Smith Cemetery is a small pioneer cemetery that exists as one of
the last remaining patches of tallgrass prairie in Ohio. The
following is excerpted from the Ohio DNR pamphlet "Smith Cemetery
State Nature Preserve":
In 1814 Charles and Alvia Andrews were among the first
families to settle on the Darby Plains. They came west from
Connecticut to start a new life in the Ohio wilderness... In
September 1816, just a few years after their arrival on the Darby
Plains, Charles and Alvia Andrews’ youngest daughter, Almira, who
was only 5 years old, became ill and died. Almira was buried on
this small patch of prairie, thus becoming the first person to be
interred in what was eventually to become Smith Cemetery.
Eventually, through ditching and tilling, the Darby Plains were
converted from inhospitable, wet prairie to some of the most
valuable agricultural land in the state. In less than 150 years,
the tallgrass prairie was almost obliterated. Today, only scattered
bur oak trees and groves and infrequent patches of prairie plants
are all that remain of the original vast prairie. Still, as if by
design, the best remnants of the Darby Plains survive in both Smith
and nearby Bigelow cemeteries. Here, in these pioneer cemeteries,
the original prairie sod supports relicts of original prairie flora
and serves as the final resting place for many of the first
settlers whose lives were so interwoven with the prairie wilderness
of the Darby Plains.
Please park where the sign indicates as you approach the cemetery.
To get credit for this virtual cache, you must e-mail me a
description of the carving on the headstone of Elzaphon
Holycross. Otherwise, I reserve the right to delete your log!!
Also, if you post a picture, please don't include the headstone
carving.
Enjoy the cemetery and the prairie!
(The coordinates get you to the destination, not the final clue
that you need to send.)