MIDDLETOWN HISTORICAL PIONEER CEMETERY
Opened: May 30, 1827
Size: The original cemetery was four acres but grew to 11 acres by 1869. Thirteen lots were originally set aside for a potters field.
Number of graves: There are about 7,000 graves, including 238 graves of veterans who served from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War. It remains an active cemetery.
Who's buried there? Daniel Doty, a founder of Middletown, is buried there, as is Stephen Vail. Many other founding families are there as well, including Lefferson, Tytus, Sutphin and Bowman.
Ownership: The city of Middletown has owned the cemetery since 1947 after the Middletown Cemetery Association experienced financial difficulties.
Source: Journal-News Archive
A unique piece of Middletown history may finally have the funding needed for a critical repair.
For years, a plastic tarp has served as a makeshift roof for the 135-year-old stone vault at Middletown Cemetery, where many of the city’s founding families are buried.
The Middletown Cemetery Board — a volunteer group of five residents — would like the vault to be used as a museum and learning center at the historic cemetery on First Avenue, said Steve Bohannon, cemetery board chairman.
To see that idea come to fruition, the Middletown Cemetery Board has spent years applying for grants and gathering private donations and has raised nearly $21,000 for the project.
The city is expected Jan. 20 to approve an ordinance that will provide a portion of funding needed to complete the nearly $27,000 roof project.
The city’s portion of funding for the repairs will come from leftover 2014 Community Revitalization funding, according to a report by City Manager Doug Adkins.
“This is a long term distraction that can now be completed, allowing us to move on to other projects,” he said in his report.
In that report, Adkins also noted that the roof has been covered with a tarp for a number of years, which is a violation of the city’s property management code.
Bohannon said the tarp has been replaced a couple of times, with the latest replacement in 2014.
The restoration of the roof to historical standards requires specialized work with slate and copper, according to Adkins. Two bids for the work were solicited from contractors qualified to complete this type of work with the lowest bid from Bayless Roofing & Sheet Metal for $26,755.
Bohannon said the board is hoping to have the roof repaired by April.
“We’re very pleased that we could work together on this project to get it finalized so we can move forward to other projects needed (at the cemetery),” Bohannon said.
The Victorian-style vault was originally built as an open-air shelter with a patio around 1880.
The Middletown Cemetery Association, which owned the cemetery, decided to close off the windows with bricks and installed shelves to store bodies during the winter until gravediggers could resume their work after the spring thaw.
Many families moved their loved ones from Middletown Cemetery to Woodside Cemetery when it opened in 1891.
The city took over ownership of Middletown Cemetery in 1947, but there was little funding for maintenance. The cemetery remains active with some older families who still own plots there.
Since Bohannon joined the board in 2010, he said there have been two burials in Middletown Cemetery.
The board, which was created in October 2012 to advise council on the cemetery’s needs, has worked to acquire grants in addition to private donations several volunteers to help maintain the historic cemetery.
Before the electronic gate was installed a couple of years ago, workers at neighboring Denny Lumber would unlock and lock the gate during the week while board members handled the task on weekends and holidays. The new gate automatically opens at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. seven days a week.
More than $70,000 in private donations and grants was raised by the board to keep the vault standing by securing the stone work so it would not be torn down, Bohannon said.
A Middletown Community Foundation grant helped to restore 100 broken and damaged tombstones. Numerous diseased trees have been removed in the past few years by Duke Energy and the Middletown Tree Commission.
Community and school groups have continued to volunteer by planting flower pots by the vault, cleaning up the Doty family plot, and picking up trash and leaves along the cemetery’s fence lines. Local Scout troops have also placed flags on the 238 graves of veterans who served from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam War.
About the Author
