Old Sharpsburg Cemetery

 

Old Sharpsburg Cemetery

 

Old cemeteries are markers of human history and possible links to family we never knew.

They are monuments to the people who once inhabited our communities; they hold valuable resources for historical and genealogical research as well as historical assets that tell about a community’s past.

Yet, these sacred places are often abandoned or neglected and are in much need of being restored.

In doing so, we all regain a sense of our own place in time and history.

In my hometown of Sharpsburg is an old abandoned grave yard known as The Old Sharpsburg Cemetery. 

As a child in the early 1970s I remember the Carl House and the old Black Smith Shop that occupied the grounds adjacent to the cemetery. 

Even back then I remember how the cemetery was hidden by thick brush and undergrowth.

A few years ago, I learned that someone had taken an interest in the old cemetery with headstones dating back to the 1700s. 

I was thrilled to know such an important piece of our local history was going to be preserved. 

The goal of this project was to identify, protect, restore and preserve as many graves as possible.

According to history, on the 9th day of August in the year 1849, Robert F. Caldwell sold Lot 51 in the City of Sharpsburg for $25 for the purpose of a burying ground to the Trustees of Sharpsburg.

When that piece of ground was sold to the city, the towns trustees included the following: J. H. Camplain, William Peck, J. Allen, Joseph Stephens, William F Matholias, H.E.Guerrant, D.F. Tidings and J.P McNary. 

Of these trustees, J.H. Camplain, J.P. McNary, and Joseph Stephens, along with their family members are just a few of the citizens whose final resting places are on the grounds of lot 51.

The Old Sharpsburg Cemetery history is found on pages 363-4 in ‘History of Bath County’ by John A. Richards, Southwest Printers, 1961. 

According to Richards, the cemetery was established in 1832 during the cholera epidemic and the first recorded burial was Mrs. Jonathan Camplin and Dr. Wright, who succumbed to cholera, is listed as one of the earliest burials as well.

Richards book reveals that the first burial took place in the year of 1818 and continued up until 1958.

These burials include prominent citizens of the time and Veterans of the Civil War.

Old cemeteries will always be valuable resources that reveal pieces of our past and as long as they are kept preserved, they will continue to be monuments to the people who once inhabited our communities.  June 2, 2016

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