Northern Cemetery Tour Participants Learn Local History
On October 25, several participants joined the Victorian Mansion Museum for its annual graveyard tours. Belmont County Historical Society’s Treasurer, Brock Rogers, led the group.
Brock Rogers started the tour with a brief history of the Northern Cemetery. In the spring of 1858, two cemetery associations were founded, the Barnesville Cemetery Association and the Green Mountain Cemetery Association. The Green Mountain Cemetery Association purchased eight acres known then as Knob Field. There were originally 168 lots. The cemetery was called Green Mountain Cemetery or “Greenmount Cemetery.” It is now called Northern Cemetery. Some of the graves predate the cemetery; the oldest is 1825.
Levi F. Wilson (1858-1926) was born in Freeport, Ohio, and moved to Barnesville with his family. Both Levi and his father were florists. The Wilson family built greenhouses on the south side that eventually covered 4.5 acres. A lane, which was later widened into Euclid Avenue, connected the greenhouse with Chestnut Street. Vernon Burkhart later purchased the greenhouse.
Interestingly, Levi Wilson married Flora Fowler in 1887. Rogers said, “Of course, a florist would marry a woman named Flora.”
Ellis P. Lee’s grave was also a stop on the tour. Ellis Lee was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the same house as Daniel Boone. The two men were distantly related through marriage. In 1867, Ellis Lee moved to Barnesville and worked at the First National Bank as a bookkeeper and later became a cashier. In 1878, Ellis was a foreman and local editor of the Barnesville Enterprise. In 1888, Ellis purchased the Enterprise and became the publisher. His wife, Octavia (Dove) Lee, was heavily involved with the paper.
The tour concluded with the Watt family plot. Joseph Watt established the Watt Foundry & Car Factory with his son James H. Watt. Rogers continued sharing the history of the Watt Factory as he pointed out the family members’ gravestones.
There were many more graves included in the tour. Rogers stated, “I enjoy being able to see history still in my surroundings. A lot of last names can be found on street signs and businesses in Barnesville today.”
The Victorian Mansion Museum will feature Southern Cemetery on next year’s graveyard tour.
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