The many knolls of the historic grounds offer sweeping views of the Shawangunk Mountains to the West, and the Catskill Mountains to the distant North. Eastward could be traced the Hudson River and the line of Green Mountains with their most commanding summits. To the South, a charming pastoral view of the Wallkill Valley, where situated lie the many dairy farms of Orange County.

The cemetery is noted for its connections to local Civil War-era history and prominent regional figures. Among those interred is Charles H. Winfield (1822–1888), a respected lawyer, district attorney, and United States Congressman, who died suddenly after collapsing while addressing a group of children from the pulpit of the Reformed Church in Walden. Also laid to rest at Wallkill Valley Cemetery is Samuel E. Wright (1946–2021), who’s recognized for providing the voiceover of Sebastian in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Today, Wallkill Valley Cemetery is managed by a Superintendent and a Board of Trustees, who oversee the grounds, help raise money for improvements, such as new trees, shrubs, and roadways.

At the time of its establishment, many members of the cemetery’s original board were Freemasons of Wallkill Lodge No. 627, F. & A.M. In the years that followed, the following Masons served with distinction as officers and trustees of the cemetery.

• Brother Thomas W. Bradley (1844-1920), President of the New York Knife Company, President of the Walden National Bank, and a United States Congressman, became a Freemason in 1871, and served as a Trustee of the Cemetery.
• Brother Albert S. Embler (1870-1941), an attorney, Director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers Association, Secretary of the Walden Board of Education, and President of the Walden Savings Bank, joined Wallkill Lodge in 1899 and served the Cemetery as its Secretary.
• Brother Irving H. Loughran (1855-1911), an attorney and the Secretary and Director of Walden’s Schrade Cutlery Company, was raised to Master Mason in 1887 and served as Secretary of the Cemetery.
• Brother Joseph Rowland (1849-1912), Vice President of the New York Knife Company and a Director of the Walden Savings Bank, joined the Craft in 1874 and is likewise recorded as a Trustee of the Cemetery.
• Brother Hiram B. Wooster (1851-1925), owner and operator of Walden’s garment-manufacturing business, the Wooster Manufacturing Company, became a Freemason in 1900 and later served the Cemetery as both Treasurer and Trustee.

Today, Wallkill Valley Cemetery stands as the final resting place of more than forty members of Wallkill Lodge No. 627, their lives and legacies marked by the imposing monuments that rise among its paths. Among them are Brother Alexander Kirk Rider (1820–1893), the accomplished inventor of the historic hot-air engine model, and Brother John Chamber Scofield (1831–1890), who served as President of the Village of Walden in 1880 and later as Director of the Wallkill Valley Railroad. Together, their memorials, like so many others here, quietly testify to the Masonic Lodge’s lasting influence on the civic, industrial, and fraternal life of the Wallkill Valley.