Cemetery Pioneer Section

The oldest part of the Darrtown Cemetery, which is located in the southwest corner of the cemetery, is known as the "pioneer" section.

"...there were no records kept on the original pioneer part of the cemetery, so we have no accurate information on how many people are actually buried there or who is in each and every plot. There are plots which have tombstone bases, but their actual gravestones are missing.

If possible, I would like for you to put a blurb on the darrtown.com Website describing the restoration work that is being done. I need to request three things in that message:

In a follow-up message, Rebecca wrote:

"I need information on the Darrtown area pioneers who might have been buried in the oldest section. I welcome anyone to come tour the Cemetery with me because I feel that learning about its history is very important. It also gives me a chance to learn from visitors and interested parties.

There are a fair number of "geocachers" who come to look for their hidden treasure; however, they enjoy learning about the history of the place and the restoration effort.

Funding and actual physical volunteer assistance are needed as well.

Please let me know how we can work together to help save an important Darrtown historical record. Genealogy is this country's top hobby. Each year, many people come to Darrtown to trace family roots. It would be nice if we had a more complete and accurate record--perhaps fleshed out with family ties.

Rebecca Evans

P.S.: I work at the Lane Public Library in Oxford, so you can contact me there if necessary. This gives me easy access to research in the Smith History Center."

1) information on any family, ancestors or people known to be buried there (This would have to come from family records, Bibles, letters, etc. because I have already checked every available cemetery record on the Darrtown Cemetery and cannot find the missing information there.);

2) monetary donations - any amount would be of great help because tombstone restoration--especially when a professional is absolutely required--is expensive; and

3) volunteers to help with the work. There is so much work related to restoring such a large old cemetery--such as copying information and epitaphs (before they are worn away), computerizing records, archival research and of course, the actual physical labor of finding and repairing the tombstones."

The following images depict some of the restoration work in the Pioneer section of the Darrtown Cemetery.

Several people are interested in restoring the Pioneer Section of the Darrtown cemetery. In support of that effort, on February 10, 2009, Rebecca Evans sent the following email message to the Darrtown.com webmaster: