The most common things people ask us, on site and on Facebook.
As far as anyone has been able to determine — including neighbors who spent over a decade searching county deeds, and the Township of McCandless's own attorney — no one does. The 1931 corporation's shareholders died, moved on, or left no clear heirs, and no legal owner has ever been established. This is the central, unresolved problem behind almost everything else on this site.
McCandless Township has pursued the legal steps needed to establish public access to the property after unclaimed ownership notices went unanswered. That said, no organization formally manages the site, and there's no guarantee of the protections a normal park or maintained cemetery would offer. Volunteers work at their own risk.
Parts of the site — the mowed front lawn and veterans' section — are easy to walk. Most of the rest is uneven, sometimes flooded ground, thick brush, and old debris (broken glass, rusted metal). Sturdy, closed-toe shoes are strongly recommended, and it's best to visit as part of an organized work day rather than alone.
No one knows for certain. A 1935 federal survey counted roughly 400 graves; later estimates in press coverage have ranged as high as 2,000. Because records were lost decades ago, current volunteers are essentially rebuilding the map of who's buried where from scratch — through GPS documentation, survey flags, and careful excavation around visible markers.
Yes. A section near the entrance was specifically set aside for war veterans not long after the cemetery opened, and headstones documented over the years span service in World War I, World War II, and later conflicts. Several African American veterans' graves — including that of Capt. Moses M. Warrick, a WWI veteran and Pittsburgh fire marshal — have been rediscovered in recent cleanup efforts after being buried under decades of brush.
Start with Find a Grave's listing for Duncan Heights, and try searching by surname. If you don't find them there, the Facebook group is the best next step — volunteers doing on-the-ground documentation may know more than any database does, and can help you figure out where to look.
If the person buried was a veteran, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will furnish a government headstone or marker for an unmarked grave at no charge, for burials anywhere, including abandoned cemeteries like this one. For non-veterans, there's no formal process here — reach out through the Facebook page and volunteers can advise on what's realistic given the site's condition.
There is no formal nonprofit or fund tied to this site. If that changes, it will be announced through the Facebook page. Be cautious of anyone claiming to collect money on the cemetery's behalf outside that channel.
No — Allegheny County Memorial Park is a separate, actively maintained cemetery directly across Duncan Avenue. The contrast between the two properties has been noted repeatedly in news coverage of Duncan Heights over the years.