Difference between revisions of "Cemeteries"

Revision as of 08:23, 27 February 2015

Licking County has three historic cemeteries: Cedar Hill Cemetery, Old Colony Burying Ground and the 6th Street Cemetery.

Cedar Hill Cemetery

Plat of Cedar Hill Cemetery Newark, Ohio

Cedar Hill was opened in 1850. ^[1]. It covers 113 acres and is the largest cemetery in Licking County. Cedar Hill is owned by the City of Newark and contains about 36,000 graves. ^[2] The first official internment on the books was that of Mary Vandine, who died of paralysis and was laid to rest in December 1850. ^[3]

There is a house on property of the cemetery that served as an office and residence for the cemetery's superintendent. The house which was built in 1879, along with the the office depot and cemetery chapel are on the National Register of Historic Places. ^[4] Today, volunteers are working to digitize the information in the old internment books to a computer database.

In 2001, Cedar Hill found itself nearly $100,000 in debt. Due to mismanagement by the cemetery's superintendent, bills went unpaid and funds mishandled. A large portion of money from the cemetery's contingency fund was used to cover the debt. ^[5]

Famous People of Cedar Hill

Cedar Hill

Old Colony Burying Ground

The Old Colony Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in Granville, governed by board of representatives from the township, village and general public. The cemetery sits on about 2.8 acres of land, with almost 2,000 graves including veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. ^[6] It holds the title of Licking County's oldest public graveyard, founded in 1805 by early settlers from New England. The first burial took place in early 1806 and by 1860 the land was nearly full. ^[7]

In 2005 the Old Colony Burying Ground was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Colony Burying Ground

6th Street Cemetery

Map of Sixth Street Cemetery in Newark, Ohio

The Sixth Street Cemetery, known today as Sixth Street Veterans' Park was Newark's primary cemetery until Cedar Hill opened in 1850. The first recorded burial was in 1814 and there are many veterans from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 were buried there. ^[8] Eventually, the cemetery became neglected, and in 1875 the remaining graves were transferred to Cedar Hill and the cemetery was transformed into a park. When plans for the National Heisey Glass Museum were established near the cemetery's original location in 1973 and construction began, there were a number of skeletons and tombstones unearthed on the site. ^[9] Records indicate that of the original number, there are still 282 bodies interred there.

The cemetery is also known as The Old Grave Yard.

6th Street

References

1. ↑ Bell, J. (1992, August 19). Remains from park now rest in peace. The Newark Advocate, p. 1.
2. ↑ Cedar Hill Cemetery. City of Newark. Retrieved February 26, 2015
3. ↑ Keirns, A. (2005, December 29). Old cemetery records offer poignant view of history. Old Town Newspaper.
4. ↑ Jones, S. (1983, February 3). Life in Newark cemetery can be scary and calls for adjustment, family finds. Columbus Citizen Journal, p. 9.
5. ↑ Mallett, K. (2001, August 28). City-run cemetery $100,000 in debt. The Newark Advocate.
6. ↑ Miller, B. (2012, August 18). Historic cemetery faces funding issues. The Newark Advocate.
7. ↑ Bennett, K. (1992, April 23). Cemetery tour brings history to life. The Newark Advocate, p. 2A.
8. ↑ Whyde, L. (2005, April 28). Bodies buried under local historic sites. The Newark Advocate, p. 1
9. ↑ Bell, J. (1992, July 22). City workers move bones to cemetery. The Newark Advocate.