View of a portion of the older section of Walnut Ridge Cemetery

WALNUT RIDGE CEMETERY Plot Maps

Click here for 2001 Index of 3,071 visible gravestones (does NOT include mention of UNMARKED graves) Courtesy of Jeanne Burke

Tree-trunk stone of the MURPHY family "Thanks be to God That such have been -- Dennis Murphy 1840-1885"

Walnut Ridge Cemetery is located at 2421 Hamburg Pike in Jeffersonville.  Click here for a topographical map of this site, courtesy of www.TopoZone.com. Walnut Ridge Cemetery is probably the largest in Clark County, with thousands of burials, some from a very early time in this area's history. This is an active cemetery and is meticulously maintained. The following is excerpted from page 447 of History of the Ohio Falls Counties, published in 1882:  "Long before this time [1882] Walnut Ridge Cemetery was located in the northern part of the city, where the dead were buried. . . ." I talked on May 7, 1998 with Christa Snyder. She and her husband, Gaius Synder, are the Superintendents of Walnut Ridge Cemetery. Christa informed me that they are currently working on keying in burial records for the cemetery into a computer database and hope to someday soon have it posted on the Internet. Isn't that terrific news? I'll keep you posted as that situation develops. In the meantime, Christa indicated that they have burial records for Walnut Ridge Cemetery back to 1875. They do not charge for records look-ups; however, if you write the Snyders requesting information, I recommend that you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and I personally would enclose a token donation of a dollar or two for the maintenance of the cemetery as an expression of appreciation for their efforts. It is important that you provide as much data as possible when requesting a look-up by a cemetery. Provide the ancestor's full name, maiden name (if known), date of birth, date of death, reason you believe he or she is buried at this location, etc. This will greatly improve your odds of getting the result you want and will make the records keeper's job much easier.

The cemetery's mailing address is:

Gaius and Christa Snyder
Superintendents
Walnut Ridge Cemetery
2421 Hamburg Pike
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47130

According to The Political Graveyard, a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, among those buried here are:

• Cyrus Livingston Dunham (1817-1877) Uncle of Horace Heffren. Born in Dryden, N.Y., January 16, 1817. Member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1846-1848, 1865; U.S. Representative from Indiana, 1849-1855 (2nd District 1849-1853, 3rd District 1853-1855); secretary of state of Indiana, 1859-1861; colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War; state court judge, 1871-1874. Died in Jeffersonville, Ind., November 21, 1877. Interment at Walnut Ridge Cemetery. (See also his congressional biography.)
• Jonas George Howard (1825-1911) Born near New Albany, Ind., May 22, 1825. Member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1863; U.S. Representative from Indiana 3rd District, 1885-1889. Died October 5, 1911. Interment at Walnut Ridge Cemetery. (See also his congressional biography.)
• James Keigwin (1829-1904) Born in Jeffersonville, Ind., October 18, 1829. Colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War; member of Indiana state senate, 1871. Died in Jeffersonville, Ind., August 25, 1904. Interment at Walnut Ridge Cemetery.

I presently have no further information on this cemetery. Additional information may be available from either the:

Jeffersonville Twp. Library     or      Charlestown Library

211 East Court Avenue                   51 Clark Road

Jeffersonville, Indiana 47130           Charlestown, Indiana  47111

Telephone:  (812) 285-5635              Telephone:  (812) 256-3337