An Abandoned Cemetery vs. Highway Expansion (father, historical, records, grandmother)
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I've heard of tombstones being thrown into ditches so developers could build something on top of the graves. I'm sure not all developers would do that, but for some, money means more than respecting the dead.
How does one expect society to respect the dead when it cannot even manage to respect life?
A number of rural Missouri cemetaries are taken care of by vounteers of historical societies and churches. It is sad to watch once cared for "historical" graveyards fall by the wayside because new/younger landowners have no respect for those who came before them.
Near where I used to live, along the Ohio River in Kentucky, some men totally destroyed some indian graves, and threw the bones everywhere, just to get some artifacts. That was a misdemeanor offense then...felony now!
...Every fall there is a group of people who go out in the 170,000 acre Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area looking for unmarked graves. They always went after the killing frost where all the greenery was dead the graves were easier to find. They would have an area to check where a graveyard was thought to be. With all the grass and weeds dead, they could find graves by sunken areas on the ground. This group goes out with weed eaters, bush blades and chain saws to clear the area. There is a company that makes small concrete unmarked grave markers. After clearing the area, these stones are put in place. My wife says this group has been doing this every fall for 10-15 years. These newly found grave yards are recorded and turned in to the historical societies and courthouses.
As a hobby, an archeologist friend and I follow up leads on abandoned cemeteries and graves and file a report with the Arkansas Archeological Survey who in turn enter it into a data base. We also record Indian sites that we find. The report can be anywhere from five to 15 pages. Our focus is on pioneer cemeteries out in the boonies, but unfortunately, normally no one takes care of them from that point. I could tell you lots of sad stories. If we do our documentation correctly, many, many years in the future anyone can find that spot.
We have found only one truly "lost" grave in the many years we have been doing this. We were checking out a high probability site for an Indian camp ground way out in a remote area and on the way back to the truck I stepped off into a depression and almost turned my ankle. When I looked down I realized I had stepped off into a grave depression which was marked with a plain rock head stone. Of course we have no idea who the person was or why buried at that spot, but the grave is now properly documented with a GPS location.
I'm sure every state has a State Archeologist. If any of you find an abandoned cemetery or grave, please contact your State Archeologist and tell them, or show them, the location. They should go or send someone to do the documentation.
As a hobby, an archeologist friend and I follow up leads on abandoned cemeteries and graves and file a report with the Arkansas Archeological Survey who in turn enter it into a data base. We also record Indian sites that we find. The report can be anywhere from five to 15 pages. Our focus is on pioneer cemeteries out in the boonies, but unfortunately, normally no one takes care of them from that point. I could tell you lots of sad stories. If we do our documentation correctly, many, many years in the future anyone can find that spot.
We have found only one truly "lost" grave in the many years we have been doing this. We were checking out a high probability site for an Indian camp ground way out in a remote area and on the way back to the truck I stepped off into a depression and almost turned my ankle. When I looked down I realized I had stepped off into a grave depression which was marked with a plain rock head stone. Of course we have no idea who the person was or why buried at that spot, but the grave is now properly documented with a GPS location.
I'm sure every state has a State Archeologist. If any of you find an abandoned cemetery or grave, please contact your State Archeologist and tell them, or show them, the location. They should go or send someone to do the documentation.
Those who follow my "Exploring Arkansas" on the Arkansas Thread have seen photos and info about many of the cemeteries we have documented. One we found way out in the middle of nowhere several years ago in east Pike County AR was three grave depressions and two were marked with plain rock but one child size was not. There is a group of men in Amity, Clark County AR who, as a hobby, clean up and maintain such cemeteries. We were in the area last Friday and stopped by to check on it and found the group had been in there, cleaned out the trail to it, and raked the leaves off the little cemetery. Those men will have an extra star in their crown.
That was done with a graveyard in my family. The land had been sold over the years, and one day someone leveled it and began construction of a house. I'm wondering how many skeletons were dug up in the process of digging the basement.
Well now that gives new meaning to having " skeletons in the closet"!
An abandoned , neglected graveyard is at the end of the runway at Glasgow Airport and hardly anyone knows its there.. the church which was next to it was demolished when the airport was being contstructed.. it seems sad to me that all these graves are forgotten in time..
i know of a local cemetery in the middle of a paper mill. you got go through plant security to get to it
One of my second great-grandfathers is buried on the grounds of a manufacturing plant. When he died in 1910 the family buried him out in the boonies in rural Missouri. Over the past 100 years his grave site was forgotten and became overgrown with weeds and trees.
About 15 years ago a company bought the land where he is buried and built a plant that makes paint. One day a workers from the plant was exploring the grounds when he rediscovered my great-great grandfather's grave. The company then alerted the local historical society, which dug through old burial records and confirmed that it was grandmother's grandfather. The owners of the plant then cleaned up his grave site and fenced it off, creating a small cemetery just for him. Since he was a Civil War veteran, they contacted the government and replaced his old worn headstone with a new veteran's headstone.
Now when anyone in the family wants to see his burial site, we have to contact the plant and make arrangements.
One of my second great-grandfathers is buried on the grounds of a manufacturing plant. When he died in 1910 the family buried him out in the boonies in rural Missouri. Over the past 100 years his grave site was forgotten and became overgrown with weeds and trees.
About 15 years ago a company bought the land where he is buried and built a plant that makes paint. One day a workers from the plant was exploring the grounds when he rediscovered my great-great grandfather's grave. The company then alerted the local historical society, which dug through old burial records and confirmed that it was grandmother's grandfather. The owners of the plant then cleaned up his grave site and fenced it off, creating a small cemetery just for him. Since he was a Civil War veteran, they contacted the government and replaced his old worn headstone with a new veteran's headstone.
Now when anyone in the family wants to see his burial site, we have to contact the plant and make arrangements.
what a fantastic and interesting story RDM.
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