pierce Morrison, founder of the Southern California Edison Company; Charles Bernard Nordhoff, co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty (1932) along with Men Against the Sea and Pitcairn's Island; Walter Nordhoff, author of The Journey of the Flame; and Franklin Nordhoff, author of Fruit of the Earth. Frank Brown and Edward Judson, the cemetery's own founders, are also buried here.
Sources
The paranormal lore attached to Hillside Memorial Park centers on a set of specific, repeated claims rather than a named apparition. Visitors have reported their car horns sounding on their own while parked on the cemetery grounds, and vehicle lights activating or flickering without apparent cause. The most unusual recurring story involves balls: multiple accounts describe throwing a ball over the outer wall and having it returned from the other side — an incident reported independently enough that it appears in multiple local paranormal roundups.
Local ghost hunting websites and paranormal enthusiasts classify Hillside Memorial Park as one of the Inland Empire's more reliably active cemeteries, citing its age — with burials dating to the 1880s — as a contributing factor. The cemetery's city-operated status and open daytime hours make it accessible to anyone who wants to visit. No formal paranormal investigation reports from named groups have been published specifically about this location, and the specific phenomenon claims come primarily from informal web sources rather than documented investigations.
Walk 53 acres of the oldest continually operating business in Redlands, established 1886. Notable burials include Frank Pierce Morrison (Southern California Edison founder) and Charles Bernard Nordhoff (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty).
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